Can Your Prescription Medications and Lifestyle Deplete Nutrients?

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Can Your Prescription Medications and Lifestyle Deplete Nutrients?

by Natalia Daughton, R.Ph & Natur-Tyme Wellness Counselor

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In my 25 years of experience in retail pharmacy (17 years as a registered

pharmacist), I have never seen as many medications being prescribed as I do

today. I learned that, when compounded with our **on-the-go** lifestyle,

individual stress, consumption of processed foods, lack of exercise, and

genetic makeup, we may have the ingredients for disaster.

 

Pharmacists have been trained to recognize drug interactions. However, as

health professionals, shouldn*t we also be looking at the possibility that

these prescriptions might be depleting us of crucial vitamins and minerals—

or actually be interfering with how our bodies naturally produce the

substances required to keep us functioning and performing optimally?

 

Addressing nutritional deficiencies is not only the foundation to good

health, but, in today*s healthcare system where prevention is being mandated

because healthcare costs are out of control, it is truly necessary. Let*s

investigate two key nutrients hit hard by longterm prescription medication use

and depleting lifestyle choices.

 

 

Symptoms of magnesium deficiency include the following:

* Muscle cramps and spasms

* Increased blood pressure

* Nervousness, insomnia, anxiousness

* Depression

* Fatigue

* Migraines

* Constipation

* Kidney stones

* Arrhythmias, irregular heartbeat, palpitations

* Blood sugar dysregulation

 

Magnesium

 

One of the most depleted nutrients when diuretics, such as

hydrochlorothiazide, indapamide, and metolazone (typically a firstline therapy

for

hypertension), are used is magnesium. Most pharmacists address only the

potassium

depletion. Other medications are also implicated in magnesium depletion.

 

 

It is very important to address magnesium deficiency since 75% of

Americans have magnesium intake below the recommended daily intake to begin

with.

Compound that with certain lifestyle factors, including stress and alcohol

consumption, and magnesium reserves fall quickly.

 

 

Magnesium is a co-factor assisting in over 300 enzymatic reactions in the

body. It is needed for energy production, muscular activity (especially the

heart muscle), increasing oxygen supply to the heart, inhibiting platelet

aggregation, temperature regulation, vasospasm regulation, cell

detoxification, and helping to build healthy bones and teeth. Magnesium is also

necessary for the conversion of vitamin D to its active form. (FYI: Low vitamin

D

levels will prevent proper absorption of magnesium.)

 

 

The best way to determine your personal requirements for magnesium is to

increase the dosage to bowel tolerance, meaning start by taking the

suggested dose of magnesium and increase the amount until it causes a laxative

effect. Once reached, reduce slightly and that is the dosage of magnesium your

body requires.

 

 

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10)

 

Another nutrient commonly depleted by medications is CoQ10. With Lipitor®

being the leading selling prescription drug in the United States, one can

see why. Lipitor® (Atorvastatin) along with Zocor® (Simvastatin), Mevacor®

(Lovastatin), Pravachol® (Pravastatin), Lescol® (fluvastatin), Crestor®

(rosuvastatin), and Vytorin® (ezetimibe/simvastatin), also known as HMG-CoA

reductase inhibitors or statin drugs, decrease the production of cholesterol,

but they also decrease this very important cofactor naturally produced by

the body. Other medications have also been implicated in CoQ10 depletion.

 

 

CoQ10 is necessary for the production of ATP (adenosine triphosphate),

which makes energy, is a cofactor necessary for cellular respiration, and an

antioxidant.

 

 

Some of the consequences of CoQ10 depletion include:

* Fatigue

* Muscle weakness

* Cardiovascular disease

* Stroke

* Hypertension

* Periodontal disease

* Weakened immunity

* Loss of cognitive function (Alzheimers, Dementia, Parkinsons)

 

There are many animal and human studies demonstrating the effectiveness of

this coenzyme. A double-blind, three-year trial involved administering 100

mg of CoQ10 daily to patients suffering from cardiomyopathy. Results

showed a significant increase in ejection fraction (the amount of blood pumped

through the heart), increased cardiac muscle strength, and fewer instances

of shortness of breath by the 12-week mark. The effects lasted only as long

as CoQ10 was being administered. There was 89% improvement in the 80

patients treated.

 

A direct correlation of CoQ10 deficiency with increased risk of

periodontal disease has been established. Symptoms include swelling, bleeding,

loose

teeth, redness, pain, deep gingival pockets, and exudates.

 

 

Tissues involved with immune function require a significant amount of

energy. CoQ10 has an **immune enhancing** effect on the human body according to

a study that showed an increased immunoglobulin G in the serum of patients

taking the nutritional supplement daily for 27 to 98 days. Improving immune

function is necessary when treating AIDS, chronic infections

(Candidiasis), and cancer. There are no adverse interactions between CoQ10 and

any other

drug or nutrient.

 

 

CoQ10 is typically dosed at 50-300 mg/day, although doses of over 3,000 mg

daily have been proven safe and effective. It works very well in

conjunction with vitamin E and L-carnitine.

 

 

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