Drug-Induced Nutrient Depletion

The number of people taking instruction medications has risen dramatically over the past decade: statistics from new years show an average of approximately ten prescriptions per person in the United States! Even assuming that this number is tilted by individuals prescribed a complicated “cocktail” of substances; these statistics mean that an amazing percentage of the U.S. population utilizes prescription drugs.

Indicators point to a rising reliance on prescriptions that encompasses people of all ages and drugs of approximately every class. In many instances, these drugs raise quality of life, and some even enlarge life spans for people battling a variety of health conditions. However, few people understand that prescription drugs often deplete the body of necessary nutrients; in cases where they do not straight deplete, these drugs may interfere with amalgamation or function of nutrients.

Many disease states result from inadequate nutrient levels. One well-known historical picture is that of sailors developing crippling scurvy due to a vitamin C shortage. A current example involves the connection between insufficient folic acid intake by pregnant women and resulting neural tube birth defects. Moreover, some side-effects associated with prescription drug practice actually stem from long-term leaching of sure vitamins and minerals caused by medications taken on a daily basis.

While believable scientific studies on this subject are now common, many health professionals lack consciousness of the health problems related to drug-induced nutrient depletion.

Take Statin drugs, which are usually prescribed to lower cholesterol. This family of medications constitutes the fastest-growing group of prescription drugs. Statin drugs reduce the body of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), which is also called ubiquinone because it is ubiquitous in the person body.

Because it is essential to the energy exchange between mitochondria and cells, CoQ10 plays a significant role in the body’s energy production. It has a stabilizing result on heart rhythm and blood pressure and improves heart tissues’ ability to live under low-oxygen conditions. Considering the significance of CoQ10, it seems rather alarming that a usual substance so vital to cardiovascular health is depleted by a medication that is effectively prescribed for the heart.