Prescription Drugs vs. Your Body's Nutrients
Nutrients, you don’t have to be a health guru to realize they’re the building blocks for superior health. So you wouldn’t want to consume anything that robs your body of them—right? Then you might want to avoid these drugs. The Cardio Blog investigates some nutrient-robbing drugs:
Vasodilators or Beta-Blockers: You may be taking these to help regulate your high blood pressure. If it's helping, great! Keep taking them. But, beware that your consumption of the vasodilators are causing a reduction of vitamin B6 and the beta-blockers are sapping some Coenzyme Q10.Not all that surprising really. Dr. Fuhrman makes it clear, even though some medications can help us out. All drugs are toxic. That’s why doctors shouldn’t be too quick to prescribe them. He talks about it in his book Fasting and Eating for Health:
Statins: Yes, statins are a great way to help lower your cholesterol, so do keep taking them if they are working and your doctor suggests that you stick with them. However, please know that the statins also deplete your body of Coenzyme Q10, which can lead to muscle soreness, fatigue, or even elevated liver enzymes.
Diuretics: A popular treatment for hypertension or congestive heart failure. The downside is that they deplete your body of magnesium, zinc, and potassium, which can cause a weakened immunity.
In the first pharmacology lecture that I head in medical school, the physician impressed on us that all drugs are toxic and we should never forget this. We were taught that medications work because of their pharmacologic properties—properties that enable the substance to interfere with, block, or stimulate an activity of the body. Drugs typically modify the way the body expresses the signs and symptoms of disease, but in chronic disease states, they do no undo the damage or remove the disease.
Of course, medications can be lifesaving in emergencies and in the case of severe infections, such as pneumonia or meningitis. However, the modern drug approaches to chronic degenerative illnesses fail to offer a safe, effective solution for most chronic medical problems.
