In last month’s Health Zinger I wrote a blurb titled, “Prescriptions vs. Supplements: Is there a double standard?” If you missed it, click here.

In summary, drugs in the acetaminophen class cause about 12,000 Emergency Room visits and 100 deaths per year. Most of these events are due to liver damage. If you would like the FDA’s report on these statistics, please send me an email. I have it in Adobe PDF format. I am consistently amazed at how little concern we give to drugs like acetaminophen while being very cautious about anything natural.

The companies selling acetaminophen have launched a massive campaign to brain-wash, I mean inform, the public about the safety of this drug when taken as directed. The major problem is that many people do not get relief from this class of drugs unless they take higher than the amount directed. So, people routinely take higher than recommended doses. But, even at the recommended dose some people have life-threatening side-effects. Since the amount of life-threatening events is rather low compared to the amount of total doses taken, the drug is considered safe. The company convinces consumers of the safety with what I call “slight of hand”. This is what the label states:

“Used as directed, Tylenol has a superior safety profile compared with all other over-the-counter pain relievers.”

Notice that the label does not state that Tylenol is safe! It has a superior safety profile compared to other over-the-counter pain relievers. That is kind of like saying that a rattlesnake has a superior safety profile compared to a great white shark. People still die taking the drug as directed.

Fear not! You can actually take something natural that can help your liver better detoxify acetaminophen. In fact, if you go to the E.R. with acetaminophen poisoning they will actually give you an I.V. push of this supplement. The supplement is N-acetylcysteine (NAC).

NAC actually increases the levels of a very important antioxidant and cell protectant called Glutathione. Glutathione is used to detoxify acetaminophen. If you have low levels of this important molecule you may be more susceptible to a number of health issues. Taking acetaminophen on a regular basis can cause low levels of Glutathionel.

So, the common sense decision would be to take NAC as a daily supplement if you are taking acetaminophen. I want to have you ask yourself why the manufacturers of this drug do not encourage this course of supplementation. My answer is that they know darn well that telling consumers that they have to purchase and take another supplement to make their drug safer would drastically reduce sales. They are more than willing to take chances with your life to increase their profits. Boy that makes me angry!

My suggestion is that if you take acetaminophen on a regular basis is to take 1,000 mg of NAC per day as a supplement.