By Ben Fuchs | Pharmacist Ben
Mrs. Adams looked grumpy,but who could blame her. She had just gotten out of the hospital and her first stop after being discharged was my pharmacy and her first order of business was having a stack of prescriptions filled. And, aside from the fact that Mrs. Adams was going to be parting with a significant chunk of change (she had a twenty dollar co-pay which meant her 12 prescriptions were going to costing her 240 bucks), she was about to bombard her biology with enough chemical poisons to make her body eligible as a toxic waste dump. To compound her problems, unbeknownst to Mrs. Adams and probably her doctor too, not only were her pharmacological protocols going to be poisoning her body, but even worse, unless she was savvy enough to get on a supplement program, she was inevitably going to be dealing with the consequences of nutrient deficiency that could conceivably lead to a whole host of pathological symptomology, and might even shorten her life.
One of the more significant, if underappreciated, aspects of prescription drug toxicity, involves the depletion of nutritional raw materials that fuel the detoxification system, the collective term for the ordinarily extremely effective purifying processes that are, for the most part, housed in the liver. That’s because these detoxifying biochemical reactions all depend on the must-have “essential” nutrients known as the “Mighty 90” to do their work. In fact, every chemical reaction in the body depends on these essential substances and in the presence of excessive poisons (drugs), detox “machinery” can become like a metaphorical sinkhole, diverting and draining nutritional elements, keeping them from participating in the many other biochemical reactions that are responsible for maintaining the health and integrity of the human body.
Vital vitamins, mandatory minerals, and important amino acids and fatty acids are not only key detox players, but are also important molecules involved in providing cells with energy, and protection; and also as mechanical raw materials for building structural components of cells and tissues. The more drugs we take and the more they accumulate in the body, the more nutrients will be diverted from the heart, brain, skin, and various glands and organs and into the liver for detoxification. If they are not replaced via food and supplements, over time they can become depleted and not only will purification and elimination of poisons become compromised but so will also thousands of other biochemical reactions that likewise are dependent on the presence of these critically important biochemicals.
The key point is that the depletion of the “Mighty 90” that follows the entrance of drugs/toxins into the body, and the subsequent increases in detoxification activity may show up as a breakdown in any of the countless biochemical processes that occur in the body. Respiratory, cardiovascular, and nervous system dysfunctions are especially likely. as these systems require large amounts of nutrition. The same is true of the digestive system and the skin. In fact any pathology is possible under conditions of nutrient deficiency, BUT because these disease symptoms may not be directly linked to specific pharmacological toxins they won’t be considered a side effect. These symptoms may not even show up on the package insert that by law must list all possible adverse reactions, but nonetheless, even if merely indirectly, they can be considered to be manifestations of the toxicity prescription drugs.
Thus the introduction of any poisons into the body, while obviously not in an organism’s interest, and which by definition can directly initiate toxicity, may also result in indirect negative effects simply by costing the body precious nutritional materials. Sure, the detox system is great and wonderfully efficient, but it needs raw materials to do its work. These raw materials are the essential vitamins, minerals and fatty and amino acids, and the more detoxification work that occurs, the greater the cost in these nutrients, and the more likely the appearance of side effects related to deficiency. All of us need the “Mighty 90” or “90 for Life”. The countless chemical reactions in the body depend on their presence, and because they can’t be made, they must be obtained and ingested. But if you’re on prescription drugs, which suck up nutrition like a dry sponge sucks up water, its extra important that you to be replacing them via diet and especially via supplementation. Focus especially on detox vitamin Like Vitamin C (500mg a day), Vitamin E (400 iu a day), and the B-complex (use a B-100 capsule several times a day), and sip on Youngevity’s Beyond Tangy Tangerine which is packed with all the B vitamins). Minerals like magnesium (1500mg a day), zinc (50mg a day) and copper (2-4 mg) a day can also be helpful. Hyaluronic acid (200mg a day) and glutamine (1-5 grams a day), while not strictly must-have biomolecules, can provide additional support for detoxification system.
