Some adverse symptoms people experience in their daily lives from taking medication may not be the side effects of the drug, but rather a result of the drug "stealing" nutrients. When taking the following five types of drugs, it is necessary to appropriately increase nutritional intake.
Antibiotics
Antibiotics not only kill pathogenic bacteria in the process, but also kill some beneficial bacteria in the body, leading to decreased appetite, fatigue, and a drop in white blood cell count. When taking penicillin antibiotics, cephalosporin antibiotics, or tetracycline antibiotics, it is also easy to cause a loss of B vitamins and vitamin K, leading to symptoms such as depression, irritability, palpitations, and constipation. Therefore, it is recommended to drink a cup of yogurt daily during the course of taking antibiotics. The bifidobacteria in yogurt are non-pathogenic bacteria that naturally exist in the human gastrointestinal tract. They can not only reduce the side effects of antibiotics but also promote food digestion. At the same time, eating more foods rich in B vitamins, such as soybeans, lean meat, and green leafy vegetables, can improve this condition.
Diuretics
This type of drug is commonly used by elderly patients with hypertension or chronic heart failure. Long-term use can cause hypokalemia, leading to symptoms such as muscle weakness in the limbs and abdominal bloating. Therefore, when taking diuretics for a long time, it is important to adjust your diet and eat more foods rich in potassium ions, such as bananas, lotus seeds, mushrooms, kelp, and seaweed.
Digoxin
This drug is commonly used by people with heart disease, especially elderly patients with chronic congestive heart failure. After being metabolized in the body, the drug is excreted by the kidneys. Due to poor kidney function in the elderly, it is easy to cause drug accumulation and poisoning. The main symptom of poisoning is arrhythmia. In fact, before an arrhythmia occurs, about 50%-95% of the elderly will experience symptoms such as fatigue, loss of appetite, and nausea, with a significant reduction in food intake, leading to a rapid deterioration of their nutritional status. Therefore, it is very important to control the dosage, change the diet, and supplement with more nutrients.
Anti-tuberculosis Drugs
The most common anti-tuberculosis drug is isoniazid. After entering the human body, isoniazid is metabolized into isonicotinoyl hydrazide and excreted through urine. When converting into a hydrazide compound, it must bind with vitamin B6. Therefore, patients taking isoniazid often suffer from a vitamin B6 deficiency, which manifests as a series of neurological symptoms. If patients eat more foods high in vitamin B6, such as egg yolks and animal liver, these symptoms can be alleviated. However, if they also suffer from hypercholesterolemia, they cannot supplement B6 by eating these foods and can take oral vitamin B6 tablets instead.
Hormones
Commonly used drugs include prednisone and dexamethasone. Frequent use can cause muscle atrophy, osteoporosis, and other issues, which are also related to malnutrition. Prednisone is associated with reduced protein synthesis and absorption, while dexamethasone is associated with reduced calcium absorption. Because hormone drugs inhibit the intestinal absorption of calcium, it leads to a lack of calcium in the blood. At this point, the parathyroid gland begins to work, resulting in a slowdown in bone formation and a significant increase in the activity of osteoclasts, which dissolve the bone, releasing calcium from it. Therefore, people who take prednisone and other drugs for a long time must eat more calcium-rich foods, such as dried shrimp and soy products. Supplementing with vitamin D at the same time can promote the absorption of calcium in the intestines.