When medicines become “biofactor robbers”, long-term use can lead to serious health problems. Among the vitamins, B vitamins and vitamin D in particular often fall victim to drug treatment. However, vital minerals such as magnesium and calcium as well as trace elements such as zinc and iron can also be inadequately absorbed by the body or excreted to a greater extent by some drugs.
If a biofactor deficiency creeps in as a result, taking the medication can become a boomerang under certain circumstances and counteract the actual therapeutic goal.
The consequences of a biofactor deficiency
In daily practice, little attention is paid to vitamin and mineral deficiencies caused by medication. For this reason, the Society for Biofactors has published an overview of active ingredients and groups of active ingredients that can negatively affect the vitamin and mineral balance in the body when used over a long period of time.
Short and concise: medicines and their effects on biofactors
Targeted compensation of biofactor losses can improve and easily safeguard the necessary, effective drug treatment and prevent unnecessary health risks.
Caution:
Some of the listed interactions between drugs and biofactors are described in the corresponding instructions for use and specialist information of the respective drugs (e.g. diuretics, proton pump inhibitors, tetracyclines, sartans). In the case of interactions not listed in the package insert, the Society for Biofactors refers to scientific studies, which can be found in the bibliography at the end of the overview.
Even though this overview is very comprehensive, it does not claim to be exhaustive.