So here's a recent headline to consider, gently lifted from the front page of the New York Times: "In Sour Economy, Some Scale Back on Medication."

Stephanie Sauls reported, "For the first time in at least a decade, the nation's consumers are trying to get by on fewer prescription drugs."

One 76-year-old woman mentioned in the story stopped taking her Provigil sleep medication because it cost her $1,695 every three months. That is not a typo — $1,695.

In another example, Lori Stewart was in agony trying to decide if she should continue her mother's Alzheimer's medication. It cost $182 a month — about 20 percent of her mother's total income — and it seemed to have only marginal benefits.

After years of steady growth and rising prices, the drug industry is beginning to feel the pinch. Sales of Lipitor, for example — the world's top-selling prescription medication — are down 13 percent in the third quarter of this year, And the number of drug prescriptions dispensed in the United States overall was also down compared to the first eight months of 2007.

"If enough people try to save money by forgoing drugs, controllable conditions could escalate into major medical problems, " the article reported, and could "eventually raise the nation's health care bill and lower the nation's standard of living."

It's a dire prediction and one I hope never comes true. It's also the sort of prediction that — true or not — generates fear and overshadows a glimmer of encouraging news: Overall, we are taking fewer prescription drugs. Just 1 percent fewer, according to the data analysis from IMS Health, a company that tracks prescription drugs, but it is seen as the start of a downward trend. And you know what is on an upward turn? Companies with workout areas and behavior control programs. Alternative (non-drug) therapies including acupuncture, body work and yoga. Hospital-sanctioned meditation courses. Chicken soup.

And that's my point: More people taking fewer prescription drugs could also be celebrated as a good thing. Especially these days, when fake drugs, counterfeit drugs, some generic drugs, and lax and underfunded inspections pose an increasingly scary threat to consumers' health.

Also, the United States is notoriously overmedicated. Nearly one-third of all adults take five or more medications, more than the average rock band lead guitar. Drug companies spend billions a year on their clever ads, trying to persuade you to ask your doctor if you're a candidate for StemFlow or Climaxol. The campaigns are remarkably effective: From 1997 to 2007, the number of prescriptions filled increased an astonishing 72 percent (to 3.8 billion a year). In that same 10-year timespan, the number of prescriptions filled by each person in the country increased from 8.9 a year in 1997 to 12.6 in 2007.

Are we a healthier nation as a result of all this increased drug-taking? No. And, as you know, many prescription drugs come along with serious side effects of their own, and I don't just mean kidney failure and erections lasting more than 48 hours.

I hate to be a pill about all of this. I know there are miracle drugs and drugs saving lives, and no one should ever stop taking meds without talking to the doctor who prescribed them and knows your medical condition. What I am saying is that most of the new drugs we take are the same old drugs we used to take, with a new marketing campaign. This is well known. The other thing that is well known is that people who adapt healthy lifestyle habits — eating smarter, exercising more, balancing work and fun, practicing relaxation and breathing — can safely and significantly reduce the number of drugs they take.

So let me leave you with a little take-home quiz, questions you should answer in consultation with your medical team, should you be lucky enough to have one:

— How many drugs do you take now?

— What are they for, and how do they work?

— Which drugs might you take less of or eliminate altogether if and when you decide to live that healthier, happier lifestyle?

On your own, ponder:

— If you could save hundreds of dollars a month on pharmaceuticals because — over time, with patience and perseverance — you regained your health and energy, what would you do with the money?

ENERGY EXPRESS-O! IS HE KIDDING?

"Reality is just a crutch for people who can't cope with drugs." — Robin Williams

Marilynn Preston — fitness expert, personal trainer and speaker on healthy lifestyle issues — is the creator of Energy Express, the longest-running syndicated fitness column in the country. She welcomes reader questions, which can be sent to MyEnergyExpress@aol.com. To find out more about Preston and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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