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Drug Induced Nutritional Deficiencies and Gluten Sensitivity

Many Medications Rob Your Already Malnourished Body of Nutrients

Drug induced nutrient loss is a common yet often ignored side effect of prescription medications. Often times, gluten sensitive patients who are chronically ill, are prescribed medicines for their symptoms. Unfortunately, their physicians never sit down with them to explain this problem. Click the link below to listen to a special radio program on this very overlooked yet vital topic (skip ahead to 5:51 to bypass the commercials): Drug Induced Nutritional Deficiencies

Common Drugs and the Nutrients They Deplete:

Catch 22

Medications are prescribed to treat symptoms of disease or to reduce risk for the development of disease. If the medicine causes a vitamin deficiency, and the vitamin deficiency contributes to the same disease that the drug is being used to prevent, then we haven’t really solved the patient’s problem. For example, Lipitor, which is commonly prescribed to help lower cholesterol, can deplete the body of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10). A CoQ10 deficiency can cause high blood pressure and congestive heart failure. Thus treating high cholesterol with this type of medication may increase the risk of heart disease. Commonly prescribed pain medications interfere with folic acid, iron, and vitamin C. These nutrients are necessary for your body to repair joint cartilage and reduce the chemical inflammation that leads to pain. So again, the medication (albeit well intentioned) contributes to a prolongation of the problem instead addressing the long term solution. This is important why? Because we spend more per person on medication than any other country in the world, yet we have the worst outcomes for chronic disease. The way chronic disease is treated is with the use of medications. If you are on any type of medication, make sure to talk with your doctor about the potential for nutrient loss as a side effect and address it appropriately. Remember that those with gluten sensitivity are already at great risk for vitamin and mineral loss. Always looking out for you, Dr. O – AKA the Gluten Free Warrior  

11 Responses

  1. I have CD and don’t take any of these meds. Often symptoms of reflux & heartburn are a result of LOW stomach acid, not too much. My functional medicine dr. had me on HCL pills for a while, since as we age, production of stomach acid diminishes. This causes the food you eat not to be digested properly and you can’t absorb all the nutrients in your food. PPI drugs only cause more problems in the long run.

  2. I don’t know about protonix, but coconut water has helped me immensely with severe cramping in hands arms and legs from asthma meds. Works much better than the potassium supplements I have tried. I have a food sensitivity to bananas and the coconut water is delicious, low cal, & full of electrolytes.

  3. The Gluten Summit: From Nov.11,to Nov.17, Interviews with 12 mds and other CD
    experts in the CD field will be available each day with 4 or 5 experts a day for 24 hours.

  4. to Dr O;

    my regular doc I had, happily, for many years,for many years, was very nice and respectedd my knowledge re; thiroid ‘the natural with T1, T2, T3, T4, and calcitinin, etc…. but when I told him the results of my DNA cheek swab test and was about to discuss nutritional deficiencies I might have, and, TO ASK HIM TO TEST ME……..He closed the file and acted strangely distant and un interested and rushed me from his office like I was some kind of criminal.

    I found out his son was “allergic to gluten” and it obviously was a sore and ignorant subject with him.

    Next time I saw him, he was back to his nice self again and acted like he forgot the past event, so I never brought it up again.

    Looks like I have to depend on someone like you to educate me.

    1. ,this is to the comment from carolyn hunter, what are T1 t2, t3, t4, advise, my wife is on thyroid medication,does anyone know what natural product she can use?
      waiting for reply

  5. I am without medical attention because my doctor does not believe in gluten sensitivity and just thinks I am a hypchondriac. I am in the process of completing the DNA test because it appears that my gluten sensitivity has been passed on to my children and grandchildren and I want to know for sure for their sake. I am told I am too old for testing and medical care so I just have to get help from this site as well as a couple of others that I have found can be trusted. Thank you for your work and help.

  6. Dear Dr. O,

    We love the information from your site , very helpfull, i will now spread the word about you , from this day forward, ,.. I PROMISE ..MY question, , when you take a bunch of medication say 5-8 different meds, ..when you stop taking then how long does your bodytake to rid these medication from your body?

  7. Surprised your dr. Is like that, my 12 yr olds pediatrician was dx’d 6minths after she was so now we have a dr with experience, it’s an epic number of ppl these days, might want to point out the change in wheat itself, 2 to 200 chromosomes in 60-70 yrs time They Changed it and can’t go back

  8. I have quit gluten and dairy and sugar but likely am getting if from other hidden sources. Headaches and fatigue is daily. I have a back injury and scar tissue from the surgery so have pain. I take hydrocodone as needed and Feiorcet for headaches. In three months a bit more energy but still all other problems

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