Pills Not Always the Best Way to Health

* Dr. Melvin H. Kirschner (“Costly Medications Can Put Good Health Out of Reach,” Valley Commentary, March 5) comes from a generation of medical providers who think pills are the answer to getting a patient back to good health. What his article lacks is some commentary on the healthy way to reverse the medical problems that made medication necessary in the first place.

In 1992, I was advised by my medical provider that I needed medication to lower my blood pressure and high cholesterol. The medications were costly, and some of the side effects were a constant reminder that I was “sick.”

I was fortunate to find out about a program based on Dr. Dean Ornish’s plan for reversing heart disease. After four months on the program, my cholesterol dropped from 300 to under 200 and I was off my cholesterol medication. During this same time frame, my normal blood pressure was down from 160 over 90 to 140 over 80. The lower, normal blood pressure made the costly blood pressure medication a thing of the past. Today, after being on the program for 2 1/2 years, my cholesterol is normally in the 165 range, and my blood pressure is in the 135 over 70 range.

Most important, a test showed that between January, 1994, and January, 1995, my arteries have opened up. In layman terms, the garbage that built up in my arteries after eating a high-fat American diet for the past 60 years was disappearing.

The Dr. Dean Ornish program is definitely not good for pill manufacturers and medical providers. If I had not followed it, I would have been a candidate for an untimely death, a heart attack or a costly heart bypass operation down the line, $2,400 in medication each year and a lot more visits to my medical provider.

CLIFFORD RACKOHN

Calabasas