{"id":19021,"date":"2021-03-17T14:21:21","date_gmt":"2021-03-17T19:21:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thepapergown.zocdoc.com\/?p=19021"},"modified":"2023-03-06T15:18:56","modified_gmt":"2023-03-06T20:18:56","slug":"whats-clean-medicine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/whats-clean-medicine\/","title":{"rendered":"What’s ‘Clean Medicine’?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most over-the-counter drugs come with a long list of inactive ingredients. Dyes, sweeteners and shelf-life extenders are added to many medications to make them as presentable, palatable and long-lasting as possible.<\/span><\/p>\n

But would it be better to take a \u201cclean\u201d<\/span> medicine that doesn\u2019t list unrecognizable ingredients on the side of the box? What about a cold medication made with organic blueberries in lieu of high fructose corn syrup, for example?<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s the premise behind <\/span>Genexa<\/span><\/a>, a brand that calls itself the \u201cfirst clean medicine company.\u201d Clean medicine is a close relative of the clean eating and clean cosmetics trends, and Genexa claims its medicines are made using \u201cthe same active ingredients people need, but without the artificial ones they don\u2019t.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But swapping common inactive ingredients for \u201cclean\u201d alternatives doesn\u2019t come cheap.<\/span> Genexa\u2019s antacid<\/span><\/a> is $9.99 for 72 tablets, compared to<\/span> a chain pharmacy version with the same active ingredient<\/span><\/a> that\u2019s under $6 for 160 tablets.<\/span><\/p>\n

Is it worth spending extra money on a \u201cclean\u201d medicine? The answer depends on your health history, your budget and your priorities. We talked to experts to learn about inactive ingredients in medications and whether it\u2019s worth making the switch to clean alternatives.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why do medications have inactive ingredients?<\/h3>\n

A majority of inactive ingredients are fillers, but they serve an important purpose.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey bind the medication and make it what we call homogeneous, which means it\u2019s the same amount throughout the tablet or the liquid,\u201d says Ashley Garling, clinical assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy. \u201cIt makes sure that the dose you receive is accurate.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Plus, \u201cmedications are in such tiny amounts as far as the active ingredient is concerned \u2026 that creating a tablet from only the inactive ingredients is impractical,\u201d Garling adds. There simply wouldn\u2019t be a way to take your medicine if it didn\u2019t include some inactive ingredients.<\/span><\/p>\n

Other ingredients like dyes or flavorings help make a medication look or taste more appealing. Inactive ingredients can also contribute to the effectiveness of a medication, says James Wheeler, associate dean at the University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy, Knoxville campus.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Two common ingredients are sucrose or lactose. They can help with a drug\u2019s taste and bind ingredients together,\u201d Wheeler says. \u201cThe addition of fatty acids can help with drug absorption.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Stripping away active ingredients could potentially make a medication less effective, \u201cdepending on the type of medication and the absorption properties,\u201d Wheeler says.<\/span><\/p>\n

Are \u201cclean\u201d inactive ingredients better than traditional inactive ingredients?<\/h3>\n

Genexa\u2019s products don\u2019t completely eliminate inactive ingredients, but they do swap common ones for organic or non-GMO alternatives.<\/span><\/p>\n

For example, in a side-by-side comparison of Genexa\u2019s acetaminophen with drugstore brands, the company lists its own inactive ingredients (organic agave syrup, organic blueberries, citrus extract, purified water) alongside a drugstore brand\u2019s active ingredients (FD&C Red. No. 40, high fructose corn syrup, microcrystalline cellulose, carboxymethylcellulose sodium, among others).<\/span><\/p>\n

The message to consumers is clear: While the drugstore brand is full of confusing chemicals, the \u201cclean\u201d alternative uses recognizable, easy-to-pronounce ingredients.<\/span><\/p>\n

But \u201cpeople can\u2019t correlate natural and healthy,\u201d Garling says. \u201cWhen I think of blueberry, I think well, where were they grown? What was in the soil? What else is going to be in that blueberry extract that came from other sources?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Garling adds: \u201cWhen you go down that rabbit hole of \u2018what is natural?\u2019 you have to ask yourself, is anything natural anymore? What is the risk versus benefit?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s also important to review the <\/span>active <\/span><\/i>ingredients in Genexa\u2019s medications, since they aren\u2019t always identical swaps for what you\u2019ll find at the pharmacy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Genexa\u2019s <\/span>allergy and decongestant medicine<\/span><\/a>, for example, lists a homeopathic remedy as its active ingredient. It doesn\u2019t contain an active ingredient like loratadine (Claritin) or cetirizine (Zyrtec), two common antihistamines, and <\/span>research doesn\u2019t provide evidence in support of homeopathic solutions<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

How likely am I to have a reaction to an inactive ingredient?<\/h3>\n

Most of the time, <\/span>active <\/span><\/i>ingredients are more likely to cause a reaction than inactive ingredients.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe active ingredient acts at the receptor of the cell, triggering its therapeutic effects,\u201d Wheeler says. \u201cInactive ingredients don\u2019t have that mechanism and often are well tolerated by most patients. Most of the time, there\u2019s not an issue with inactive ingredients.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But patients with certain allergies or conditions, including lactose intolerance or Celiac disease, could be allergic to common inactive ingredients containing milk or gluten. <\/span>Other possible allergens include peanut oil and chemical dyes<\/span><\/a>. Keep an eye on medication labels if you know you have an allergy. Your pharmacist or doctor can also help you avoid ingredients that would trigger a reaction.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you aren\u2019t already aware of any allergies, it can be hard to determine if you\u2019ve had a reaction to an inactive ingredient.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s often a process of elimination,\u201d Garling says. \u201cA lot of these inactive ingredients are in everything from shampoos to foods.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Tracing the clean medicine trend<\/h3>\n

The concept of \u201cclean\u201d products in medicine isn\u2019t exactly new, Garling says.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThroughout the last decade at least, various versions of \u2018clean\u2019 medicine or over the counter products have been incredibly popular\u201d Garling says, pointing out that \u201cclean\u201d has historically been used to market herbal supplements and homeopathic remedies.<\/span><\/p>\n

Brendan R. Begnoche, an informatics pharmacist for Nuvance Health in Connecticut and New York, says he\u2019s noticed growing interest in \u201cclean\u201d medicine \u201cin <\/span>parallel with societal trends where people are \u2018eating clean.\u2019 \u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople may be eating clean to avoid artificial ingredients for personal dietary reasons, but there are also people needing to avoid specific ingredients or dyes for diagnosed health reasons,\u201d he says.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another factor could be a general distrust of medicine and Big Pharma, Garling says.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt may be a sense of wanting to revert back to our roots, so to speak,\u201d she says. \u201cGetting back to what\u2019s considered more natural and therefore in a lot of peoples\u2019 minds healthier.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But \u201cnatural products are very complex groups of chemicals even though they grow in our environment.\u201d Garling says. Plus, products labeled or marketed as \u201cnatural\u201d<\/span> can still cause reactions and irritation<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The bottom line: Should you try clean medicine?<\/h3>\n

The average person consumes inactive ingredients from medication in such small quantities and so infrequently that those ingredients will never cause an issue.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFrom a medical point of view, I think that most people do not need to be concerned with inactive ingredients in medication,\u201d Begnoche says. \u201cI wouldn’t categorize the \u2018clean\u2019 products as any better or worse than what is on the market.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Garling agrees: \u201cI would not immediately see a benefit, and for the majority of my patients I would not necessarily recommend these products, just because access is always in the back of our mind,\u201d she says, pointing out that Genexa\u2019s medicines are considerably more expensive than their drugstore competitors.<\/span><\/p>\n

But if you like the idea of a clean medication and you can afford it, there\u2019s no harm in trying it, Garling and Begnoche agree. People with allergies to common inactive ingredients may also find that \u201cclean\u201d medicines offer a good alternative to drugstore brands.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ultimately, if you\u2019re concerned about the ingredients in your medications, a pharmacist at your drugstore or grocery store can answer questions and save you from falling down a Google rabbit hole.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s thousands of medications on the market,\u201d Wheeler says. \u201cThat\u2019s really where pharmacist\u2019s expertise comes into play. Your pharmacist has specialized training and access to drug databases.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Ready to book a doctor’s appointment? Visit Zocdoc.<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/h1>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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