Why you need supplements if you’re taking medication

You should be taking nutritional supplements if you’re on prescription medication—most drugs will drain your body of essential micronutrients that can prolong the disease and affect your quality of life.

Researchers have discovered that:

• Oral contraceptives deplete a woman’s levels of all the B vitamins (B6, B12 and B9)
• Proton pump inhibitors (antacids for indigestion) affect the absorption of most nutrients, including B12, calcium, magnesium, iron and zinc
• Aspirin affects vitamin C metabolism
• Loop diuretics to prevent heart failure create a sudden depletion of calcium, magnesium, thiamine; thiazide diuretics accelerate the loss of zinc and vitamin B9
• Captopril, an antihypertensive, reduces zinc levels
• Calcium channel blockers, also antihypertensives, reduce absorption of folic acid.

As many people take prescription medication for long periods, it’s vital they understand how their bodies are being depleted of vital nutrients.  Eating a healthy diet and taking supplements become especially important and will speed recovery, the researchers say.  

Vopr Pitan, 2021; 90: 53-63

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