Who needs vitamin and mineral supplements?
At the pharmacy, people often ask us if they should be taking a vitamin or mineral supplement. For young female patients that are pregnant or planning to get pregnant soon, we recommend that they start taking a pre-natal multivitamin as soon as possible. This supplementation is very important for the development of the baby because it contains 'Folic Acid' as well as other vitamins and minerals that are needed during pregnancy. Many women will stop taking the pre-natal vitamin after giving birth, however, it is recommended that the pre-natal multivitamin supplementation be continued for 4-6 weeks afterwards and as long as breastfeeding continues.
For people who are picky eaters or those who are often skipping meals, they could be lacking essential vitamins and minerals from not eating certain group of food. Sometimes, vegetarians may become low in iron because they are not consuming any red meat. Also, people who are lactose intolerant may not be getting enough calcium from their diet because they avoid milk and other dairy products. According to Osteoporosis Canada, adult women require at least 1000mg of calcium a day and women over 50 years old require 1200mg of calcium a day. Even for those of us who drinks milk and eat dairy products, we still may not be getting enough calcium from our diet alone.
To find out if your current diet is providing you with sufficient vitamins and minerals, we recommend that you talk to a dietitian. Large grocery stores, like Loblaws, will
sometimes have dietitians on-site that provide free consultations to customers.
Medications induced vitamin or mineral deficiency
Drugs can often cause deficiencies in vitamins or minerals in our body. One common example is the use of diuretic to lower blood pressure in seniors and over time, the patient may become deficient in potassium, sodium and other minerals depending on the type of diuretic being used. If you are taking a diuretic, you should ask your pharmacist about what to watch out for and how to prevent the deficiency from occurring. Sometimes, it may be as simple as eating more bananas and oranges to increase potassium intake. Other times, oral supplementation may be required.
People that are taking Metformin, a diabetes medication, for more than 10 years should be aware that their body storage of vitamin B12 could become deficient. This is because Metformin can cause malabsorption of vitamin B12 from diet. If you have been taking Metformin for more than 10 years, your doctor may recommend that you take oral supplementation of Vitamin B12 or have an annual injection to prevent this deficiency.
For patients that frequently take "stomach pills", like "Tecta", to lower their stomach acid, these medications can alter the absorption of vitamin B12, magnesium, potassium and calcium. If you take this type medications everyday for more than a few months, you may want to consider taking supplementation for Vitamin B12, magnesium, potassium and calcium.
For patients taking cholesterol lowering drugs, like Lipitor, this class of drug can decrease the body's Co-Q10 level. Coenzyme Q10 is something that the body requires for proper function of many organs. It also helps to provide energy to the cells inside our body. To prevent a deficiency in CoQ10, oral supplements are available for purchase.
Upcoming patient seminar
Mark your calendar for the upcoming FREE patient seminar at Custom Care Pharmacy.
Topic: Healthy weight loss to reduce your need for chronic medications, like hypertension drugs, cholesterol drugs, diabetes drugs.
Date: August 30th 2015 (Sunday)
Time: 2 pm - 4 pm
Location: Custom Care Pharmacy
Plus FREE taste test of Ideal Protein weight loss food products
Call to reserve your spot today! 905-305-0111
在藥房，經常會有人問是否需要服用維生素或礦物質補充劑。對於懷孕或計劃不久懷孕的女性，我們建議她們儘早開始服用產前維生素。這種補充劑是對於嬰兒的發育非常重要，因為它含有“葉酸”以及其他維生素和妊娠過程中所需的礦物質。很多女性在生完孩子後就停止服用產前維生素。實際上，我們建議產婦生產后繼續服用產前維生素補充劑4-6周。如需母乳喂養的女性，則需整個哺乳期都服用。
有些藥物可能會引起我們身體的維生素或礦物質的不足。一個常見的例子是服用利尿劑來降低血壓的老年人，隨著時間的推移，病人可能會缺鉀，鈉和礦物質。如果你正在服用利尿藥，你應該問你的藥劑師有什麼需要注意的，以及如何防止這些物質的缺乏。有時，方法可能很簡單，只要多吃些香蕉和桔子以增加鉀的攝入量。其他時候，可能需要口服補充。
服用糖尿病藥二甲雙胍超過10年的人應該知道，他們可能會缺乏維生素B12。這是因為二甲雙胍會障礙你的身體從飲食上吸收維生素B12。如果你連續服用二甲雙胍超過10年，你的醫生可能會建議您服用維生素B12口服補充劑或者每年注射一次維生素B12，以防止這方面的不足。
