It does not matter what age you are or what your medical history is. We are all at risk of medications ruining the balance of our body and causing negative side effects for our health.
Just because you live a healthy and well-balanced life normally does not mean that you will be adverse from experiencing side effects of medications.
Even mentioned that all of us are at risk of being malnourished as a result of medication. A really common example of this is women who take birth control pills. A very common trend in side effects is that many will experience massive mood swings, skin inflammation, and even a change in their sex drive after starting on this medication.
Many people accept these changes as something they just have to learn to live with. But the truth is, these side effects are happening because they are losing essential nutrients from the impacts of their birth control medication!
But it is not just birth control medication that causes these side effects of becoming malnourished on the vitamins and minerals we need. In fact, research is showing that there are many medications that are lowering our body’s nutrients. And that the side effects we experience are normally a result of the essential nutrients being zapped out from the medicine we ingest.
So how does this actually happen? We will summerize how medications actually lower our body’s nutrients and also what you can do to help be more balanced while taking your medicine.
- Some medication makes you crave bad food
Medications don’t just rob your body of nutrients that are currently in your system. They also change your cravings altogether. This means that those who have always had the discipline to eat healthy foods may now have these uncontrollable desires to eat junk food with lots of sugar or carbs! This is often found in medication that is prescribed for anti-depressants or diabetes medicine.
- Some medication makes it impossible for your body to absorb nutrients
Then, you have other medication that makes it near impossible to absorb the nutrients you are fuelling your body with because they are attacked by the medicine before it has a chance to even enter your bloodstream. This is most often caused with antibiotics and are notorious for blocking out vitamins like calcium, magnesium, and zinc!
- Some medications hold on to the fat
This problem is most common in medication designed to lower cholesterol, as it prevents any fat from being absorbed in the body. While the intentions are good, our body does need some healthy fats to keep our body fuelled and energized. This is why this sort of medication makes people have stomach problems and also feel depleted of energy.
- Some drugs prevent nutrients from helping your cells
When medication blocks nutrients from helping keep your cells strong, it sets your body up to be susceptible to even more diseases and illnesses! This is common in medication like statin drugs, which are supposed to also help manage your cholesterol. But in fact, it can take away the vitamins and minerals that protect your blood cells and protect your heart.
- Some drugs make it hard to go to the bathroom
It is essential that your body can regularly go to the bathroom to get rid of any excess vitamins that could potentially turn toxic. When medications prevent you from being able to urinate, your body is at risk of having unwanted nutrient build-up that needs to be flushed out, often resulting in an increase of blood pressure.
While there is a risk with pretty much any medication becoming a thief of your nutrition, the main ones you need to watch out include birth control pills, beta blockers, cholesterol drugs, and antibiotics. The important part of understanding how medication robs your nutrition is the first step to forming a plan to counter-balance this unwanted thievery! It is important to remember that we are in no way saying that medication is bad for you. Medication is essential to keeping many people healthy and alive. But what we all need to be aware of is that when we take medication, we risk being nutrient deprived.
When we are nutrient deprived, we are then at risk for becoming victim to the medication’s unwanted side effects that can make us feel worse than we should. But there is hope! There are actually many ways in which we can minimize the risk of dealing with negative side effects of medication. We can keep track of the changes we notice and discuss a plan with our doctor. We can also keep a list of our current diet and see if we can change the foods we eat to help minimize our risk. And we can invest in products designed to fuel our body with nutrients that medication often robs us of!