Supplement Your Prescription

Hyla Cass

Description

Many prescription medicines deplete the body of much needed nutrients. Readers will learn which medications deplete nutrients, and how they can maintain their nutritional health. Safe, natural ways to restore healthy levels of the necessay nutrients while taking prescription medicines is provided.

Sujets

• Médecine
• Médecine de laboratoire
• Santé et bien-être
• Diététique
• diététique
• Nutrition
• Fitness
• Health
• Diet

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 01 février 2008
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781591205029
• Langue: English

Extrait

Praise for
SUPPLEMENT YOUR PRESCRIPTION
For every dollar we spend on prescription drugs, we spend a dollar to fix a complication. Understanding how nutritional supplements affect these drugs could make them safer and more effective.
—M EHMET OZ, M.D ., P ROFESSOR OF S URGERY AT C OLUMBIA U NIVERSITY AND BEST-SELLING AUTHOR OF YOU: T HE O WNER’S M ANUAL AND YOU: O N A D IET

As Dr. Cass makes crystal clear, what you don’t know can hurt you. In this age of pharmaceutical-based medicine, this book is a must-read for patients and physicians alike.
—J ULIAN W HITAKER , M.D., F OUNDER OF THE W HITAKER W ELLNESS I NSTITUTE AND AUTHOR OF THE H EALTH & H EALING NEWSLETTER

Medications have been reported to kill over 200,000 Americans a year, with most physicians sadly being clueless about how to avoid this. Dr. Cass once again does an outstanding job teaching us how to reclaim our birthright of optimal health—easily and naturally!
—J ACOB T EITELBAUM , M.D., M EDICAL D IRECTOR OF THE F IBROMYALGIA AND F ATIGUE C ENTERS AND AUTHOR OF F ROM F ATIGUED TO F ANTASTIC !

This subject is so timely and the implications so powerful, that Dr. Cass’s new book deserves to be read by everybody taking prescription meds, and more importantly, by their doctors.
—A NN L OUISE G ITTLEMAN , P H .D., C.N.S., AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR OF T HE F AT F LUSH P LAN AND B EFORE THE C HANGE

Supplement Your Prescription breaks new ground in the previously unexplored terrain of how nutrients are depleted by prescriptive drugs and how to use them together wisely. A boon for both conventional and integrative medicine, this book eliminates the confusion and the guesswork. Both physician and patient will benefit tremendously from Dr. Cass’s research, insight, and practical application.
—G ERALD M. L EMOLE , M.D., C HIEF OF C ARDIOVASCULAR S URGERY AT C HRISTIANA C ARE H EALTH SERVICES , AND AUTHOR OF T HE H EALING D IET

From a recognized leader in the field of integrative medicine, Supplement Your Prescription is a vital resource to help patients avoid drug-nutrient depletion, and even enhance the benefits of their drugs with synergistic nutrients. A must-read!
—R ONALD L. H OFFMAN , M.D., M EDICAL D IRECTOR OF THE H OFFMAN C ENTER AND AUTHOR OF H OW TO T ALK WITH Y OUR D OCTOR ( ABOUT C OMPLEMENTARY AND A LTERNATIVE M EDICINE )

This book empowers people to take control of their health by knowing what their medications are really doing. It contains a huge amount of information, like an encyclopedia, but an easy read. A must read for everyone taking a medication!
—D WIGHT L UNDELL , M.D., HEART SURGEON AND AUTHOR OF T HE C URE FOR H EART D ISEASE

If you are taking prescription medications, you must protect yourself, and Dr. Cass tells you how to do it.
—S TEPHEN S INATRA , M.D., M EDICAL D IRECTOR OF THE NEW ENGLAND H EART & L ONGEVITY C ENTER AND CO-AUTHOR OF R EVERSE H EART D ISEASE N OW

This book is a must-read for anyone who takes prescription drugs and doesn’t want to suffer needless side effects.
—M ARCUS L AUX , N.D., AUTHOR OF N ATURALLY W ELL T ODAY NEWSLETTER
SUPPLEMENT YOUR PRESCRIPTION
What Your Doctor Doesn’t Know About Nutrition
Hyla Cass, M.D.
The information contained in this book is based upon the research and personal and professional experiences of the author. It is not intended as a substitute for consulting with your physician or other healthcare provider. Any attempt to diagnose and treat an illness should be done under the direction of a healthcare professional.
The publisher does not advocate the use of any particular healthcare protocol but believes the information in this book should be available to the public. The publisher and author are not responsible for any adverse effects or consequences resulting from the use of the suggestions, preparations, or procedures discussed in this book. Should the reader have any questions concerning the appropriateness of any procedures or preparation mentioned, the author and the publisher strongly suggest consulting a professional healthcare advisor.
Basic Health Publications, Inc.
28812 Top of the World Drive
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
949-715-7327 • www.basichealthpub.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Cass, Hyla.
Supplement your prescription : what your doctor doesn’t know about nutrition / Hyla Cass.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-59120-502-9
1. Drugs—Side effects—Popular works. 2. Dietary supplements—Popular works. 3. Nutrition—Popular works. 4. Alternative medicine—Popular works. I. Title.
RM302.5.C38 2007
615’.7042—dc22
2007036820
Copyright © 2007 by Hyla Cass, M.D.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written consent of the copyright owner.
Editor: Cheryl Hirsch
Typesetting/Interior design: Gary A. Rosenberg
Cover design: Mike Stromberg
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. What You Should Know about Drugs and How They Deplete Nutrients
2. You Hold the Keys to Your Health—Even If You Need Prescriptions
3. Prescriptions for Blood Sugar Balance: Diabetes Drugs
4. Prescriptions for Cardiovascular Health: Drugs for High Cholesterol and Hypertension
5. Prescriptions for Arthritis: Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs
6. Prescriptions for Digestive Function: Drugs for Acid Reflux, Heartburn, and Constipation
7. Prescriptions for Psychological Health: Antidepressants
8. Prescriptions for Other Conditions: Antibiotics and Drugs for Birth Control, Bipolar Disorder, Cancer, and More
9. A Delicate Balance: Concluding Thoughts
Resources
References
About the Authors
Acknowledgments
Needless to say, extensive projects are rarely a one-person show, so there are many people I wish to thank for their help with this book. Not in any particular order, I am grateful to Norman Goldfind, my generous, kind, and very able publisher; Melissa Block, who skillfully, cheerfully, and reliably helped me write this book; and Cheryl Hirsch, my editor, who was there whenever I needed her, with creative suggestions and an admirable sense of organization.
Thanks to Jim LaValle and Deirdre Allen who generously shared their health information website ( www.nhiondemand.com ). Many other friends and colleagues answered questions, reviewed writing, and were available whenever I needed them. They include my old friend and prolific author, Stevanne Auerbach (a.k.a. Dr. Toy); Nan Fuchs (editor and writer, Women’s Health Letter ), who’s been there unfailingly; my ongoing cheerleader, Siri Khalsa (publisher, Nutrition News ); Marcia Zimmerman (author, 7-Color Cuisine ); and nutrition pioneer and writer par excellence, Betty Kamen, who valiantly stepped in when I needed her.
I deeply thank my parents for their ongoing love and support throughout my life: my late father, Isadore Cass, M.D., who taught me by example how to be a skilled and caring physician; and my mother, Miriam Cass, who loves my books, and still gets excited when she or her friends see me on TV or when I am quoted in the news. I thank my three sisters and brothers-in-law who give me constant moral support, and, most especially, my amazing daughter, Dr. Alison Schur, who, along with her adoring and adorable husband Seth, provide me with joy and great advice. I feel blessed to have such wonderful support in my life and to be able to communicate to others all I have learned, especially from my patients, who are my best teachers.
Introduction
W e are taking prescription drugs in increasing numbers. Nearly 50 percent of American adults take at least one prescription medication, and nearly 20 percent take three or more. Over half of sixty-five-year olds take three prescription drugs or more daily. There has also been a steady and dramatic increase in money spent on prescriptions—nearly $200 billion in 2004. That’s four and a half times the amount spent in 1990.
The question is, are we healthier for it? Are these new drugs really improvements over older versions? While we hear daily of new drug miracles, more often, it’s the latest debacle: Baycol, a drug for lowering cholesterol, withdrawn because of deaths and transplants due to severe liver damage; Vioxx, for arthritis, withdrawn because of heart disease-related complications; and hormones such as Prempro, once seen as a boon to all post-menopausal womankind, now viewed as posing an unacceptable risk of breast cancer and heart attack.
How can this happen? As physicians, we take the Hippocratic oath to “first, do no harm.” This means we pledge not to hurt our patients in any way, including by the treatments we recommend. But here is a staggering figure: almost every single prescription is in some way harmful. Just look at the warnings that come with each drug! So, if you’re going to use a medication, be sure it is the right one for the purpose, use it properly, and do what you can to minimize risks of adverse side effects.
Among the most ignored side effects, which is quite common and can even be life threatening, is nutrient depletion. That is, most medications will rob your body of essential nutrients.
WHY I WROTE THIS BOOK
As a doctor who prescribes both medications and nutrients, I was compelled to write this book after seeing case after case of nutrient loss in patients due to prescribed medication. Neither the patient nor their doctors were aware of the cause of the increasing symptoms. Rather, the person was told that “it’s part of the illness,” and/or was given an additional drug or two to deal with the new symptoms. My patient Kathy’s case is a perfect example of what I mean.
A fifty-seven-year-old retired schoolteacher, Kathy was being treated by her internist with the thiazide diuretic, Diuril, for high bloo