Sugar Coated Pills Aren’t So Sweet

sugar coated pills

Sugar coated tablets are meant to protect people from the medicine upsetting their bodies. But now a new study has found sugar coating might itself be bad for the body.

The study, sponsored by the Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority and published in Toxicology Letters, has found that just one sugar coated tablet of an easy to obtain over-the-counter medication “can raise the levels of phthalates in the body by 100 fold before being quickly eliminated.”

The fact that it’s quickly eliminated is great, but the fact that it even gets into the body isn’t. And does it really go away all together in someone who is taking the medication for long term use, or will the phthalates level remain elevated and cause the patient to be at increased risk of endocrine related health illnesses?

According to the study’s authors, if drug manufacturers would simply take the phthalates out of medicines, exposure would avoided. Obvious enough, but it will probably require more studies before that sort of change occurs.

via The Daily Green

Image: jepoirrier