Hidden Problem Drugs: Their Burden On and Damage to the Body

Hidden Problem Drugs: Their Burdon On and Damage to the Body

By Linda Mac Dougall, M.A., HHP, CMT

Hidden Problem Drugs Medications have side effects. Often, additional drugs are given to deal with the side effects of a primary medication. Even some supplements and foods interact with drugs. The consequences of taking many drugs can also mean quick nutritional depletion. So it is fairly safe to say that larger amounts of drugs mean larger overall health problems.  That is unless you know what you need to replenish your body, and how and when to replenish it.

Who looks at the nutritional depletion of the drugs they take and the supplements needed to compensate? Some natural doctors do, but the best defense is a good offense, and a good offense here is to take excellent care of yourself so your exposure to the drug store shelf or to prescription medications is limited.

Bodies are like cars. They have parts that wear out, get clogged, run out of fuel or get seriously injured. There is only so much we can do to keep the body running and spare parts are seldom an option.  Medications are quite often how we keep the body functioning. But for how long?

To give you an idea of how widespread this ‘nutrient depletion because of drugs’ is and why it is Aspirinimportant to replace the diminished vitamins and minerals, let’s talk about aspirin. Most households have this common drug in their medicine cabinets. Some people take these every day.

Aspirin takes out folic acid; a B vitamin in a group called folates. In pregnant women, they recommend taking 400 mcg – 800 mcg a day of folic acid to prevent neural tube defects in the newborn. This is a nerve defect. Folate is needed for healthy new cell growth.

There have been a couple of studies that claim taking this nutrient diminishes the chances of autism. Other studies for other benefits have shown very mixed results. More has to be learned.

A lack of folic acid can cause immune problems, gut flora problems, fatigue, blood cell production issues, brain function abnormalities and depression. Much of what we get of folic acid is from food additives consisting of synthetic folic acid and from low-cost vitamin supplements. These forms of the vitamin are not well used by the body.

Folic Acid Folic acid is also just one part of a multi-part B vitamin called folate.  Science seems to like to take individual parts of more complex groups that work together and isolate them from the group. That is not always the best thing to do when they act synergistically and are balanced as a group.

As with all supplements, you need to know the forms of the vitamins that are best absorbed and used by the body. To lower homocysteine levels you need to have good levels of this form, 5-methyltetrahydrofolate, in your blood. So the methyl form of both folate and B12 is great.

Synthetic forms are often less Vitaminsavailable to us biologically than the folate form nature packaged in foods. Leafy greens, some beans especially garbanzo, some fruits including common citrus, and peanuts are all great sources of folate. With the addition of folic acid in wheat, cereals, and other grocery store items you can get too much of it and it can interfere with the utilization of folate. Like with all things in nature, it is all about balance and imbalance. Read your labels.

Aspirin affects both COX1 and COX2 enzymes. Many deaths occurred every year from regular use of full strength aspirin until the medical establishment cut the doses prescribed. Deaths still occur, just not as many. COX1 is an enzyme that maintains the lining of the stomach, and digestive track.  By inhibiting COX1, the areas that usually have a thick mucous coating for protection suffer, sometimes to the point of internal bleeding and even death.

By inhibiting COX2, which triggers inflammation and pain, the blood vessels fail to expand well and the blood forms clots more easily.  Research into other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs have shown that when COX2 is inhibited there are more strokes, heart attacks, and high blood pressure.

Aspirin also depletes potassium. Potassium is a mineral that keeps your heart pumping along with a regular beat so if it is low, your heartbeat can become unstable. Your heart is a muscle, and this mineral also assists with muscle contractions. When you get leg cramps that may be at least a part of the cause.

Our bodies have a balance between acid and alkaline to maintain. Potassium is critical to this balance. Our diets can obviously affect this balance. The intake of too much salt can flush potassium out of the system. Again, it is a delicate dance of balance between these two minerals that keeps us running smoothly. And licorice in large amounts can also eliminate potassium from the body.

Potassium is also important for the blood vessels and can be a factor in high blood pressure. Too little in your system and the blood transport arteries and veins fail to loosen. When the vessels stay tight, the pressure stays high which over time causes damage to the entire circulatory system.

Stomach Ache Low potassium also affects fluid balance in cells and throughout the body. This can be a factor in constipation, digestion, and kidney function. Kidneys function best when there is a balance of liquids coming in and going out. Kidney stones can be avoided with the correct form of potassium…potassium citrate.

Potassium can also affect the nerves. Too little and you may feel weak and suffer from fatigue.  Since potassium is helpful to nerve conduction, a lack of it may have those nerves tingling. Nerves transmit signals to the body via the sodium-potassium pump action of the cells. Again, balance between the two mineral electrolytes is critical to that pump correctly functioning.

Most of us know that bananas haveBananas Are A Source Of Potassium potassium, but other good sources are peanuts, avocados, oranges, spinach, kiwi, carrots, beans, and peas to name a few. Eating as much organic produce as possible will ensure you have the highest levels of nutrients from the foods you eat without pesticides or genetic modifications.

Taking aspirin causes potassium loss or, if the person has poor kidney function, potassium retention. Aspirin tends to be sodium retentive which can disturb the balance of these two electrolytes.

Either too much or too little potassium causes problems you want to avoid. Aspirin also has been found to interfere with thyroid function, bringing on thyroid dysfunction.

Aspirin takes vitamin C from the body. Research suggests that aspirin blocks the availability of vitamin C to the body. The vitamin is simply excreted when it can’t be used. If you are taking high doses of vitamin c with aspirin, it can cause the drug to stay in your system longer. Some formulas combine aspirin and vitamin C. The thinking is that the vitamin will buffer the effects of the aspirin in the gastrointestinal tract.

Vitamin C plays important roles in our health and maintains the framework of collagen-dependent structures that keep us glued together. Because vitamin c is water based, it goes to every cell and is a major antioxidant. This antioxidant behavior also works to keep our vessels clean, and our blood free flowing. Our immune system also depends on vitamin C to keep it strong and alert to dangers.

Citrus Humans don’t make vitamin C. We don’t store it, either. Vitamin C has to be ingested daily. If we take aspirin often and it is blocking the use of this vitamin, we are compromising many systems that support our well-being.

No one is deficient in aspirin, but being deficient in vitamin C can be damaging to every cell in your body. Give some good thought to what you put in your body and for how long. Know how it works and what it takes from you and your health, any alternatives, and how best to maintain your health if you do have to take some drug. It is your health, your decision.

And lastly, aspirin, especially if taken over time, causes small, consistent blood loss and with that, iron loss. Diet, sex, and age can make this loss important.

Meat eaters usually get enough iron. Iron is also found in eggs, beans, nuts, and dark green leafy vegetables. Women need it for their menstrual cycle, but after menopause, they need less. Too much is even possible for them at this time. But for both sexes, aging can also be a time of digestive issues because of a diminishing amount of hydrochloric acid in the stomach. This acid is needed to make use of iron in the body.

When we have issues with digestion, we are often told to take antacids. These call a host of other problems to the party. I tell clients to take lemon juice or vinegar before or during a meal to see whether that helps their distress. If it does, then that indicates a need for more acid, not less. Antacids, by limiting stomach acid, also limit iron absorption, as well as the absorption of other nutrients.

Too little iron causes weakness and fatigue. When I was a teenager, my mother took me for testing because all I could do was sit around. Once iron was given, I was fine again. To this day, I can still feel when I need iron. When I need it, I head for organic chicken or beef liver.

Both too little or too much iron can cause an irregular heartbeat and too much can be part of a heart attack picture as can magnesium and potassium, if out of balance. Many more iron related issues can surface as well. If you have a poor ability to absorb iron, your doctor may have to give you injections.

I hope by this explanation of a drug we all take for granted, that you have an idea of why there should be greater concern in even taking over-the-counter drugs. There may be a medical necessity for a drug or two in your life. But know, too, that what they deplete from the body needs to be replaced in an intelligent manner, and that the side effects you experience may be nutrient depletion symptoms that could be avoided.

Linda Mac DougallLinda Mac Dougall, M.A., HHP, CMT
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Linda has an M.A. in psychology, is a Holistic Health Practitioner, a certified massage therapist specializing in our seniors, an author, and a speaker.

Linda’s massage website is www.seniormassagegroup.com.