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Prescription Drugs and Nutrition

It is now well established, within the alternative medicine profession, that:

	Good nutrition, combined with a healthy lifestyle, is the basic necessity for lasting good health. Even in this modern contaminated world, good nutrition is attainable, as is a healthy lifestyle. Both require a serious personal commitment.
	With these benefits, the body can and does build up a powerful immune system that is able to counter almost all attacks made upon it by external influences and is able to stay healthy
	There are now  natural substances available that are able to assist the immune system with this task, some in specialized ways, others as general  maintenance substances.  To quote Dr. David G Williams, there is now a natural treatment available for all known diseases.
	Orthodox medicine provides prescription and other pharmaceutical drugs with the blessing of the FDA that suppress the symptoms of the disease but do not cure it. Such treatment may be necessary in the case of life threatening events.
	Surgery is usually a temporary fix, as it does little to either seek out, understand nor remove the cause of the problem.

It is now well documented that prescription drugs kill 100,000 or more persons in America when they are correctly used. The danger of their interaction with other prescription drugs is also fairly well known, and the results of such interactions can be fatal.

What has received little publicity or research until now is the way in which prescription drugs disturb the body's ability to absorb nutrients. So, when you use prescription drugs, not only are you increasing the load of possibly toxic chemicals in your body from which these drugs are made, you might be starving it of essential nutrients that could exacerbate the problem. This lengthens the period of recovery.

All this uncertainty has changed with the publication of "Drug-Induced Nutrient Depletion Handbook" by Dr. Ross Pelton et al. This handbook, which should be in the possession of everyone who uses prescription drugs, provides an essential source of information on how these drugs could be negatively impacting their health by depleting the body of essential nutrients.

A good example of the value of this book is the discussion on CoQ10 depletion by most cholesterol lowering drugs, particularly the statin bases drugs, and beta-blockers. These drugs, as well as a number of others, including anti-depressants, interfere with the body's synthesis of CoQ10, a coenzyme essential for the heart's health. Older persons in good health have difficulty in synthesizing CoQ10, so there is a real danger that the cholesterol lowering drugs, while perhaps reducing the bad cholesterol count, could be damaging the heart's ability to function effectively because of a deficit of CoQ10. There is a real and dangerous irony here.

The message from this is clear. If you are using any of these drugs, it would be wise to supplement your intake of CoQ10 to counter the "side effect". Better still, SAMe for the antidepressants. Not only will the relief be more lasting, these products no not deplete a very essential nutrient needed to enhance your health. They do have side effects - all of them beneficial.

Folic acid is another classic case of essential nutrient depletion due to the use of prescription and over-the-counter drugs. Here aspirin, ibuprofen, certain antibiotics and birth control pills, Celebrex, and Methotrexate are some of the many drugs that deplete Folic acid. Folic acid is already the most deficient vitamin in the average American, and the use of these drugs deplete it more. A lack of folic acid is the cause of many serious birth defects, as well the build-up of unhealthy homocysteine levels in the blood. 

Magnesium deficiency can be the result of using oral contaceptives,  Premarin, Estratab and corticosteroids. Magnesium deficiency is common, and can exacerbate osteoporosis, cognitive problems and blood sugar regulation. Lack of magnesium can also trigger heart attacks, hypertension and strokes.

Another very important mineral depleted by prescription drugs is Zinc, which can be depleted by corticosteroids, oral contraceptives, oral estrogens, ACE inhibitors, diuretics and many others. Zinc deficiency affects the activity of almost all enzymes in the body, as well as the synthesis of various hormones and insulin receptors. Typical symptoms of zinc deficiency include a weak immune system, poor skin, hair and nails, anemia, and even joint pain.

"Drug-Induced Nutrient Depletion Handbook" by Dr. Ross Pelton et al is a valuable first step in understanding the nutritional damage that prescription drugs can do to the body, and what steps users should take to reduce the damage. It is a reference guide, and one can look up a specific drug, or a category of drugs to determine how they deplete the essential nutrients in the body. Knowing this, a user can embark on a course of supplementation of that nutrient, while looking for natural alternatives to the drug therapy causing the harm.

It is a timely book, as the FDA is under pressure to allow many of the drugs listed to be sold without prescription. The FDA do not require any testing of drugs for nutrient depletion, and it is unlikely they would understand the implications of the results even if they did! Unfortunately, few Physicians understand the body's nutritional requirements, so are unable to advise patients on remedial strategies.

So everyone must use their own initiative to ensure that they are not damaging their health further when they take prescription drugs for extended periods.

But please, get a copy of this book!