Earlier this month on Facebook I asked the following question:
Have any of you (or someone you know) been able to stop taking some prescription meds after making a change to your diet? If so, I’d love to hear about it!
I was definitely expecting to hear some great success stories, but was completely taken aback by almost 800 comments sharing amazing and – in some cases – truly unbelievable transformations. I just had to recap some of the really amazing feedback here in an effort to inspire and help others. But as I’ve stated on our Terms of Use page, “This information on this blog is not intended to diagnose, prevent, treat or cure any disease. Never dismiss any advice your health physician gives. The authors shall in no event be held liable for any loss or other damages bla bla bla.” So now that our arses are covered please read these stories below and be inspired. And in all seriousness, it is advised that you not stop taking any of medications unless under the guidance of your doctor. If your doctor doesn’t believe that it’s possible to improve your health through a change in diet (instead of immediately resorting to pharmaceuticals) then – GET A SECOND OPINION! Just my two cents :)
Reader Feedback…
“I stopped anti-depressants for depression and anxiety that i’d been on for 3 years (post natally) after I cut out sugar and processed foods.”
“My husband had AWFUL eczema…topical and oral steroids to treat…couldn’t get is hands wet for more than a few minutes, had to use special soap, etc. 6 weeks on a gluten free diet and the eczema is 100% GONE.”
“My husband had to take Rx med for his acid reflux! We started eating clean 10 weeks ago and he has been off his medication for 4 weeks now!”
“I have a friend that does a Paleo diet and has not had to take meds for Rheumatoid Arthritis.”
“My fibromyalgia pain is so much less since eating clean.”
“After going unprocessed and mostly organic as well as using food for medicine- I stopped three meds for migraines. My daughter no longer has eczema, son’s allergies and chronic sinusitis is gone and we’ve all lost weight!”
“Yes! My husband was on two allergy meds and an inhaler. He was using all three every day. His doctor was also telling him he needed to go on meds for cholesterol. He changed his diet and ditched all meds and lowered his cholesterol 76 points in only 4 months. Nothing short of amazing!”
“My daughters were able to stop their daily Miralax and I am off antidepressants for the first time in my adult life!”
“I have Crohn’s disease and am medication free after giving up dairy, coffee, and limiting fried/processed foods.”
“Pulled artificial dyes, flavors, sweeteners, and petro based presertives and was able to remove stimulants for my ADHD son. http://www.feingold.org/”
“After getting rid of processed food and soda, I was able to come off antidepressants.”
“I did away with my asthma meds after going paleo.”
“I had a RARE case of hives that were considered idiopathic. (No known cause) I had 12 vials of blood taken on me, and was on prednisone and Allegra every day for a year and a half. If I didn’t take the meds, my throat would start to swell and I would have to be taken to the ER to get a shot of adrenaline. Starting January 1 of this year, I started juicing and clean eating and boom… Hives went away. People might think it was a food allergy, but I had hundreds of pricks in my back with my allergist and nothing! So today my hives are gone and I am medicine free! I also got off my high blood pressure meds and reversed type 2 diabetes!!!”
“After cutting out processed foods I got to cut asthma medicines and steroids.”
“My husband was taken off his acid reflux medication once we went on a real food diet.”
“I have PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome) and after eating clean and cutting out processed crap, I was able to conceive AND lose weight! Prior to eating clean I took Metformin to get pregnant with my oldest two…awful stuff!”
“My son quit eating dairy and hasn’t needed a breathing treatment in quite some time and his ezcema is almost completely gone.”
“My husband took out aspartame and other artificial sweeteners from his diet and his cluster headaches/migraines ended.”
“After cutting out processed foods, I stopped taking Ambien for insomnia and the occasional round of Prednasone for bursitis. Funny how when you cut out things known to cause inflammation such as hydrogenated oils you don’t have problems like that anymore. What is most surprising was how quickly my healthcare provider would write that script without even asking about my diet and offering suggestions.”
“I suffer from stage 4 endometriosis. Have been on a number of pain prescriptions/ “natural” hormones for several yrs now…started clean eating about 8 weeks ago and stopped ALL prescriptions 2 weeks ago today. I am sleeping great and have been more active now than I ever was able to before!”
“My kids were on allergy and asthma meds for years… No longer the case. We also pretty much made my daughters ADD symptoms disappear.. Amazing stuff what real foods can do. Also cut a lot of gluten out as well.”
” I’m off thyroid meds and Heart palpitation meds. Two years ago I was forced by another disease Meniere’s onto a low sodium diet, the only way to do that is with real food. It was one of the best things that has happened to my body.”
“Eliminating aspartame from my diet, eliminated my migraines.”
“My daughter was on concerts for ADD. She went gluten free and stopped meds. Changed her life. No ADD symptoms for 2 years. She is 10”
“Yes! i am 18 years old and i have had asthma since i was 2 and would get very sick and be on tons of inhalers and steroids. Since eating clean and cutting out processed foods and food dyes I take no medicine at all and rarely get sick!”
“I started eating healthy (after eating terrible my whole life) at the age of 24 and I was able to get off my acid reflux medicine as well as medicine for IBS”
“Stopped taking Zoloft after almost 10 years! Eating clean and exercising. Never been happier!”
“My 5 year old daughter was constantly on antibiotics for various things in the winter. She also took Miralax daily for digestive issues and had really bad eczema. I took her off of gluten and dairy 5 months ago. She hasn’t been on a single antibiotic, her eczema has drastically improved, and she hasn’t needed any Miralax. We’ve noticed major improvement in her mood and behavior as well. I’m a believer!”
“After 14 years of Ulcerative Colitis and taking cortisone, prednisone and corticosteroids I was diagnosed with genetic allergies to beef and dairy as well as sensitivities to gluten. I completely removed them from my diet and added whole foods and non processed foods. I’ve now gone 15 months without taking any prescription medications at all! I have no symptoms at all of Ulcerative Colitis at all!”
“Yes! Husband quit taking two kinds of blood pressure medicine, cholesterol medicine (neither could be controlled very well, even with meds), and narcolepsy medicine. Turns out, ALL of those things were caused by diet. Switching to clean eating for 30 days cured ALL of those things!”
“Yes son who had been diagnosed with ADHD came off meds after finding intolerances to amines, salicylate & preservatives/colours. Made a huge difference.”
“I was on a host of anxiety medications for years and years. I also ate a lot of processed food and sugar, drank a lot of caffeine and energy drinks. After meeting my husband, who owns a local wellness business here in California, I was persuaded to eat real, unprocessed foods, exercise regularly, avoid my nasty caffeine habit and learn cognitive methods of coping instead of popping a pill and being a zombie. He was the first person who had natural, sustainable, holistic answers instead of pills and gimmicks. It’s why I am such a big believer in the unconventional methods he uses that WORK and change lives (and not just because I’m his wife). I have never felt better in my entire life. It’s like I’m actually ME again instead of a shell. I am such a big believer that we have the power to heal ourselves with food. It can be a potent healing agent or send us into a state of suffering, and it is ultimately our choice. We have no one to blame but ourselves if we know what foods can do to our bodies and mental state and still choose to consume them. I am proud and happy to say I have been med free for over 2 years now.”
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All, I have to say is…wow! If you have a story you’d like to share please do so in the comments.
Such an amazing post! What i did was switching to plant-based supplements . Even studies have revealed that supplements are demonstrated to be safe, both in quantity and quality. Also, following the increased awareness of the importance of lifestyle for disease prevention, we are now facing a renaissance of nutrition, or lifestyle in general, for disease management as well.
Hey Lisa. I have faced the problem of weak metabolism earlier. I was tired of getting so many medicines daily. Then I started eating foods that helped me in treating my metabolism. I found that those foods not only increased my metabolism but also kept me energetic for the whole day. Thanks for sharing such an amazing post. Loved it.
Seeing the world wake up to the dangers of excessive sugar consumption is so great, and your blog is helping to get the info out there. Diet and nutrition are so central to our overall health!
Hi Lisa, thanks for opening the conversation up!
Talking about PCOS is a great way to help overcome the stigma and shame that can come up around it. I have a few friends with PCOS who not only struggle with their weight but are having issues having a baby too.
Fortunately, they have given their diet a reset and eating much cleaner. This is helping a lot with weight, insulin resistance, and hopefully their fertility! It’s so good to see someone working towards a goal of better health through good food.
Keep up the good work everyone! And thanks for sharing :)