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Many Medications Can Cause Side Effects or Nutritional Deficiencies
The average person in North America is on about six different prescription medications by age 65. Each of these medications is designed to complete a specific body function that does not work or that no longer works as well as it needs to for health. These body functions require specific nutrients as fuel.
Here’s what we know about medications:
- Medications create side effects
These side effects represent depletion or even exhaustion of the nutrients needed for complete functioning. - Medications create nutrient deficiencies
These nutrient deficiencies are seen as signs and symptoms for which more medications are often prescribed. Doesn’t it make sense to get the nutrients and nurturing you need to stop this cycle?
Below are some common medications and the nutrients needed to keep them from creating deficiencies and side effects.
Cholesterol drugs (Statins)
People make hormones from cholesterol. When the enzyme that facilitates this conversion begins to fail, hormone levels go down and cholesterol goes up. Given the relationship between cholesterol and heart health, many people choose to take statin medications to reduce their cholesterol numbers. Taking statins actually has only a slight effect on heart attack frequency because fully half of the people having heart attacks have normal levels of cholesterol.
Statins deplete CoEnzyme Q-10 and accessory nutrients. If you take statins, you definitely need to take CoQ-10 to balance CoQ-10 levels. People taking statins also benefit from heart-healthy Omega-3 fatty acids and the B vitamin niacin. Take pure niacin in low doses and always consult a health care provider when combining niacin with statins.
Stomach acid blockers (Proton pump inhibitors – PPI)
People take antacids called PPI to reduce stomach acid. These medications block the pumps that create acid. Hydrochloric acid is supposed to bind with pepsinogen to create the digestive enzyme pepsin. Pepsinogen production is impaired by stress.
Not chewing well enough, eating too quickly and eating greasy or unhealthy foods will cause indigestion. Mostly though, stress causes indigestion. As we age we become more susceptible to stress and much less resilient. Our stomach produces less pepsin as a response to stress, and an excess of hydrochloric acid remains.
If you take PPI antacids you definitely need to take Vitamin B-12 as studies have shown that PPIs can interfere with your body’s ability to absorb B-12. You should also consider taking folic acid and the mineral zinc. Women of childbearing age should also take iron. These critical nutrients are building blocks for health. Depleting these nutrients will result in a number of adverse side effects. No wonder B-12 deficiency depression is listed as a major concern with PPI medications!
Antidepressants (Selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors – SSRI)
Antidepressant drugs are among the most widely prescribed medications in history. They are not just used for severe depression; they may also be prescribed for everything from PMS to injuries. They are used for headaches, muscle pain and sinus allergies. Medical science is really just beginning to understand what these medications do inside the human body. Regardless of why a person takes an SSRI, they need to take certain nutrients.
Vitamin B-12 is part of a family of nutrients that helps combat the effects of SSRI. Folic acid, Vitamin B-6 and biotin are major members of this family of nutrients. Also, amino acids such as methionine and S, adneosyl methionine (SAMe) complete the process of Vitamin B-12 metabolism. You definitely need these nutrients if you take an SSRI. If you are over 50 or have poor circulation, ginkgo biloba can also help the medications work better. However, these nutrients (including ginkgo) will not reverse the sexual side effects of the drug.
The long-term benefits of SSRI medications are very much in doubt. However, two forms of “therapy” are rated as much more successful concerning long-term benefit: exercise and cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). Frequent, vigorous exercise improves the chemical balance of the brain and nervous system. CBT is a form of active listening that facilitates life changes based on what works best for each individual.
Below is a chart of common drugs and the nutrients you should take with them. I’ve also listed TriVita products that provide these nutrients:
| Drug | Nutrients needed | Found in: |
| Cholesterol drugs (Statins) | CoEnzyme Q-10 | CoEnzyme Q-10 |
| Omega-3 fatty acids | OmegaPrime® | |
| Stomach acid blockers (PPI) | Vitamin B-12, Folic Acid | Sublingual B-12, HCY Guard® |
| Zinc | VitaDaily AM/PM™, Daily Women™, Prostate Health Formula™ |
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| Iron | Daily Women™ | |
| Anti-depressants (SSRI) | Vitamin B-12, Folic Acid, Biotin | Sublingual B-12, HCY Guard |
| Methionine | HCY Guard | |
| Ginkgo biloba | Ginkgo Biloba |
Copyright by TriVita Inc.
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“Where does it hurt?” This is often the first question caregivers ask. (A caregiver may be a doctor or nurse, a friend or mommy!) We ask because we care; people often – though not always – tell us where it hurts because they are searching for a solution to their pain.
Why we hurt
Pain is a messenger system designed to tell us that something is wrong. As my grandfather used to say, “If your hand hurts, take it off the hot stove!” Pain is often designed to trigger a “withdrawal” response. We withdraw from pain because the pain tells us that we are being injured. This interpretation of pain may seem overly simplistic, especially in our world, where it is not always easy to take your hand off the hot stove, so to speak.
There are a number of different pain sensations. The feeling may seem sharp (superficial pain receptors) or dull (deeper pain receptors). It may seem to throb with your heartbeat or be constant. It may be fixed in one location or migratory – moving around from place to place. The main distinction of pain basically boils down to acute pain versus chronic pain.
- Acute pain begins to go away as soon as you remove the trigger. Take your hand off the hot stove, repair the broken tooth or drink pure water to rehydrate the dehydrated brain and acute pain goes away. The message of pain has been received, interpreted and the corrective action taken.
- Chronic pain persists after the cause has been removed or because the cause is itself a chronic condition. It is often related to inflammation – inflammation in the tissues of your body, or inflammation in the nervous system, or both. We used to have a saying to help us define inflammation: rubor, tumor, calor and dolor. These four Latin words mean redness, swelling, heat and pain.
Your brain eventually interprets the signals in a way that motivates you to confront the cause of pain. Interestingly, the brain doesn’t feel pain; it merely interprets the nerve and chemical signals as painful.
Understanding the signals
It is important for us to understand why we hurt so that we can take the proper action. The four basic pain triggers are:
- Trauma or injury
- Toxins or poisons
- Emotional distress
- Deficiency
As mentioned above, an example of a deficiency that causes pain may be a water deficiency (dehydration) causing a headache. Another extremely common form of painful dehydration is osteoarthritis (OA). In OA the soft tissue of the joint capsule loses water and withers. This may be due to a number of causes, including simply not drinking enough water. More often, joint dehydration associated with OA occurs because there are not enough minerals to hold the water in its proper place and quantity. This is why TriVita’s OptimaFlex® contains both pain/inflammation reducing ingredients and minerals associated with healthy, moist joints.
An example of toxins creating pain may be the way toxins from inside your intestines trigger rheumatoid arthritis and many other “autoimmune” disorders. Typically, a toxin from inside your system escapes into the bloodstream and relocates to the soft tissue of your organs or around your joints. Your immune system attacks both the toxins and the soft tissues. In an attempt to remove the toxin or poison, your system may destroy the tissue in which the toxin resides.
Pain caused by toxins frequently responds to Nopalea™, as the Betalains in Nopalea are both anti-inflammatory and anti-toxin. These two actions help your immune system work smarter, not harder and, ultimately, help you do what you do best: heal. This often results in reduced levels of chronic pain.
The lesson of pain
Dedicated physicians spend decades learning the antecedents, triggers and inflammatory pathways associated with acute and chronic pain. There is simply no way to address all of the particulars of pain in our Wellness Reports; however it is my sincere wish that this report gives you a little more insight into the possible causes – and solutions – for acute and chronic pain.
Would you like to hear something interesting about Vitamin C? Almost all mammals produce Vitamin C as ascorbic acid in their livers. But not humans. In fact, almost all animals in the Animal Kingdom produce Vitamin C every day to maintain their health. Why don’t humans produce Vitamin C? How much Vitamin C do you need to take? What effect does Vitamin C have in your body?
How much Vitamin C do you need?
Let’s answer the easy question first: How much Vitamin C does a person need to take? Well, when animals produce Vitamin C it is according to their needs at that time in their lives. A young dolphin may produce much more Vitamin C than an older sibling or parent. However, all dolphins – and all other animals – produce more Vitamin C when they have an infection, when they are exposed to toxins and when they are under stress.
So, we understand that people need different amounts of Vitamin C at different times in their lives. They also need more Vitamin C when they face challenges to their health and well-being. In past Weekly Wellness Reports, we discussed how a Vitamin C flush can help you determine how much Vitamin C you can use during a given period of your life. The Vitamin C flush was actually recommended by Linus Pauling protégé, Dr. Alfred Libby, and by the Director of the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Russell Jaffe. See below for more information on the benefits of the Vitamin C flush.
How your body uses Vitamin C
What does your body do with all that Vitamin C? Well, Vitamin C makes things happen. In the human body, Vitamin C makes almost everything happen!
Bones – All the minerals in your bones require Vitamin C to turn them from lifeless rocks into health-building minerals.
Blood – Your blood needs Vitamin C to convert iron into hemoglobin.
Thyroid – Your thyroid gland needs Vitamin C to convert copper into thyroid enzymes that carry protein.
Collagen – All of the collagen in your skin, gums and the rest of your body requires Vitamin C to convert dead protein from your diet into living tissue. This makes you look good as well as feel good!
Immune system function – Vitamin C activates a certain kind of immune cell called a lymphocyte. Lymphocytes, as the name implies, live mostly in your lymph system. However, they can travel in your bloodstream as well. Lymphocytes that have been activated by your thymus gland can go anywhere in your body to help fight disease. The thymus gland uses Vitamin C to program lymphocytes to search out one specific target and help destroy it.
Antioxidant protection – Vitamin C is also an antioxidant. Your body uses it to make glutathione – the “mother” of all antioxidants. What’s more, all other antioxidants can be refreshed by Vitamin C. Important antioxidants like Vitamins A and E can have their lifespan extended by Vitamin C. Antioxidants protect you from premature aging.
Vitamin C has so many functions that you could spend a lifetime studying this one important vitamin. Do the Vitamin C flush and determine how much Vitamin C you can use each day. I suggest that you repeat this procedure quarterly – at the change of the seasons. You will find your need for Vitamin C will diminish when you eat fresh fruits and vegetables. It will increase when you are under stress or facing illness.
Major Food Sources
| Food | Serving size | Vitamin C content (mg) |
| Strawberries | 1 cup | 95 |
| Papaya | 1 cup | 85 |
| Kiwi | 1 medium | 70 |
| Orange | 1 medium | 70 |
| Pepper, red or green, raw | ½ cup | 65 |
| Broccoli, cooked | ½ cup | 60 |
| Cantaloupe | ¼ medium | 60 |
| Kale, cooked | 1 cup | 55 |
| Brussels sprouts, cooked | ½ cup | 50 |
| Orange juice | ½ cup | 50 |
| Pepper, red or green, cooked | ½ cup | 50 |
| Mango | 1 cup | 45 |
| Grapefruit | ½ medium | 40 |
| Snow peas, fresh, cooked | ½ cup | 40 |
| Grapefruit juice | ½ cup | 35 |
| Artichoke, boiled | 1 medium | 30 |
| Sweet potato, baked with skin | 1 medium | 28 |
| Potato, baked with skin | 1 medium | 25 |
| Avocado | 1 medium | 24 |
| Pineapple | 1 cup | 24 |
| Cauliflower, raw | ½ cup | 23 |
| Snow peas, frozen, cooked | ½ cup | 20 |
Source: EBSCO
A final word on Vitamin C
The final question is: Why don’t humans produce Vitamin C like other animals? The answer is, no one knows. What we do know is that people are healthier when they eat Vitamin C-rich fruits and vegetables. And in this stress-filled, toxic world we have created, more Vitamin C is needed than a depleted diet can provide. This is why we have supplements to help us compensate for the special circumstances we face in today’s world.
Copyright by TriVita Inc.
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Causes of Hidden Inflammation
Inflammation is the number one medical issue facing people in North America today. There are four sources of inflammation and each one requires a pretty lengthy explanation. Rather than presenting our Weekly Wellness Report as an exhaustive list of “what may go wrong” I would like to cover:
- The major categories of inflammation
- How you can protect yourself
- Nutrients you can use to help reduce inflammation
Cause #1: Toxins
Toxins cause inflammation by penetrating healthy tissue in your body and hiding there. Your immune system knows they are there and responds with acute inflammation to eradicate them – even killing healthy cells to get rid of the toxins. Toxins create death when more cells die in a single day than your body can replace with healthy cells.
Sometimes this happens very quickly, as with infection from the H1-N1 flu epidemic. The virus inhabits the lungs and airways. Your body responds with immune cells which douse the viral toxin with inflammation. So many lung cells are killed in the process that the host simply can’t replace the sick, toxic cells with new, healthy cells and the patient dies.
Sometimes toxins kill more slowly, as with air pollution causing lung cancer. Inflammation kills diseased cells but at such a slow rate that a few replacement cells keep the lungs functioning. However, over time the rate of cell replacement cannot keep up with the rate of cell death and the patient dies of a chronic lung disease such as cancer or emphysema.
Toxins are produced outside our body as well as inside our body. We must insulate ourselves from external toxins and keep our body shiny and clean on the inside through vigorous application of the 10 Essentials for Health and Wellness. Supplements such as Nopalea and Vitamin C can be very helpful in releasing hidden toxins.
Cause #2: Deficiency
Your body must replace millions of cells every hour. Building healthy cells requires that we have healthy building materials in our system all the time: oxygen, water, vitamins, minerals, enzymes and many other elements. We must give our body time to rebuild with 7 ½ to 9 hours of peaceful sleep every night.
If any element in your health routine is missing for even a moment, a cell will be created without critical building materials and the cell will be weak. A single weak cell will be eliminated by the acute inflammation of our immune system. However, poor nutrition day after day and poor sleep night after night will create a deficit between the number of healthy cells you have and the number of healthy cells you need to live. Chronic inflammation is the way your body deals with this deficit. It is the seedbed for infection, disease and an early death.
Pay close attention to the 10 Essentials and support your body with Healthy Aging nutrients. A multiple vitamin/mineral supplement, OmegaPrime, Vitamin C and Sublingual B-12 are basics for wellness.
Cause #3: Emotional Distress
Stress describes the forces trying to tear us apart: toxins and deficiencies, gravity and weather, injuries, expectations and time pressures. These are examples of things that pull us apart. The forces trying to pull us back together – homeostasis – are seen in the 10 Essentials: deep breathing, pure water, peaceful sleep, nutritious food, daily activity, emotional and spiritual support.
Emotional distress is based on how we appraise or evaluate changes in our environment. All changes are stressful – even “good” changes such as a raise at work or a new, healthy grandbaby! The changes that threaten our health and create long-term, chronic stress are those that may cause pain or loss to ourselves or to someone we care about, or that may overextend our coping resources.
Support yourself against this dangerous cause of inflammation by creating a healthy community of people around you. Use Healthy Aging supplements to create a solid foundation for coping with daily stress. Especially consider adaptogens to build a bulwark against the onslaught of daily stress from outside, inside your body and even inside your mind.
Cause #4: Injuries and Trauma
Acute inflammation is the normal response to trauma. Acute inflammation is characterized by pain, swelling, redness and heat. Using Quick-Relief Formula and Quick-Relief Gel can expedite the repair process by supporting homeostasis during the early days following an injury. I often see people benefit from taking Quick-Relief capsules (while awake) for three days following an injury. Keep the external region bathed in Quick-Relief Gel during this crisis stage.
OptimaFlex is another excellent source for a more chronic injury. OptimaFlex combined with Nopalea is an excellent combination for the discomfort and loss of mobility that characterizes chronic inflammation.
Conclusion
There are four basic causes of inflammation; therefore, there are four basic causes of chronic disease. Work to insulate yourself from these malevolent influences with appropriate nutrients and emotional/spiritual nurturing and you will improve the quantity and quality of your life!
Copyright by TriVita Inc.
Learn more about TriVita and TriVita Sonoran Bloom – Click Here!