Anna Nicole Smith's death was the result of a lethal combination of prescription drugs.

There is no evidence that this was an intentional overdose; rather, it was the result of improperly monitored use of drugs she was legally prescribed or purchased over the counter.

Most of the drugs were anti-anxiety agents or used to help one sleep, indicating that she may have had severe problems with anxiety or insomnia.

What may have tipped the scales, according to coroners, was chloral hydrate, a sleep drug that has been out-of-use for so long that medical examiners don't routinely screen for it during autopsies. It was prescribed to her by "a friend" and psychiatrist after her son Daniel died last fall.

Dr. Mercola's Comment:

Among drugs Smith was taking at or near the time of her death:

• Three prescription drugs for anxiety and depression: Valium, Atavan and Clonazepam.
• The unfortunately popular Tamiflu.
• Topamax, a drug used to control migraines, seizures and weight gain (at the time of her death Smith was a spokesperson for the weight loss product TrimSpa).
• Human growth hormone, a drug rumored to be a huge problem in professional sports.

Like the tragic story of the little girl I ran an article about not long ago, too many "friends" were all too willing to throw ridiculous amounts of drugs at Smith in hopes of keeping her body and spirit alive. In both cases, no one in a position to make a difference was willing to say "No."

Instead, it was yet another example of a conventional paradigm far too prone to prescribe toxic drugs and needless procedures. Conventional medicine is full of useless cures and treatments -- many of which line the pockets of the multi-national drug companies -- that eventually cause more harm than they're worth.

The result, in this case, was one more tragic and easily preventable death.

Please remember that you can be a beacon of light and truth when it comes to health. If you have been reading this newsletter for awhile you probably are aware of more "inside" information about how the health care system works than most of the people you know.

When you see them struggling gently encourage them to consider alternatives. You can use many of the studies that we run to support this position, as nearly all of them are hyperlinked to the original research. It is not just my comments that are supporting this approach, but the hard work of legions of dedicated researchers who are investing their lives to discern the truth.

So let's step up the effort to inform friends and relatives to avoid tragedies like the one that happened to Anna Nicole Smith. Remember, for every celebrity like her that is affected there are thousands more that are affected every day but are never highlighted by the media.

Related Articles:

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Accidental Deaths Due to Prescription Drugs on the Rise