By Piper Gutierrez

Beware of these medicines and substances that deplete the nutrients in your body!

Have you wondered why you are deficient in vitamins and minerals in spite of your daily supplement? Is your supplement ineffective and not able to give you the vigor and vitality you need, or is there something  depleting your body of the essential nutrients that are important for good health?

We have been taking a lot of over-the-counter drugs for minor ailments such as headaches, colds, sinusitis, allergies and others without knowing what harmful effects they have on our body. There are a lot of medicines or substances that we take casually daily, and we confidently believed that they are harmless and good for our body.

These medicines and substances rob our body of the many essential nutrients for normal body functioning. Some of these substances are found in food and drinks that we take daily. The following is a partial list of these substances with the corresponding nutrients they rob from our body. Beware of these medicines and substances that deplete the nutrients in your body:

* Aspirin – Vitamins A, vitamin B complex, vitamin C, folic acid, iron, potassium, and calcium

* Anti-acids – Vitamin A, C, vitamin B complex, calcium, and phosphorus

* Antibiotics – Vitamin K, vitamin B complex, and friendly colon bacteria

* Antihistamines – Vitamin C

* Barbiturates – Vitamin C

* Caffeine – Biotin, inositol, potassium, zinc, and vitamin B1

* Fluoride – Vitamin C

* Laxatives – Vitamin A, vitamin K, and potassium. This does not include herbal laxatives

* Diuretics – Vitamin B2, vitamin C, calcium, potassium, magnesium, iodine, and zinc

* Tobacco – Vitamins A, vitamin C, and vitamin E

* Oral contraceptives – Vitamin B complex, vitamins C, vitamin D, and vitamin E

* Estrogen preparations – Vitamin B6, and folic acid

* Ethanol (alcohol) – Vitamins C, vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin K, and vitamin B complex

* Penicillin – Vitamin B6, niacin, and niacinamide

* Synthetic neurotransmitters – Vitamins B2, vitamin B6, potassium, and magnesium

* Sulfa drugs – Para-aminobenzoic acid, and friendly bowel bacteria

* Beta blockers – Panthotenic acid, choline, and chromium

* Corticosteroids – Vitamins A, vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin D, and calcium

These substances are seemingly harmless, and we sometime indulge in them. Some of us like to have coffee with our breakfast and smoke a cigarette after meals. When our stomach becomes upset because of indigestion due to our intemperance, we cure it by taking anti-acid tablets or capsules, without knowing that coffee, cigarettes, and anti-acid medications can only deplete the important nutrients that are essential to the normal functioning of our body.

Let us avoid these medicines and substances that deplete our body of the essential nutrients. Good health is of prime importance to us all. Great material possessions in life are worthless without good health. Therefore, let us strive to be healthy, and live a long life full of joy and happiness.