The Side Effects Bible: The Dietary Solution To The Unwanted Side Effects Of Common Medications

Book by Vagnini Frederic Md Fox Barry Phd

Chapter 1 | Nutrient Robbery
Sixty-five-year-old Hannah had been struggling with stiff and painful fingers for some time before she went to see her physician. The disturbing diagnosis was rheumatoid arthritis (RA), for which Hannah was given a drug named Naprosyn. This painkiller helped considerably, but after she had been taking it for a while, Hannah became concerned about the fact that she was bruising easily and often, and was constantly constipated.

Her doctor assured her that there was nothing to worry about, for these were common side effects of Naprosyn. “I’ll give you another medicine, Dulcolax, for your bowels,” he told her with a smile, “and we’ll keep our eye on that bruising.”

The Dulcolax worked well; Hannah’s constipation quickly disappeared. But months later she started noticing that she felt weak all the time, and she could swear that her stomach was “funny.”

When Hannah went back to see her doctor, he reassured her that these were “standard side effects, nothing to worry about.” Reaching for his prescription pad, he began scribbling new prescriptions for drugs that would alleviate her weakness and stomach distress. He then warned her about the side effects she might experience from taking these new drugs.

Hannah’s story is unfortunate, but very common. You may have experienced it yourself.

You have a problem, for which your physician prescribes a drug. That’s Round One.

The medicine works, but it triggers a side effect--or maybe a few of them. Naturally, you return to your doctor, who gives you a new drug or two to eliminate the side effects of the first round of medicines. That’s Round Two.

These new medicines take care of the side effects from Round One, but cause a few more of their own. So you go back to your doctor, who prescribes a new set of drugs. That’s Round Three, and it may go on even further. Some people go through four, five, even ten rounds of drugs/side effects/new drugs, and end up taking a cornucopia of pills, most of which were given to cure the side effects caused by other drugs.

If this was absolutely necessary, you might just accept your fate, swallow your daily cocktail of chemicals, and suffer the consequences. But it’s not. You don’t have to swim in a sea of medications that can make you feel even worse just to keep yourself going.

It’s Not the Drugs, It’s the “Nutrient Robbery”

We think that the side effects of drugs are the inevitable by-products of mysterious biochemical processes that we can neither understand nor influence. Many side effects are, indeed, beyond our understanding and control. But others--10, 20, perhaps 30 percent of them--can be explained and cured. These millions of curable side effects are the direct result of drug-induced nutrient deficiencies. In other words, a drug “robs” you of one or more nutrients or other helpful substances, and the lack of the nutrient(s) causes unpleasant symptoms. In a sense, the drug acts as an “anti–vitamin pill,” taking away the substances you need for good health.

The drugs aren’t directly responsible for many of the side effects associated with them; it’s really the nutrient robbery.
Remember the Naprosyn that Hannah took for her arthritis? This well-known painkiller, which has been prescribed to millions of people, depletes the body’s stores of folic acid. A member of the B family of vitamins, folic acid helps the body produce red blood cells. A shortage of this vitamin means you’ll have fewer red blood cells ferrying oxygen to your body tissues, which means that you’ll soon start feeling very tired. A lack of folic acid can also set off gastrointestinal difficulties by triggering abnormal development of the cells lining the stomach and intestines.

The obvious solution is to give everyone who takes Naprosyn a folic acid supplement--or to make sure that their diets contain plenty of the vitamin--to replace what the drug takes away. But very few physicians are aware of the Naprosyn–folic acid connection. Neither do they know that this drug-induced nutrient deficiency is the real cause of some of the drug’s annoying side effects. Instead, when patients on Naprosyn complain of fatigue, diarrhea, nausea, or other problems, most doctors simply will prescribe another drug to fix these “unavoidable side effects.”

The fix-it drug that Hannah was given, Dulcolax, depletes the body’s potassium stores. Low potassium causes a variety of problems, including fatigue, dizziness, mental confusion, and continuous thirst, plus the weakness and irregular heartbeat that Hannah experienced. Instead of automatically heading for the prescription pad, Hannah’s doctor should have recommended supplemental potassium or encouraged her to eat more bananas.

Hannah and millions of other Americans are suffering from an almost completely ignored epidemic of drug-induced nutrient depletion. They’re tormented despite the publication of hundreds of scientific articles that prove numerous popular drugs rob the body of nutrients, and this nutrient robbery is the cause of many drug side effects.

A Major Problem

We don’t know exactly how many millions of Americans are suffering from drug-induced nutrient depletion, but we do know that there are of millions of instances of drug side effects every year. Even if only 20 percent of these side effects are, in fact, the result of “stolen nutrients,” it means that hundreds of thousands of Americans suffer from this misunderstood and, therefore, undertreated problem. Despite the best intentions of doctors, all the fix-it drugs in the world won’t get to the root of this problem.

A growing body of scientific evidence proves that many common drugs interfere with our ability to digest, absorb, transport, metabolize, synthesize, utilize, or excrete certain vitamins, minerals, and other vital substances. These drugs can also hamper the actions of these vital substances within the body.

Several drugs make it difficult to absorb nutrients. For example, Tagamet (cimetidine), a medicine used for ulcers, gastroesophageal reflux disease (heartburn), and other problems, can reduce the secretion of intestinal fluids needed to absorb vitamin B12. When B12 levels fall, fatigue, allergies, and other problems may develop. The ability to absorb nutrients may also be hampered by drugs that damage the lining of the intestines, including Aldomet (methyldopa), which is used to treat elevated blood pressure, and colchicine, a medicine prescribed for gout. A chemotherapy agent named doxorubicin is close enough in structure to riboflavin to compete with it for binding sites on enzymes, thus “shutting out” the real vitamin and possibly triggering fatigue, a swollen and cracked tongue, bloodshot eyes, sensitivity to light, and painfully chapped lips. Questran (cholestyramine), a drug used to reduce elevated blood fats and cholesterol, can hamper the absorption of vitamins A, D, E, and K, causing a host of problems, including dry eyes, rough and scaly skin, increased vulnerability to colds and skin abscesses, muscle weakness, anemia, and easy bruising. “Bulk agents” such as psyllium gum, used to keep blood sugar under control and reduce weight, can diminish the absorption of riboflavin, vitamins A, C, and B12, prompting increased susceptibility to infections, sore tongue, depression, anxiety, crusty skin, reproductive problems, and dry eyes. And that’s just the beginning of the list of medications that can block the absorption of nutrients.

Unfortunately, even when nutrients are properly absorbed, they aren’t necessarily “protected,” because certain drugs increase their rate of excretion from the body. For example, the thiazide diuretics used to reduce blood pressure may speed up the rate at which magnesium, potassium, and sodium are flushed out of the body via the urine. A lack of magnesium can cause fatigue, muscle spasms, confusion, and irregular heartbeat, while a deficiency of potassium can trigger muscle weakness, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, among other things. And even the over-the-counter drugs found in almost everyone’s medicine cabinet can be troublesome. Consuming large quantities of aspirin can increase the excretion of folic acid, which the body uses to synthesize DNA, regulate cell division and growth, and manufacture red blood cells. A deficiency of folic acid can trigger fatigue, shortness of breath, weakness, and irritability. Millions of people swallow large amounts of aspirin every day for headaches, joint pain, and other problems, and many of them wind up complaining of symptoms that are quite likely due to folic acid deficiency.

These are just a few examples of ways in which drugs can interfere with the digestion, absorption, transportation, metabolic activity, synthesis, utilization, or excretion of nutrients in the body--and the side effects that result. The only true solution to these problems is to replace the nutrients that have disappeared via supplements, wise dietary choices, or both.
Even a Small Deficiency Can Be Dangerous

Most of us are well aware that a severe lack of vitamin C can cause scurvy and death, while a serious shortfall of calcium can cause osteoporosis. But what about the small to moderate nutrient deficiencies caused by the use of medications? Are they really a problem?

Yes--it’s a serious problem, for even minor deficiencies can bring on major difficulties. For example:

· A “minor” deficiency of thiamin can induce depression, muscle weakness, generalized swelling of the body, and irritability.

· A “minor” deficiency of riboflavin can trigger reddening, burning, itching and tearing of the eyes, as well as dry, scaly, and itchy skin.

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