We swallow too much, it's high time to escape

The Netherlands is massively on the pill. Every year, there is more on the counter of the pharmacist. No, not the contraceptive pill. It becomes less popular. There are medications for heartburn, high blood pressure, depression, high cholesterol, wheezing, poo fat, failing erections and diabetes.

These pills work. But pills without side effects do not exist. Every year, more than 20,000 people end up in hospital because of drug complications that could have been avoided, says the drug safety follow-up report released early last year. It mainly consists of bone fractures, fainting, gastrointestinal bleeding, intestinal obstruction, kidney problems and heart failure. The number of hospitalizations due to the use of drugs continues to increase. This is because the elderly are taking a lot of drugs and the number of older people is increasing. But also because the new guidelines, to which doctors must adhere, recommend more and more drugs.

Wondering: can not it be less with these pills? Are there any other ways to keep the heart healthy, stay alive, cause a good erection, breathe quietly and poop power easily?

Yes, you can. Many of these pills fight the Western "diseases of prosperity" and you can either be for them or let them go away by living healthier. Less seated, stay on weight, do not eat too much. These are the usual healthy things.

But there are many others – including unexpected ones. Physician and aging expert David van Bodegom has written a comprehensive book. It is called . He came out in June.

What a hammer for the carpenter, his pills for the doctor

Will walk instead of riding a bike. Go for a walk after dinner. It helps against diabetes. In case of incontinence: keep a urine diary, train your bladder and your pelvic floor muscles. And for men with urinary problems: Sit down while urinating and empty the urethra afterwards. It removes the few drops that would otherwise flee in an annoying manner and against which the doctor would otherwise prescribe a pill.

Stop taking pills?

Van Bodegom, who works at the Leyden Academy on Vitality and Aging, offers lifestyle recommendations for fifteen disorders. Usually, these are pills that are prescribed by doctors, but also multivitamin pills listen. Anyone who follows Van Verdegom's counseling advice can stop taking pills.

Ho. "Never stop taking prescription drugs, always consult your doctor first," warns Van Bodegom a few times. But he also writes that general practitioners and specialists do not provide enough advice on healthy eating. And for the tips for a healthy life are not paid. As a patient who swallows, you are stuck. How to start?

Read also: Addicted to a pill to sleep

Van does not give a step-by-step plan in his book. On the phone, he says, "Ask a doctor for a solution and you get a solution from a doctor. Just as you ask a carpenter something: he comes with a hammer. "

What a hammer for the carpenter, are pills for the doctor.That is why, says Van Bodegom," you can first try to control your lifestyle. "There are tips for book tips.

"And then," says Van Bodegom, "if you know how your stomach acid reacts to small portions and types of food. If you know how your blood pressure reacts to salt and exercise, consult your doctor and discuss the possibility of reducing the intake of pills.

Repairing the broken

Van Bodegom prefers, of course, that the pill stage is completely skipped. But for this health care must be turned upside down: "Doctors are very good at fixing things that are broken, but a careful generalist already knows which 40 years in practice should be given to blood pressure and reducers. cholesterol in 15 years.This is about people who are overweight in their office chairs. "

There are very few doctors who start with these 40 years old. The financial incentive is missing. "Physician guidelines are based on risk management," says Van Bodegom. "Only when the chance of having an illness in ten years is high enough, the doctor prescribes a change of style and possibly pills."

Dutch health care "does not focus on health promotion", writes Van Bodegom in the last chapter of Ontpillen . "It's only when you get overweight after 20 years of being overweight, smoking or inactivity that the sick will get in. The ambulance is within ten minutes." Van Bodegom thinks that medical assistance arrives with twenty years late.

And so it is that the use of drugs in the Netherlands increases from 40 years, especially after the 65th. The average over 75 in the Netherlands takes five different drugs each day, some people over 75 do not use pill, others make ten. of five drugs a day make polypharmacy.And when the time comes, doctors worry again

See also the interview of Dr. Annemarie Schalkwijk: "In overweight children, there is often a lot more going on "

swallowing medications for people over 40 But the multidisciplinary guideline for polypharmacy in the elderly tries to put that back into order. Earlier, starting with detoxing and staying healthy in a different way is not so bad.

David van Bodegom: Unpicking. A healthier life, fewer pills. Atlas Contact, 336 pages, 19,99 €