Get More Out of Your Medicine Cabinet

GET MORE OUT OF YOUR MEDICINE CABINET

When I graduated nearly 10 years ago, I grossly misunderstood how important of a role vitamins, minerals, and adequate rest (among many other things) have in our day to day life. I also didn’t realize the staggering number of Americans on a prescription drugs. Unfortunately, it wasn't taught in school, and I'd never come across the research and publications surrounding “drug induced micronutrient depletions”. This phrase describes the fact that any drug (prescribed or over the counter) in order to absorb and function in your body, requires vitamins and minerals to be metabolized. This, in addition to our body’s already high nutrient needs, can further deplete your body's vitamin and mineral stores. When this occurs we say “hello” to side effects.

I love medicine, and I love holistic health and healing. My nerd pride is high, enjoying the best of both worlds and supporting each individual’s unique health care needs both in my practice, and through Well Labs online.

I want to share some head-turning statistics with you:

• In the United States 98% of sexually active women have used birth control at some point in time
• 62% of those of reproductive age are currently using birth control.
• Overall, 36.7% of U.S. adults or 78.1 million persons 21 or older were on or eligible for cholesterol treatment, among whom 55.5% (42.95 million) were taking cholesterol-lowering medication
• Nearly 7 in 10 Americans Take Prescription Drugs
• In Number of drugs ordered or provided in 2015: 3.7 billion (US population is 327.8 million…)
• Percentage of visits involving drug therapy: 76.2% *which means, when you go visit your beloved PCP, over 75% of the time, count on a medication being the prescribed for your ailment.
• Most frequently prescribed therapeutic classes:

• Analgesics (pain relief)
• Antihyperlipidemic agents (cholesterol related)
• Antidepressants (anxiety, depression, fatigue, lack of interest)
• Believe it or not, this affects your kids too. Common medications prescribed for children can be found here.

Take Action:

1. If you’re taking any medication regularly, (no judgements here!) I encourage you to check out this link to find known depletions that could be related to your ailments or side effects.
2. Replete your body with some of our best sellers:
1. A course of antibiotics? Try probiotic complete for adults or belly boost for kiddos. For my adult patients I often recommend 100-200,000 CFUs of probiotics during the course of the antibiotic, and several days after so the probiotic can offset the disruption of good bacteria in the gut. Often times, patients on antibiotics experience gut rot and diarrhea, which are often avoidable with high dose probiotics. Note: I’m not talking about probiotics found in super sugary processed yogurt, but high quality, potent probiotics sans sugar.
2. On a statin drug for high cholesterol? Most people need 200-400mg/day of CoQ10 at a minimum while taking a satin drug
3. Taking birth control or any sort of hormone? Stock up on Methyl B’s. If you're using a high dose birth control or two types of birth control at the same time, we encourage 1 capsule, 2x/daily. It's important to take the capsules at different times of the day for best absorption. B vitamin repletion creates energy and and improves mood and natural hormone stability. If you want to know more about Methyl Bs and our opinions, you can read previous posts here.
4. Do you use antacids for heart burn or stomach trouble? Add power minerals to your routine. Your meds are blocking basic mineral absorption, and you need minerals for bones, building brain chemicals, and overall nutrient balance. Attention carbonation lovers: mineral depletion occurs with regular consumption of fizzy drinks too!

Helpful Resources:

• We have a great guide for some of the more common RX found here.
• Mytavin is a great website where you can type in your medications, and find the nutritional and vitamin needs that will be depleted as a result of those medications.

 

Fill Up Your Cup

I find it wise to replenish nutrients if medications are part of your daily routine. We often think short term, but we encourage you to think of the long term health implications. If you’re depleted now (ex. as a young mom of 3 children) and you go day in and day out depleted in your vitamins, what do you think that could do to your brain, your hormones, your sanity? Often, it’s because of these drug induced depletions that we get the dreaded side effects.  I look forward to the day when a medication is picked up from the pharmacy, and the vitamin and mineral supplements are paired with it to offset a downfall of the medication. Some day soon, I hope! For now, use Well Labs as a resource to fill your cup for a better future. 

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