The other day, I came across a headache remedy boasting you don't need to drink any water when you take it.

Just pop the pill and go it advised- completely disregarding the fact that the majority of headaches are caused by dehydration.

These days, it seems we are all too ready to reach for quick-fix remedies.

Has it become unfashionable to investigate the causes of ill-health?

Here are some common pearls of wisdom: If you are constipated, take a laxative and don't worry about your diet, it has nothing to do with the fact you are "bunged up".

If you are depressed, take an anti-depressant or if your child can't concentrate, provide him or her with Ritalin. What you feed your brain in order to make it function bears absolutely no relation to your mood and behaviour.

If you have indigestion, take an antacid because processed foods can't possibly have an adverse affect on the production of your stomach juices.

For sure, such panaceas are convenient and it has become the norm to see them doled out for pain relief, high blood pressure, insomnia or irritable bowel syndrome. But does that mean they are acceptable?

Modern man may be able to send spaceships to Mars but seems to have lost the plot as far as the inner workings of his own body are concerned.

Although it's not rocket science, our quick-fix mentality prevents us from looking at diet and lifestyle to ensure we remain healthy.

The medicine of our time can do little to prevent the drop in sperm count, quell the rising tide of allergies, obesity and behavioural problems in our kids and halt the incidence of diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

In fact, the creators of panaceas, such as GlaxoSmithKline, openly admit most of their products simply don't work.

Our forefathers seem to have understood how to survive much more clearly than we do.

Not just because they didn't have the the health service but also because they didn't have to deal with the confusing complexity of choices and the avalanche of adverts promoting unhealthy eating habits.

It was quite simple, either sink or swim.

Now, we are encouraged to rely upon an array of life rafts, speedboats and cruise liners to keep afloat, depending on the size of pocket. But woe betide us if the vessels are leaky.

It's time to leave the sinking ship and learn to swim again. There's no point in being seduced by health promotions that provide us with the wrong messages.

Who is delivering the messages and what vested interests lie behind them?

What we really need is to know how to replenish the sorry state of our soil and how to grow and cook food which produces healthy humans - those that don't require headache tablets, either with or without water.

Martina Watts is a qualified Nutritional Therapist at the Crescent Clinic of Complementary Medicine, Brighton (call 01273 202221), and the Dolphin House Clinic, Brighton (call 01273 324790), or visit www.thehealthbank.co.uk