Q: I read your columns even when the subject doesn’t pertain to me because you often say interesting things on the side that applies to others. I feel like I’m learning something all the time. Can you just print interesting tidbits?
– C.P., Boca Raton, Fla.
A: This week, I’ve collected some information that may come in handy. Chew on this:
1. Viagra is being prescribed for women as a sexual enhancer because it improves blood flow to those parts. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration hasn’t really approved this, but it works.
2. Taking a little L-tyrosine, sold over the counter, can cut your cravings for coffee and smoking.
3. Lecithin is made in the body and also sold as a supplement. It can help restore memory and sexual drive in a person by making acetylcholine, an important brain chemical. The best way is to sprinkle a few tablespoons of lecithin granules onto your food or into juice.
4. The risk of stroke with birth-control patches might be three times higher than it is with the pill.
5. Synthetic prescription estrogens and progestins found in hormone pills tend to raise a woman’s blood pressure. Natural bio-identical hormones shouldn’t do that. Specialized doctors can prescribe natural hormone replacement drugs for you.
6. Silica found in horsetail extract can help strengthen brittle nails and improve bone thickness in your body.
7. Estrogen drugs can lead to depression and fatigue because they deplete the body of magnesium, tyrosine, vitamin B6 and B12. Having enough of these nutrients is crucial to your mood, your thyroid function and your energy level.
8. A lot of young people think that nonoxyl-9, the spermicide used in condoms, vaginal creams and jellies, will protect them against HIV, gonorrhea and chlamydia. Not so.
9. Drugs used to treat baldness and prostate function in men may increase a man’s risk for osteoporosis.
10. 5-HTP is a supplement you can take that might help you sleep better and cut cravings for sweets.
11. Ginkgo biloba may improve age-related macular degeneration, as well as memory, circulation and brain power.
12. If you take antibiotics, don’t forget to supplement with fresh yogurt (unsweetened if possible) or a quality probiotics that you might find in the refrigerator section of your health-
food store. Take between antibiotic doses, not at the same time.
13. DHEA may hold promise for people with depression. Don’t take it if you have a history of estrogen-related cancers, such as breast or prostate cancer.
Suzy Cohen is a registered pharmacist. Contact her at dearpharmacist.com.
