Maybe one of the most surprising—and overlooked—upsides of the current buzz around weight loss medications is this: an opportunity for nutrition to finally get the credit it deserves.

Not for shrinking waistlines, but for its real, and far more powerful role—delivering the essential nutrients that fuel every cell, organ, and system in your body.

We all know that nutrition is about nutrients—not just weight loss or calorie counts.

Yet somewhere between diet trends, fitness challenges, and “eat this, not that” type headlines, that crucial detail often gets forgotten. Vitamins, minerals, amino acids, fatty acids, and phytonutrients aren’t extras—they’re the raw materials your body requires to function at its best.

When it comes to your heart, these nutrients are mission-critical. Magnesium, potassium, protein, folic acid, vitamin C, B vitamins, iron, omega-3 fatty acids, zinc, and CoQ10 (just to name a few) keep your heart in rhythm, your blood pressure in range, your arteries flexible, and inflammation in check.

And yet—many of us are walking around with deficiencies, often without realizing it. 

Here’s how it happens.

1. Medications can deplete nutrients

Obviously medications can be life-saving, and in many cases, they’re absolutely necessary to manage symptoms or prevent serious complications.
To be 100% clear, I’m not anti-medication—but I am pro-information.

Some of the most commonly prescribed drugs can quietly drain nutrients your heart depends on. Knowing this means you can work with your healthcare provider to protect your nutrient status while still benefiting from your medication.

For example, proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) like Prilosec®, Nexium®, Prevacid®, Protonix® lower stomach acid to ease reflux, but that acid is also needed to absorb:

• Magnesium – for steady heart rhythm, vascular relaxation, and blood pressure control.
• Calcium – for heart muscle contraction and vessel tone, as well as healthy bones etc. (1) 
• Vitamin C – for strong vessel walls and antioxidant protection.
• Vitamin B12 – for red blood cell production, energy and healthy homocysteine levels.  Note, a B12 deficiency, in particular, is significantly linked to chronic PPI use (2).

Other examples:

• Metformin – reduces B12 and folate, both important for cardiovascular health.
• Statins – deplete CoQ10, needed for heart muscle energy production.
• Antibiotics – disturb gut bacteria that help produce vitamin K, key for balanced clotting and arterial health (3).

2. Diets high in processed foods

Processed foods might fill you up, but they’re mostly devoid of nutrients—hence the term empty calories.

When roughly 60% of the average American diet comes from ultra-processed foods, it’s easy to fall short on heart-protective nutrients (4) including:

• Magnesium – relaxes arteries and supports healthy blood pressure.
• Potassium – counters sodium’s effects on blood pressure.
• Omega-3 fatty acids – reduce inflammation and triglycerides.
• Folic acid – helps keep homocysteine levels in check.

Even small daily habits—like skipping vegetables, eating on the run, or relying on packaged snacks—can add up to significant nutrient gaps over time.

3. Gut health challenges

Even the best diet won’t help if your body can’t absorb the nutrients. Low stomach acid, sluggish bile flow, inflammation in the gut lining, and microbiome imbalances can all reduce your ability to take in magnesium, B vitamins, iron, and amino acids.

This means that if you have persistent bloating, reflux, constipation, or fatigue, the issue might not be what you’re eating—it might be how well you’re absorbing it.

4. Soil depletion

Modern farming practices have stripped our soils of minerals, leaving produce with lower levels of magnesium, calcium, and potassium than decades ago (5).  

For your heart, this matters because:

• Magnesium – low levels are linked to hypertension, arrhythmias, and insulin resistance (6)
• Calcium – supports vascular contraction and relaxation (7)
• Potassium – helps control blood pressure and fluid balance (8)

Even if you eat a produce-rich diet, you might still be getting less than you think—making food quality, variety, and sometimes supplementation important.

5. Chronic stress

Stress increases your body’s need for magnesium, vitamin C, and B vitamins. These nutrients help your cardiovascular system respond to and recover from stress by keeping blood vessels flexible, reducing oxidative damage, and stabilizing blood pressure (9).

When stress is constant and intake doesn’t match demand, depletion can happen quickly.

In summary (TL;DR):

Nutrient deficiencies aren’t rare—they’re common, often hidden, and directly impact heart health. Even with plenty of food, you can fall short due to:

• Medications (PPIs, statins, metformin, diuretics, antibiotics) that deplete key heart-protective nutrients
• Processed foods high in calories but low in magnesium, potassium, protein, omega-3s, and folate
• Gut health issues that block absorption
• Soil depletion reducing mineral content in produce
  Chronic stress increasing nutrient demand

Magnesium, potassium, B vitamins, iron, omega-3s, zinc, CoQ10, and others keep your heart beating smoothly, your blood pressure balanced, and your arteries strong. The good news? These nutrient gaps are easy to identify and address through testing, diet upgrades, digestive support, and strategic supplementation.

What you can do today…

• Review medications with your provider for possible nutrient interactions.
• Check key nutrients via a complete blood count (CBC) lab plus Vitamin B12, Vitamin D & ferritin
• Prioritize whole, minimally processed foods rich in heart-protective nutrients.
• Support digestion for better absorption.
• Incorporate stress management strategies.
• Supplement strategically if/when diet alone isn’t enough.

Want to find out if hidden nutrient gaps are affecting your heart health?

Book your complimentary 30-minute Proactive Heart Health Strategy Session today. We’ll pinpoint your top priorities and create a simple, targeted plan to help your heart thrive.

Because heart health isn’t just all about the big numbers—it’s about the small nutrients doing the big jobs behind the scenes as well.

References:

1. Ito, T., & Jensen, R. T. (2010). Association of long-term proton pump inhibitor therapy with bone fractures and effects on absorption of calcium, vitamin B12, iron, and magnesium. Current Gastroenterology Reports, 12(6), 448–457. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11894-010-0141-0
   
2. Lam, J. R., Schneider, J. L., Zhao, W., & Corley, D. A. (2013). Proton pump inhibitor and histamine 2 receptor antagonist use and vitamin B12 deficiency. JAMA, 310(22), 2435–2442. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2013.280490
   
3. Conly, J. M., & Stein, K. (1992). The production of menaquinones (vitamin K2) by intestinal bacteria and their role in maintaining coagulation homeostasis. Progress in Food & Nutrition Science, 16(4), 307–343.
   
4. Davis, D. R. (2009). Declining fruit and vegetable nutrient composition: What is the evidence? HortScience, 44(1), 15–19.
   
5. Baraldi, L. G., Martinez Steele, E., Canella, D. S., Moubarac, J. C., Levy, R. B., Monteiro, C. A. (2022). Consumption of ultra-processed foods and associated sociodemographic factors in the USA between 2007 and 2012: Evidence from a nationally representative cross-sectional study. BMJ Open, 8(3), e020574. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2017-020574
   
6. Volpe, S. L. (2013). Magnesium in disease prevention and overall health. Advances in Nutrition, 4(3), 378S–383S. https://doi.org/10.3945/an.112.003483
   
7. Rice, B. H., & Black, R. E. (2021). Calcium and cardiovascular disease. Advances in Nutrition, 12(6), 2138–2149. https://doi.org/10.1093/advances/nmab082
   
8. Stone, M. S., Martyn, L., & Weaver, C. M. (2016). Potassium intake, bioavailability, hypertension, and glucose control. Nutrients, 8(7), 444. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu8070444
   
9. Selye, H. (1976). Stress in health and disease. Butterworth-Heinemann