worrisome class of medication for the brain in the long term, I believe, is the acid-blocking drugs. 22 These include Prilosec, Prevacid, Nexium, Aciphex, and Protonix.
Effects of Acid-Blocking Medication
Prevents adequate protein digestion, which diminishes our ability to provide the amino-acid building blocks of neurotransmitters to help our mood, memory, and attention.
Prevents mineral absorption, leading to decreased magnesium levels in the body. Magnesium deficiency is a major contributor to anxiety and mood disorders.
Increases the risk of intestinal infections 23 and causes osteoporosis. 24
And most important, prevents absorption of B 12 , 25 leading to fatigue, memory loss, dementia, and depression. 26
Other drugs that deplete B vitamins include aspirin, estrogens (including birth-control pills and steroids), diuretics or water pills, anticonvulsant drugs (seizure medication, also often used for mood disorders, such as Tegretol and Depakote), anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen, and drugs for Parkinson’s disease such as Sinemet.
Glutathione-Lowering Medication
There is one drug that stands above all others in quickly depleting glutathione—acetaminophen (Tylenol or Panadol). It is found in countless over-the-counter medications. People take it all the time without thinking about it. But the truth is that this drug is more toxic than most prescription drugs.
Glutathione is your body’s last stand against toxins, inflammation, and free radicals. You will learn why these problems wreak havoc in your body in Part II, and how glutathione protects you against them.
For now, suffice it to say that glutathione is one of the single most important chemicals in the human body, and a deficiency in it can cause severe mental and physical health issues.
In addition to the environmental and dietary influences that deplete glutathione, half of us (and most of the people with broken brains) are missing a key gene, GSTM1, which helps the body rebuild its stores of glutathione. This only compounds the problem.
You can boost your own glutathione levels by eating foods from the broccoli and garlic families and taking a supplement called NAC (n-acetylcysteine), which helps rebuild your depleted glutathione. 27 It works to treat acetaminophen overdose in the emergency room, and prevent liver failure and death, and it will work to protect you.
And remember: acetaminophen can be dangerous, especially if consumed with alcohol. Take it only occasionally and only if you really need it.
Metal-Containing Medications
Aside from the inadvertent contamination of many calcium supplements with lead, 28 many medications have or have had metals put in on purpose! These metals can be literally poisonous to your body and brain.
For example, aluminum has been linked to a higher risk of Alzheimer’s. It is found in antacids such as Gaviscon, Maalox, and Mylanta, which people swig like orange juice. It is also found in our water, cookware, foil wrap, and most underarm deodorants.
Up until recently, mercury, in the form of thimerosal, was the most common disinfectant placed in vaccines (and is still in most flu vaccines) and contact-lens fluid.
Other studies “prove” that mercury exposure from vaccines is harmless. 29
Or is it?
A recent CDC study in the
New England Journal of Medicine
appears to have been designed to show no harm. Notably:
1. They excluded all kids with autism from the study! These are the kids with the genetic susceptibilities to problems. These are the kids who
can’t
detoxify. This is like doing a study to see if peanuts cause allergies, but excluding
all
kids with an allergy to peanuts from the study. It’s just plain bad science.
2. They did
not
measure mercury levels in the bodies of the children—just their exposure. So if kids were good detoxifiers, of course they wouldn’t have effects from the mercury. They should have measured the total body load of mercury in the children
Effects of Acid-Blocking Medication
Prevents adequate protein digestion, which diminishes our ability to provide the amino-acid building blocks of neurotransmitters to help our mood, memory, and attention.
Prevents mineral absorption, leading to decreased magnesium levels in the body. Magnesium deficiency is a major contributor to anxiety and mood disorders.
Increases the risk of intestinal infections 23 and causes osteoporosis. 24
And most important, prevents absorption of B 12 , 25 leading to fatigue, memory loss, dementia, and depression. 26
Other drugs that deplete B vitamins include aspirin, estrogens (including birth-control pills and steroids), diuretics or water pills, anticonvulsant drugs (seizure medication, also often used for mood disorders, such as Tegretol and Depakote), anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen, and drugs for Parkinson’s disease such as Sinemet.
Glutathione-Lowering Medication
There is one drug that stands above all others in quickly depleting glutathione—acetaminophen (Tylenol or Panadol). It is found in countless over-the-counter medications. People take it all the time without thinking about it. But the truth is that this drug is more toxic than most prescription drugs.
Glutathione is your body’s last stand against toxins, inflammation, and free radicals. You will learn why these problems wreak havoc in your body in Part II, and how glutathione protects you against them.
For now, suffice it to say that glutathione is one of the single most important chemicals in the human body, and a deficiency in it can cause severe mental and physical health issues.
In addition to the environmental and dietary influences that deplete glutathione, half of us (and most of the people with broken brains) are missing a key gene, GSTM1, which helps the body rebuild its stores of glutathione. This only compounds the problem.
You can boost your own glutathione levels by eating foods from the broccoli and garlic families and taking a supplement called NAC (n-acetylcysteine), which helps rebuild your depleted glutathione. 27 It works to treat acetaminophen overdose in the emergency room, and prevent liver failure and death, and it will work to protect you.
And remember: acetaminophen can be dangerous, especially if consumed with alcohol. Take it only occasionally and only if you really need it.
Metal-Containing Medications
Aside from the inadvertent contamination of many calcium supplements with lead, 28 many medications have or have had metals put in on purpose! These metals can be literally poisonous to your body and brain.
For example, aluminum has been linked to a higher risk of Alzheimer’s. It is found in antacids such as Gaviscon, Maalox, and Mylanta, which people swig like orange juice. It is also found in our water, cookware, foil wrap, and most underarm deodorants.
Up until recently, mercury, in the form of thimerosal, was the most common disinfectant placed in vaccines (and is still in most flu vaccines) and contact-lens fluid.
Other studies “prove” that mercury exposure from vaccines is harmless. 29
Or is it?
A recent CDC study in the
New England Journal of Medicine
appears to have been designed to show no harm. Notably:
1. They excluded all kids with autism from the study! These are the kids with the genetic susceptibilities to problems. These are the kids who
can’t
detoxify. This is like doing a study to see if peanuts cause allergies, but excluding
all
kids with an allergy to peanuts from the study. It’s just plain bad science.
2. They did
not
measure mercury levels in the bodies of the children—just their exposure. So if kids were good detoxifiers, of course they wouldn’t have effects from the mercury. They should have measured the total body load of mercury in the children
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