I’m interested in politics so when I got hold of the presidential candidates medication list, I naturally scrutinized it. I am really interested to see what our nominees are taking because it gives me a glimpse into their overall health. Because I study drug nutrient depletion, I know what nutrients are lost when you take a medication, what I call the drug mugging effect.
Right now I’m going to list the medications that each presidential candidate reportedly takes. They both take very popular medications and millions of prescriptions are written for these meds each year. In fact, I bet a lot of you take the same medications as our nominees. I have comments about their medications as well as how the drug mugging effect could cause more “diseases.” Their doctors could diagnose them improperly with new “diseases” unless they know to restore the nutrients depleted by their medications. I wrote a #1 Amazon best-seller on this very topic (Drug Muggers) listing hundreds of medications and the nutrients you need to take to restore good health (Drug Muggers, Rodale 2010). In alphabetical order, I will begin:
Clinton, Hillary.
The Democratic nominee, Senator Clinton has recently had some coughing spells due to pneumonia. She takes Armour Thyroid which is for hypothyroidism. This is something that is a long-term medication.
The Levaquin she takes is temporary, for her lung infection, and probably the same could be said for her antihistamine Clarinex. Coumadin, used for blood thinning is taken daily, long-term. Most of you who take Coumadin, probably take the generic of Coumadin which is called “warfarin” so I’ll refer to it that way. If I was to have dinner with Senator Clinton, I would not let her order anything with avocados or onions becuase there are clinically significant interactions with her warfarin. She should not drink grapefruit juice either, it could spike the levels of warfarin. Orange juice will spike her levels as well, and this could cause excessive bleeding.
Armour Thyroid should be taken first thing in the morning, upon arising. If milk or cream (with coffee) is desired, these calcium-containing foods should be separated 2 hours away from her thyroid medicine or the calcium will deactivate her thyroid medicine. I personally think that a little selenium could be helpful for her, as it improves thyroid hormone activation (T4 to T3) and transport of biologically active T3 straight into her cells. She may not feel as well as she could on the Armour, so I’m saying the selenium could improve thyroid hormone utilization. Besides, selenium is a strong antioxidant and could reduce her risk for another bout of pneumonia.
The warfarin she takes is an anticoagulant. It’s a strong drug mugger of vitamin K (causing deficiency), however, she should NOT supplement with K because it inactivates her medication. Her intake of green leafy vegetables like salad, kale, spinach, asparagus and any other vitamin K rich veggies should be kept very, very steady or else it will reduce her warfarin levels.
A vitamin K deficiency could lead to blood clotting, bleeding gums, easy bruising, but again, restoring vitamin K is never advised when taking warfarin. As for her Levaquin (Levofloxacin), if I was friends with Mrs. Clinton, I’d recommend that she switch antibiotics because she risks harmful (and possibly even irreversible) side effects. Here’s what the FDA has to say about potential disabling warnnings. This antibiotic is in the category of “Fluoroquinone antibiotics” so it’s similar to ciprofloxacin (Cipro) and gemifloxacin (Factive), norfloxacin (Noroxin).
In my clinical world, we affectionately dub these antibiotics the “flox” drugs because they all have “flox” in their chemical name. Flox drugs are almost always prescribed for prostatitis and UTIs. It’s widely known that flox drugs can damage tendons, and there is an FDA Black Box warning to this effect so I hope Senator Clinton was tried on something else before they started this antibiotic. Anyway, what’s more concerning is that flox drugs deplete collagen. Two studies in 2015 suggest an association of aortic tears or bulges, and it’s due to the breakdown of collagen. Your aortic valve lining in your heart is actually made of collagen so a loss of collagen could cause damage to this precious organ.
Luckily, Senator Clinton won’t have to take the Levaquin for very long, perhaps 10 days, or maybe two weeks. Flox antibiotics have a molecular structure that includes a fluoride backbone which will antagonize her thyroid disease, and we know she has this since she takes the popular thyroid pill, Armour Thyroid, which is a porcine-derived thyroid hormone replacement medication. For my readers who take this antibiotic long-term, please note that neurological and CNS damage is possible by “flox” drugs, however, it is rare, and so for that reason, it is not frequently discussed or disclosed at the time of purchase.
Antibiotics deplete folate, biotin and B complex vitamins as well as vitamin K. The main issue with antibiotics is that they destroy intestinal flora, which are the probiotics that colonize your intestinal tract. Senator Clinton may possibly experience diarrhea, constipation, or bouts of stomach pain and cramps.
Her medications, especially the antibiotic may cause her to feel weak, unsteady, and tired, although this should be temporary. If her thyroid medication dose drops too low, then she may at some point, become very tired, overweight or forgetful. Since she’s under a great deal of stress, and has established thyroid disease, I would suggest an adrenal tonic such as Ashwagandha as well as a high-quality probiotic (not just yogurt). Mineral and electrolyte replacement is a good idea, however, these supplements need to be spaced two hours away from her thyroid medicine.
Trump, Donald.
The Republican nominee admitted to taking an unnamed ‘statin’ drug to regulate his cholesterol when interviewed on the Dr. Oz Show on September 15th. His doctor, Harold Bornstein, MD wrote a later dated 9-13-16 where he disclosed Mr. Trump’s statin as “rosuvastatin,” which goes by the brand name Crestor in the United States. Dr. Bornstein also stated that Mr. Trump takes low-dose aspirin, which is typically used for blood thinning.
Why Mr. Trump takes a statin is beyond me, his cholesterol ratios look very good and I am not a believer in these medications as you know. They are strong ‘drug muggers’ of CoQ10, selenium and Vitamin D as well as other nutrients. Over time, the nutrient deficiency could cause symptoms that look like diseases, and unless his doctor knows of the nutrient depletion, Mr. Trump could go on to be diagnosed with all sorts of problems that he doesn’t really have. He should be weighing the risks to benefits of taking a statin drug, especially because of these depletions.
For example, a deficiency of CoQ10 (from the statin) could cause memory problems, leg cramps, muscle aches, weakness, erectile dysfunction, shortness of breath or heart arrhythmias. A deficiency of selenium could lead to reduced thyroid hormone, one day causing fatigue and weight gain or hair loss, especially his eyebrows and eyelashes. A deficiency of Vitamin D could cause an increased frequency of infections. I would like to see Mr. Trump go off the statin, or supplement with high-quality versions of the above-named nutrients.
As for the aspirin he takes, even though it’s low-dose, it could still mildly deplete vitamin C, iron, folate, and potassium levels. In time, this could result in fatigue, shortness of breath, pale skin, and methylation difficulties. For now, he appears to be in good shape. If I were to have dinner with Mr. Trump, I would never agree to eat fast food with him, even though I know he loves it. This type of food is nutritionally naked my opinion, and junk food as you know could deplete him of magnesium. So I would ask that he take some Magnesium L-threonate at bedtime, perhaps 200 mg because a deficiency of mag can lead to leg cramps, hypertension and melancholy. Also, I would ask him to take me to a better restaurant where I could get a salad or a juicy steak!
Summary
Just want everyone to know I am not picking sides, or taking bets on anyone’s health 😉
I’m just talking about public figures and having a little fun.
I’m just evaluating their health status based upon what has been made public. Also, I am not saying that either candidate will get any of the symptoms or disorders I have mentioned, although I stick to my guns, they are absolute possibilities due to the drug-mugging effect. The side effects to the medications are well-documented, this is not guesswork. Drug nutrient depletion and drug interactions and side effects are my specialty, and what I am licensed to comment on.
I know what nutrients are lost as a result of medication usage. I’ve been a pharmacist for 26 years. We all know that medications have a list of side effects, and just because something is listed doesn’t mean it happens either so please don’t worry about your candidate if I’ve mentioned a problem that could theoretically occur. With drug nutrient depletion, we know it happens, but we don’t know the course of time and we don’t know for sure if a person is going to experience it.
Genetics comes into play, and environmental factors, stress, diet, age and family as well as surgical history. This is an area that I’ve studied for over 20 years. As an example of drug muggers, if one person takes a statin, they could get shortness of breath with very little exertion, as well as “restless legs” during the first month, whereas you might take it for a year before you develop those symptoms (or others). If you know either of the candidates, please get my recommendations to them.
Now, some of you get very serious about these things and I want to end on a lighter note. I imagine that I am having dinner with them… it’s just the three of us. Me, Clinton, and Trump at the table.
I ‘hear’ myself saying things like “Donald, you can’t have another cheeseburger! Hillary, I told you not to eat that guacamole… Donald, stop holding your breath, I will let you have the French fries for God’s sake… Hillary pleeeease stop kicking him under the table… Donald … Hillary, STOP! Both of you go to your hotel room… NO DESSERT!”
Suzy Cohen, has been a licensed pharmacist for over 30 years and believes the best approach to chronic illness is a combination of natural medicine and conventional. She founded her own dietary supplement company specializing in custom-formulas, some of which have patents. With a special focus on functional medicine, thyroid health and drug nutrient depletion, Suzy is the author of several related books including Thyroid Healthy, Drug Muggers, Diabetes Without Drugs, and a nationally syndicated column.
