Drugs and dietary supplements contain not only active substances. Most of their weight is usually additives, which are not always neutral for health. We explain which excipients may not be safe and for whom, and which of them are suspected of having a harmful effect on the body.
Contents
A drug is a medical product that consists of one or more active (otherwise active or medicinal) substances and excipients. These are the most common additions most of the weight of the tablet, capsules or e.g. syrup, acting as e.g. fillers or shell components. The same is true of many dietary supplements.
Additional ingredients are not listed on the front of the pack or even on the back label. Sometimes you have to look for the full composition of the drug on the leaflet of the preparation – often closed with a sealed box. When buying a medicinal product, we often have no insight into what it contains – unless we look for a full list of its ingredients on the Internet in advance. And why check! Many of the excipients are compounds that are unhealthy, and for some people even life-threatening.
Excipients are compounds that in the amounts used in medicines they do not have their own pharmacological action. They make it possible to give the drug an appropriate form, increase its durability, improve organoleptic characteristics, and also affect how medicinal substances are absorbed in the body. They may also facilitate the swallowing of tablets or mask the bitter taste of the active substances.
