Drugs and Nutrient Depletion

Many Americans are currently taking more than one pharmaceutical drug and this number is swiftly on the rise. Studies have determined that more than 40 percent of Americans are on at least one pharmaceutical drug and one in every six Americans is on more than three medications. More often than not, those taking multiple medications are taking them to cover the symptoms associated with another drug.
 

Many patients are looking for that “magic bullet.” That one drug that will take care of every symptom they are suffering from. Let’s get real. The prevalence of heart disease, high blood pressure, depression and cancer are rising at an alarming rate. Many medical advances have been made in each of these areas yet more and more people are suffering from these diseases than ever before.

Many pharmaceutical drugs actually deplete the body of essential nutrients needed to function properly. Take statin drugs (cholesterol lowering drugs) for example. Many Americans are on cholesterol lowering drugs which have been shown to decrease the amount of CoQ10 circulating throughout the blood. Many studies have shown this significant issue. CoQ10 is essential for mitochondrial energy production, is a potent antioxidant and is essential for heart health. So while your cholesterol may be low, you may be putting yourself at risk and don’t even know it. Here is a chart that shows a few common drug induced nutrient depletions.  
 

How does it make sense that we know so much more about disease, yet the incidence of disease is rising? There are many contributing factors. The things we put into our bodies has changed dramatically over the past 50 years. We are no longer living off the food of the land. We eat fast food, refined foods, soda, sugar infused juices and sports drinks that are full of chemicals and very low in nutritional value. If our bodies are not getting the proper nutrition doesn’t it make sense that the incidence of disease will increase?
 

Basically it comes down to lifestyle. Many Americans are on medications because they do not get the proper nutrition through their diet. The medications then lead to further nutrient depletion. The combination of these two issues are leading to our declining state of health within the United States. We need to take the time to eat the right foods, get the proper amount of exercise and nutritional support.
 

So why am I talking about this? We at Quest Chiropractic approach the body from a completely different perspective. We don’t treat your symptoms, we look at your symptoms and how they are inter-related with one another. The body functions as one self-healing mechanism and we take a functional approach when looking at patient symptomatology.
 

Our functional medicine assessment will give us the objective data we need along with your symptoms to determine the nutritional/lifestyle needs of each patient. Each patient is unique and has different needs so rest assured your nutritional recommendations will be based upon your needs. Treating the body with nutrition, diet and exercise will allow the body to make significant changes in ones overall health without the unwanted side effects.
 

If you are ready to make some serious changes in your health and lifestyle give us a call and schedule your functional medicine test today. For the rest of June all functional medicine testing will be 20% off ($80) with the mention of this newsletter.
 

Yours in Optimal Health,

Dr. Travis R. Hulbert

Disclaimer: Approaching the body with functional medicine and treating the body with nutrition/exercise may lead to feeling better, decreasing weight and having much more energy. However, if none of these side effects are wanted then this is not the program for you.