Is consuming wings, fries, cake, and ice cream OK so long as you’re taking a statin?

DEAR DR. ROACH: Do meds for hypertension, ldl cholesterol and diabetes lose their efficacy if the affected person is noncompliant with weight loss plan? My companion thinks a meal of wings, French fries, cake and ice cream is OK so long as he takes a statin, Glucophage and Norvasc. I feel the meds will finally grow to be ineffective. Your ideas? — W.G.

ANSWER: The most effective situation right here is to eat effectively, retaining fried meals (like wings and fries), high-sodium meals (like wings and fries) and concentrated sweets (cake and ice cream) at a low stage, on prime of taking your medicine as correctly prescribed. Remedy can partially counteract the results of a foul weight loss plan, however a extremely unhealthy weight loss plan will trigger hurt irrespective of how a lot medicine a health care provider gives. It’s not that the drugs lose efficacy; it’s like attempting to place out a home fireplace with a squirt gun.

I don’t know whether or not your companion’s physician has informed him in regards to the kind of weight loss plan he ought to have. I’ve actually had sufferers, like your companion, who proceed to eat poorly, relying on their medication to assist them, regardless of receiving earnest and repeated recommendation from me. Getting assist from a registered dietician or nutritionist, diabetes nurse educators, well being coaches, their companion and others can actually assist reinforce the message. It isn’t the data alone that will get folks to alter their habits. Correcting unhealthy habits is tough, and requires effort and time.

When folks actually do dramatically change their weight loss plan (particularly together with common reasonable train), each they and their docs are sometimes shocked to see how a lot much less medication they want and the way significantly better they really feel.

DEAR DR. ROACH: I’ve seen that I really feel hungry a couple of minutes after I take ibuprofen, regardless that I’m cautious to take it with meals to keep away from an upset abdomen. Are you able to clarify why that is? — J.S.B.

ANSWER: The abdomen holds extraordinarily sturdy acid and requires safety to maintain the abdomen lining from being broken. A few of that safety is medicated by a category of compounds referred to as prostaglandins, which, amongst different actions, improve native blood movement, secrete mucin (to guard cells) and bicarbonate (to scale back the acid that does get by means of the protecting mucin barrier), and assist restore any injury that’s executed.

Ibuprofen, like all nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medicine and aspirin, works by decreasing the enzyme that begins manufacturing of prostaglandins and different compounds that transmit ache. Nonetheless, additionally they scale back the protecting abdomen prostaglandins, leaving the abdomen weak to the unwell results of acid. Generally this causes signs — a burning or gnawing ache is probably the most frequent I hear. I conjecture that some folks might discover the signs after taking ibuprofen just like the feeling you get if you end up hungry. Different folks haven’t any signs however, nonetheless, can nonetheless obtain injury within the abdomen, together with gastritis and ulcers.

Step one to avoiding NSAID-induced abdomen injury is to make use of these medicine occasionally, particularly if you happen to get signs from them or have a historical past of confirmed injury attributable to them. There are drugs to scale back the danger, reminiscent of antihistamines (like famotidine); proton-pump inhibitors (omeprazole and others, all of which scale back acid manufacturing); and misoprostol, which works on the prostaglandins.

Discovering and treating the abdomen an infection Helicobacter pylori can be thought of as a preventive for people who find themselves about to start out a course on NSAIDs. Individuals who have been on NSAIDs for a very long time are at a decrease (however not zero) threat of creating abdomen injury, though older age is related to a better threat.Dr. Roach regrets that he’s unable to reply particular person letters, however will incorporate them within the column at any time when potential. Readers might e-mail inquiries to [email protected] or ship mail to 628 Virginia Dr., Orlando, FL

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