The 5 Kinds of Prescription
Drugs That Zap the Most Nutrients from Your Body and What to Do
The side effects of prescription drugs are more insidious than those
listed on the side of the box. In fact, common drugs like statins, acid
reflux drugs and antidepressants rob your body of the very nutrients
you need to have healthy blood cholesterol, easy digestion, and a positive
outlook.
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Prescription drugs may be the blessing and the curse of our
times.
In some situations they can be necessary for restoring health. Unfortunately,
in many others, long-term use of prescription drugs -- and their side effects
-- cause more harm than good.
But whether you like it or not, you and the people you love are likely to
take prescription drugs at some point in your life.
According to the Center for Disease Control, 45% of Americans used a prescription
drug in the past month. And over the course of a year, over 2 billion prescriptions
are written!1
Still, many people don't know about the real damage that some drugs can do
to your overall health, even while they seem to be helping a specific symptom.
One of the most important keys to remember is that drugs make your blood
more acidic and when you are on them you must eat a more alkaline
diet.
If you must take prescription drugs, we've outlined some common drugs that
zap nutrients from your body and the recommend foods and supplements that
can counteract the negative side effects.
Drugs: The 5 Worst Offenders
1. Statins
- The Drugs: Cholesterol drugs, also known as statins, including
brands like Lipitor, Provacol and Zocor
- The Damage: Statins deplete your body of coenzyme Q10, an essential
enzyme that protects your body from heart disease and cancer2,3
and is considered an effective treatment for heart attacks and heart failure.
Drug manufacturers know that statins dramatically reduce your body's level
of this heart-healthy enzyme but have managed to keep it quiet.
- The Defense: If you take statins, consider taking a hefty coenzyme
Q10 supplement. You can get CoQ10 by eating organ meats as well.
- To further reduce your risk for artherosclerosis and heart disease, up
your exercise to increase your good cholesterol (HDL) levels. For a dietary
approach, read Why
the Body Ecology Diet Is Ideal to Lower Cholesterol LDL Levels and Raise
HDL Levels.
2. Diabetes Drugs
- The Drugs: Diabetes drugs like Diabinese, Tolinase, and Metformin
- The Damage: Diabetes drugs deplete magnesium and vitamin C, two
substances essential for metabolic health.4
The Defense: Avoid Sugar - use Lakanto
instead. The Body Ecology System of Health and Healing provides you with a
high plant fiber, gluten-free, sugar-free diet that is excellent for anyone
with diabetes now or for anyone who wants to prevent it. Research shows that
even if you have a genetic tendency toward this disease the right foods can
"silence" the gene that causes diabetes.
Fermented foods and probiotic
liquids are enzyme-rich, microflora rich, nutrient-dense and are ideal
for anyone sensitive to sugar because they negate many of the negative side
effects of sugar.
3. Heartburn and Acid Reflux Drugs
The Drugs: Heartburn and acid reflux drugs, including brands like
Nexium, Prevacid, and Prilosec
The Damage: Proton-pump inhibitors that are used to treat acid reflux,
heart burn and GERD
rob your body of calcium and vitamin B 12.
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found that "people over
age 50 who take the drugs for more than one year have a 44% increased risk
of breaking a hip." Higher doses taken for longer periods of time significantly
increase the risk.
If you are deficient in vitamin B 12, you could experience symptoms ranging
from hair loss, anemia, fatigue, mental confusion to signs of nerve damage
such as tingling or numbness. 6
The Defense: Find a colon therapist (see I-ACT.org) and have a series
of colon therapy sessions. Follow the Proper Food Combining Rules so that
foods are easier to digest. Eat cultured veggies and probiotic liquids.
If you feel you must take an acid reflux or heartburn drugs, increase your
intake of magnesium
and get outside for some sunshine
(a natural source of vitamin D).
Magnesium and vitamin D from the sun both help you build strong bones.
Also have your doctor test your B 12 levels and consider supplementation
and some dietary changes. Fortunately, the Body Ecology diet is full of foods
rich in B vitamins! Excellent sources of B 12 are fermented
foods and drinks and grain-like
seeds.
If you have acid reflux or heartburn on a regular basis, read GERD
in Children and Adults Part One: The Symptoms and the TRUE Causes to find
out more about your condition and the natural steps to treat it.
4. Antidepressants
- The Drugs: Antidepressants, including brands like Prozac and Zoloft
- The Damage: Even researchers use B12 to increase the effectiveness
of anti-depressants and recognize that most depressed people are mildly
to severely deficient in B vitamins.
- The Defense: Serotonin, the feel good, antidepression brain chemical
is actually made down in our gut. So a healthy inner ecosystem is going
to help many of us feel much happier. The word "kefir" means "feel
good" in Turkish. The Turks have consumed this delicious milk drink
for thousands of years and it really does make you feel good. You can make
kefir at home in your own kitchen and even use raw or pasteurized milk.
It's fun and easy to make.
- Taking a B vitamin supplement enhances the effects of antidepressants
and can correct deficiencies that may have triggered your depression in
the first place. Donna Gates recommends Max Stress B Nano-Plex by Premier
Research. This liquid B vitamin is derived from natural sources,Guess where?
Friendly microflora! It tastes great sprinkled into one of our probiotic
liquids.
You probably know this already but one of the most efficient ways to
get B 12 is to consume fermented foods and drinks. The friendly microorganisms
in fermented foods and drinks, like Innergy-Biotic,
actually manufacture B vitamins right down inside your intestines where
they are immediately absorbed.
5. Arthritis Drugs
- The Drugs: Arthritis drugs, like prednisone, and hydrocortisone
are often prescribed for inflammatory conditions.
- The Damage: Corticosteroids decrease the absorption of calcium
and cause your body to excrete it. They also deplete magnesium, which is
vital to absorbing calcium and building bone density.
Corticosteroids are also linked to decreased levels of trace minerals
like copper, selenium and zinc.8
- The Defense: Once again a sugar-free, cleansing, nutrient-dense
diet coupled with colon therapy should be the first steps to take when arthritic
symptoms develop. You can also counteract some of the effects of arthritis
drugs with a healthy calcium and magnesium supplement and by eating an alkalizing
diet. Eating vegetables that come from the ocean will help you obtain these
minerals. Also consider taking Body Ecology's Ocean
Plant Extract, which packs the vital nutrients of sea vegetables into
an easy supplement.
Is your over-the-counter or prescription drug depleting your body of
vital nutrients and trace minerals? Then make sure you replenish those
vitamins and minerals with the sea vegetable laminaria Japonica, one
of the world's perfect foods. Body Ecology's Ocean Plant Extract is
a potent and concentrated source of this amazing sea vegetable. Try
Ocean
Plant Extract to enhance your nutrition today.
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A Word About Antibiotics and Antifungals
For more on how antibiotics and antifungals deplete your health and what
to do about it, read: If
You've Ever Taken Antibiotic or Antifungal Drugs, Here's Why You (Desperately)
NEED Probiotics.
Drugs and Your Diet
Here at Body Ecology, we treat food as medicine and urge you to see how you
can heal your body with nutrition, possibly rendering drugs unnecessary. In
fact, if you create a hardy inner ecosystem inside your body, you will be
establishing the foundation for a strong immune system and a cleaner, less
toxic body. Even aging (which is called a disease by some) is slowed down
tremendously when you eat the nutrient-dense foods in our amazing system of
healing.
Side effects of prescription drugs are a real danger, so if you are taking
prescription (and even over-the-counter) drugs, you need to pay extra attention
to your diet and colon cleansing. Make sure that you are informed about which
nutrients are being depleted so that you can help nourish your body to health.
Sources:
Therapeutic Drug Use, CDC.gov. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/drugs.htm
2 Wagner, Daniel, "Common Drugs Deplete Nutrients," Alive.com.http://www.alive.com/3761a1a2.php?subject_bread_cramb=181
3 Gupta, Chris, "Statin Drugs & Coenzyme Q10 Depletion," NewMediaExplorer.org.
http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/chris/2003/12/13/statin_drugs_coenzyme_q10_depletion.htm
4 Gupta, Chris, "Statin Drugs & Coenzyme Q10 Depletion," NewMediaExplorer.org.
http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/chris/2003/12/13/statin_drugs_coenzyme_q10_depletion.htm
5DeNoon, Daniel, "Acid Reflux Drugs May Up Fractures," WebMD.com,
26 Dec 2006.
http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=78729
6Graedon, Joe and Teresa, "Drugs may cause B-12 deficiency," LATimes.com,
13 Mar 2006. http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-pharmacy13mar13,1,50828.column?coll=la-headlines-health&ctrack=1&cset=true
7Guthrie, Catherine, "Vitamin B for the Blues," NaturalSolutionsMag.com.
http://www.naturalsolutionsmag.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/center.article/articleID/8539/subTopicID/119/VitaminBfortheBlues
8Melitis, Chris, "Nutrition Depletion and ," VRP.com.
http://www.vrp.com/articles.aspx?ProdID=art2079&zTYPE=2
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