Many common drugs—both prescription and over-the-counter—can cause nutritional deficiencies that can add to already existing health problems. Instead of healing your problem, the drug only causes more problems. In fact, heart disease is due in a large part to nutritional deficiency. Just as too little vitamin C causes scurvy, too little folate (and to a lesser extent, vitamins B6 and B12) can cause your arteries to clog up. Many years of chronic folate deficiency can result in a heart attack or stroke.
In the book, The Nutritional Cost of Prescription Drugs, the author Ross Pelton, R.Ph., Ph.D., CCN, points out that over 1,000 of the most commonly prescribed prescription drugs, and many over-the-counter (OTC) medications, deplete one or more nutrients in humans.