Why Millions Are Questioning the System and Choosing a Smarter Way to Heal
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Why I’ve chosen a different path.
I now live by a natural wellness philosophy. One that works with the body, not against it. It’s not about rejecting science or skipping doctors. It’s about thinking critically, researching, and recognising that food, movement, sleep, and mindset can be far more potent than a prescription pad.
This isn’t a passing trend. It’s a wake-up call. More and more people realise that health doesn’t come from a pharmacy shelf. It comes from nature, from knowledge, and from the daily choices we make. Why settle for drugs that treat one problem while creating five more when you can tap into the body’s capacity to heal?
The Dark Side of Pharmaceuticals: Unraveling the Consequences
Think about this: Have you seen that funny meme on social media? It humorously shows the silly chain reaction of medications and their long list of side effects.
Just in case you can't read what is on the image, it goes along the lines of this:
I took aspirin for the headache, brought on by the drug I took for a runny nose and wheeziness. That I got from the medication that was supposed to ease my upset stomach. Which was caused by the Viagra I took for erectile dysfunction. That was a side effect of the treatment for hair loss caused by the drug I took for ADHD. Which was the result of taking tablets for motion sickness, brought on by the medication for the debilitating diarrhoea. That was caused by taking slimming pills for the weight gain brought on by the prescription for anxiety. The anxiety was a result of the pills that I'm taking for high cholesterol because a good diet and exercise is just too much trouble!
While it may elicit a chuckle, it's a sobering reality today. Pharmaceuticals often appear as the quick fix for every ailment under the sun, promising relief in a pill or a potion. However, many people frequently miss out on the many consequences of these synthetic solutions. Sometimes, these consequences can outweigh the initial benefits.
The Domino Effect: A Vicious Cycle of Dependency
Think about it. How many times have you or someone you love ended up on a list of pills? It often starts with something simple. A headache. High blood pressure. A skin rash. You go to the doctor. They give you a pill. At first, it seems to help. But then something else happens. You feel dizzy. Your stomach feels off. You can’t sleep. You go back to the doctor. They give you another pill to deal with that.
Managing the Side Effects of the Side Effects
Now you’re on two pills, but things aren’t getting better. You feel even worse. Your heart starts to race for no reason. A sense of unease creeps in, and you can't shake it. Anxiety becomes a new normal. You’re restless, wired, and tired all at once. Maybe you notice your weight creeping up even though you haven’t changed your diet. Or clumps of hair clog the shower drain, leaving you feeling vulnerable and confused.
You go back to the doctor, hoping for answers. They tell you it’s a common reaction and that there is nothing to worry about. “Stick with it,” they say. Or they offer yet another prescription. Something to calm the nerves, ease the side effects and bring things into balance. So now you’re on a third pill. Not because your original condition got worse but because the treatment for it is taking a toll. And this is where the real spiral begins.
When the Cure Feels Worse Than the Condition
Before long, it becomes hard to remember what the first pill was even meant to treat. What began as a simple solution slowly turned into a complicated routine. You find yourself managing the original issue and the fallout from the following medications. One drug leads to another, each trying to fix the problem caused by the last.
It starts to feel like you’re chasing your tail. There’s no sense of moving forward, only sideways, through a maze of prescriptions and side effects. You keep going because this is how it’s supposed to work, or so you’re told. The process feels familiar, even reassuring at times. It’s easy to assume it’s the only path available. But gradually, something shifts. Your energy begins to fade, often without warning. You feel drained, foggy, or detached, as though your body is no longer on your side. Tasks that once felt easy become difficult. Emotions feel heavier, and joy becomes harder to access.
You begin to lose your sense of self. Not completely, but enough to notice. Instead of feeling like a whole, vibrant person, you feel more like a collection of symptoms being monitored and managed. You’re no longer you; you’re a patient, charted, medicated, and increasingly disconnected from the body you live in. This isn’t what healing is supposed to feel like. And deep down, you know it.
When Time Runs Out: Why the Root Cause Gets Overlooked
A System Built on Symptoms
Breaking the Chain
You don’t have to stay trapped in the loop of endless prescriptions and side effects. There comes a point where continuing down that path feels less like treatment and more like survival. But real healing doesn’t happen when we keep chasing symptoms. It begins when we pause, step back, and ask what’s happening beneath the surface.
Rather than covering up discomfort, we can start to explore the reasons behind it. Symptoms aren’t random. They’re the body’s way of getting our attention—signs that something deeper needs care. And that shift in thinking changes everything. Instead of asking, “What pill will fix this?” a better question might be, “What does my body truly need right now?” That question invites curiosity. It invites compassion. It invites you back into a relationship with your body instead of treating it like a faulty machine.
This approach does require patience. It asks us to tune in rather than zone out. It won’t always offer the instant relief we’ve grown used to, but over time, it offers something much more valuable—balance, clarity, and lasting well-being. It’s not about rejecting medicine altogether but about reclaiming your role in the healing process. Because your body isn’t the problem, it’s part of the solution.
A Closer Look: The Business Behind the Pills
Before we go any further, I want to be clear: I’m not giving medical advice. I’m not a doctor, and I’m not telling anyone to stop taking prescribed medication. What I am doing is sharing some of what I’ve come across. Information, stories, and viewpoints that raise important questions. This is serious stuff, and you should always do your research and speak with qualified professionals before making any health decisions. With that said, let’s talk about something that often sits quietly in the background: profit.
Profit before patients
In 2023 alone, the United States spent over $714 billion on prescribed medication. Yes, that’s a billion, and yes, that’s just one country. The pharmaceutical industry, often referred to as “Big Pharma” is one of the world's most powerful and profitable industries. And with profits that high, it’s reasonable to ask: Are these companies more focused on healing or on maintaining a system that keeps people reliant on drugs?
That’s a bold question. But many people are asking about it, not just in America but also in the UK. Because let’s face it, chronic disease is big business. When people stay sick, they stay dependent. And when they stay dependent, profits continue to rise.
Silencing Alternatives: When Natural Approaches Challenge the System
What makes this even more complex is how often natural or alternative approaches are received. Sometimes, clinicians who speak publicly in favour of natural remedies have faced professional backlash—even lawsuits. One example is Tullio Simoncini, a controversial figure who was imprisoned for treating cancer patients with bicarbonate of soda. His theory that cancer is caused by fungus has been widely discredited in mainstream medicine. But, interestingly, some researchers believe he may have touched on something worth exploring further.
To be clear, I’m not suggesting he was right or wrong. The point is this: when money and medicine collide, things can get messy. Sometimes, voices that challenge the system are silenced too quickly. And sometimes, unconventional ideas, however flawed, spark valuable questions that deserve further investigation.
So please, read widely. Ask questions. Don’t take anyone’s word as gospel—not even mine. Your health is too important to hand over without thought.
Cancer: The Harsh Reality of Conventional Treatment
Cancer is one of the most feared diagnoses a person can face. And understandably so because it threatens life, changes everything, and forces decisions most of us never expect to make. But while fear drives urgency, we rarely stop to question the treatment options we’re given.
When Treatment Feels Like Trauma
The standard approach, surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, may sometimes prolong life. But it often comes at a steep cost to our health. These treatments are aggressive by design. They aim to destroy cancer cells, but in doing so, they also damage healthy ones. Patients endure brutal side effects, including nerve damage, nausea, vomiting, hair loss, extreme fatigue, and more. The treatment can sometimes feel worse than the disease itself.
Yes, survival rates may improve, but at what price? Many people report spending their final months not living, but suffering—too weak to move, eat, or think clearly. Their days revolve around appointments, medications, and managing relentless side effects. It’s no wonder so many patients begin to look beyond conventional treatment—seeking alternative or complementary approaches that feel less destructive, more supportive, and more in tune with the body.
Prevention or Permission? The Choices We Make
Better still, some ask a more powerful question: What if I could stop it before it started?
Instead of waiting for disease to strike, more people are beginning to take charge of their health long before symptoms appear. They're discovering that prevention is not just possible; it’s often remarkably simple.
A whole-food diet, regular physical activity, avoiding smoking, limiting alcohol, and reducing stress. None of these habits sounds radical. Yet they have a radical effect. They lower inflammation, support immune function, and create an internal environment where disease is less likely to occur. These aren’t magic cures but can stack the odds in your favour.
But what about after a diagnosis? Is it too late, then? That depends. Some people, faced with the shock of cancer, change everything. They clean up their diet, cut out toxins, and become fiercely protective of their bodies. It’s like shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted. Making changes can improve treatment outcomes, quality of life, and, in some cases, even recovery.
Others, understandably, take a different route. They think, “Well, I’ve got cancer now; I may as well eat the cake, drink the wine, and enjoy whatever time I have left.” And who could blame them? After all, health isn’t just about extending life; it’s also about how we live it. Both reactions are valid. Both come from deeply human places. But for those who still have a choice, there’s power in remembering this: the best time to protect your health may have been years ago. The second-best time is now.
Challenging the Narrative: Food, Herbs, and a Different Kind of Hope
Some cancer patients explore natural options, not out of ignorance but out of desperation or curiosity. Others do it because they believe in the body’s capacity to heal. One man with kidney cancer reportedly kept it at bay through a strict vegan diet. His wife credits that same way of eating with reducing her recurring skin cancer. Stories like these are often brushed aside by mainstream medicine as anecdotal or the result of spontaneous remission.
From Folk Wisdom to Scientific Proof: When Nature Threatens Profits
But there’s more than just hearsay. Take moringa, for example. Research has shown that compounds in this herb can destroy breast and colon cancer cells. Then, there’s curcumin, the active compound in turmeric. This has drawn serious attention in the scientific world. A simple PubMed search for “curcumin and cancer prevention” brings up around 19,000 studies. Search “curcumin cancer treatment”, and you’ll find over 70,000 as of May 2025. That’s not fringe science. It’s a growing body of evidence.
Here’s the catch: you can’t patent a natural herb or vegetable. And if it can’t be patented, it can’t be owned. That means no exclusive profits. But when pharmaceutical companies isolate a compound, tweak its structure, and turn it into a drug, they can patent that. Suddenly, nature becomes a product. And once it’s a product, the money rolls in.
This isn’t speculation. It's already happening. Drug companies are synthesising plant-based compounds, like those found in curcumin, and turning them into marketable treatments. They’re not doing this out of charity. They’re doing it because it’s profitable.
And yet, the one strategy that’s often overlooked in cancer treatment is prevention. According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, one of the best ways to reduce your risk of developing cancer is shockingly simple: eat a healthy, balanced diet. It's not dramatic. It doesn’t make headlines. But it works, and it’s something you can control.
Type 2 Diabetes: A Profitable Epidemic
Type 2 diabetes is no minor issue. It’s a global health crisis. According to the World Health Organization, more than 830 million people worldwide are now living with diabetes. And that number isn’t declining; it’s climbing yearly. It has risen from 200 million in 1990.
In most cases, type 2 diabetes doesn’t just happen. It develops over time, often due to poor diet, sedentary lifestyles, and long-term metabolic dysfunction. To be clear, some cases are influenced by genetics, age, and ethnicity, but for many people, the root cause lies in daily lifestyle choices and environment. Not their biology.
It’s also essential to distinguish between type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Type 1 is an autoimmune condition that has nothing to do with lifestyle and currently has no known cure. Type 2, on the other hand, is largely preventable. In many cases, it is also reversible.
A System That Manages, Not Cures
So, what happens when doctors diagnose you with type 2 diabetes? They send you home with a prescription. Conventional treatment relies heavily on medication. Commonly metformin or insulin. These drugs can help control blood sugar levels but don’t solve the underlying problem. Worse still, they come with side effects like stomach pain, nausea, and diarrhoea. And they’re expensive. Very expensive.
When everything is working correctly, your body does a remarkable job of balancing blood sugar. After you eat, your body breaks down the food into glucose—its primary energy source. The glucose enters your bloodstream, and insulin acts like a key, unlocking your cells so they can absorb the sugar and use it for fuel.
However, in people with insulin resistance, the cells stop responding to insulin’s signal. It’s like the key no longer fits the lock. The glucose can’t get in. It lingers in the bloodstream, building up and pushing blood sugar levels higher and higher.
This is dangerous. High blood sugar isn’t just a number on a test—it’s a slow, silent form of damage. Glucose in the bloodstream harms delicate tissues, blood vessels, and nerves. It causes inflammation, oxidative stress, and cell damage throughout the body. Chronically elevated blood sugar is linked to complications like blindness, kidney failure, heart disease, and amputations. Your body knows this, and it fights hard to prevent it.
In a desperate attempt to fix the problem, your pancreas pumps out more and more insulin, hoping that if it shouts enough, the cells will finally listen. But they don’t. They’re already overwhelmed. They’ve shut the doors, pulled the blinds, and stopped answering.
And now there’s nowhere for the sugar to go.
So, the body does one of two things. It stores excess glucose as fat or ‘hides’ it around the body. Glucose is stored as glycogen, first in the liver and muscles and then in fat cells all over the body. This leads to weight gain, particularly around the middle, pushing the body further into metabolic chaos.
The sad irony? Your cells are still starving for energy even as the fat piles on. Because they never received the glucose in the first place, they keep sending out distress signals. The body interprets this as hunger, which drives you to eat more, especially sugar and carbs, which give the fastest energy hit. And the cycle continues: more sugar, more insulin, more fat storage, more resistance.
This is why getting sugar out of the bloodstream isn’t just a medical goal—it’s a biological necessity. Because if it stays there, it doesn’t just float around harmlessly. It starts to destroy you from within.
Treating the Symptoms While Ignoring the Cause
The Hidden Danger: When Sugar Turns Toxic
Here’s where the logic completely breaks down. The standard approach to treating type 2 diabetes is to give patients more insulin. But if the body is already ignoring insulin’s message, how can shouting louder help? It can’t. It’s like screaming at a locked door and expecting it to open.
Worse still, every dose tells your body to store energy instead of burn it. So, when you increase insulin, you increase fat storage, especially around the organs, known as visceral fat. That’s why so many people on insulin gain weight.
Sugar Rot: The Silent Destruction No One Talks About
Sugar becomes toxic when it has nowhere left to go. Once your body’s storage systems are full, the excess sugar lingers in your bloodstream, damaging everything it touches. Over time, this toxic build-up starts to rot you from the inside out. Your nerves are among the first to suffer. They begin to break down silently long before you notice the symptoms. Then, you feel tingling in your feet or hands—like pins and needles that never go away. That tingling turns into burning pain, then numbness. It creeps up gradually until entire areas of your body stop responding.
As the nerves shut down, your circulation also weakens. Blood no longer flows freely to the extremities. This makes it harder for the body to heal even the most minor injuries. Cuts and blisters that would typically resolve on their own become slow-healing wounds. And because you may no longer feel pain in those areas, the injuries often go unnoticed.
Infection sets in. Tissue begins to decay. As dead tissue spreads, doctors often have no choice but to amputate. They may start with a toe, then take a foot—sometimes even the entire leg. Not because of injury but because excess sugar, trapped in the body, slowly poisoned the limbs from the inside out. I cannot post an image that is too graphic here as it is too shocking. However, try inputting ‘diabetic neuropathy' into Google and clicking the image option. I warn you – you will be shocked. I know I'd rather eat a healthy diet and take regular exercise in preference to having to suffer those extremely painful, non-reversible, but avoidable symptoms.
More Insulin, More Damage
Dr. Jason Fung offers a brilliant metaphor to explain what’s going on. He compares the body to a house. At first, when you eat sugar or refined carbs, your body stores the glucose neatly in your liver and muscles as glycogen. Think of it like tidying things away in a cupboard. But those storage areas (cupboards) fill up if you keep overeating. Eventually, there’s no room left. So, the body starts “hiding” sugar in other places. The attic (your cells), the basement (your organs), and under the floorboards (your bloodstream). And that’s when the real damage begins.
The Cure They Don’t Want You to Hear
Here’s the part Big Pharma won’t shout about because there’s no money in it. Insulin resistance can be reversed. Not with drugs but with lifestyle. One of the most effective tools? Fasting. Giving your body a break from constant eating, 12 to 16 hours a day, finally gets a chance to reset. Insulin levels drop. The body starts responding again. And blood sugar naturally balances out.
Another proven approach is a low-carbohydrate or ketogenic diet. By removing sugar and cutting back on refined carbs, you take away the very thing that’s causing the problem in the first place. The body no longer needs to produce excessive insulin, and over time, sensitivity improves.
These methods don’t require a prescription. Studies have shown that they can reverse type 2 diabetes in many people. But there’s a catch. You won’t hear much about it from the companies profiting from diabetic care. Because if you cure diabetes, you stop being a customer.
The Real Price of Ignoring the Cause
Let’s be clear: untreated or poorly managed diabetes is deadly. It causes severe damage to your kidneys, heart, eyes, and nerves. In severe cases, the result is amputation, silently chipping away at your lifespan. So why are we still promoting treatments that keep people dependent instead of helping them recover? The answer, once again, comes back to profit.
Multiple Sclerosis
Dr. Terry Wahls lived an active, athletic life as a young woman. But at 48, doctors diagnosed her with multiple sclerosis (MS). MS is a condition that disrupts communication between the brain and muscles. As her core strength faded and her arms lost function, she became dependent on a tilt-recline wheelchair. Big Pharma offered no real solution. Her doctors told her she would spend the rest of her life in that chair.
Dr Wahls wasn’t prepared to give up without a fight. After months of searching for a ‘cure,' she stumbled across a scientific article suggesting that MS may be caused by mitochondria that aren't operating correctly. Mitochondria are tiny (but mighty) energy converters in most of our cells, often called the “power plants” of our cells. Cells produce small chemicals called free radicals as a by-product of generating energy. If too many build up, they can damage the mitochondria.
Nature’s Medicine: Fight Back with Antioxidants
Fruits and vegetables are rich in antioxidants, which are considered to remove this poisonous sludge before it can harm. Dr Wahls realised food, not drugs and medication, could be the answer to feeling better.
Long story short, Terry's changed her diet. She began eating 12 servings of fruit and vegetables daily, along with healthy fats, grass-fed beef and oily fish containing omega-3 fatty acids. She went from a reclining wheelchair to an upright electric scooter in just four months with the aid of an electrical stimulation device, which physical therapists use to help rebuild atrophied muscles. A year later, she was able to ride a bike again.
Since then, Dr. Wahls has established the Wahls Protocol, helping patients overcome auto-immune illness via diet. Not with pills and meds.
The Dark Side of “Safe” Drugs: What the FDA Doesn’t Tell You
Most people now accept side effects as a necessary evil of taking medication. The system has conditioned us to see them as a small price to pay for relief. But the reality is far more unsettling.
The very system meant to protect us doesn’t always get it right. The Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) is a trusted regulatory body. Shockingly, studies have revealed that up to one-third of drugs approved as “safe” by the FDA turn out to be unsafe after all. These aren’t rare cases. Doctors have prescribed these medications to millions of people. In some cases, regulators pull them from the market years later. Others remain available, with long lists of potential risks buried in fine print.
This isn’t just a flaw in the system—it’s a red flag waving for anyone who still believes that every prescription is a guaranteed path to wellness.
Time to Rethink What Health Means
If you've made it this far, you already know something must change. True health doesn’t come from blindly filling your medicine cabinet. It comes from understanding your body, trusting your instincts, and making choices that support healing from the inside out.
Ready to learn more?
Visit janestevensnutrition.com/articles to explore powerful, practical ways to boost your health naturally. From food and fasting to mindset and movement, these articles will help you regain control. One lifestyle change at a time.
Because real wellness doesn't come in a pill, it starts with you.
