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- [00:07]
A
Ruby,
- [00:10]
B
are probiotics working or am I
- [00:12]
A
just taking expensive yogurt pills?
- [00:14]
B
I take ibuprofen pretty regularly.
- [00:17]
A
Could that be hurting my stomach?
- [00:18]
B
Is there something safe my kid can take for this?
- [00:21]
A
I'm bloated all the time. That's not normal, right? Bloating, heartburn, low energy, brain fog, needing to run to the bathroom, or not being able to go at all. These are some of the most common concerns pharmacists hear every single day. And they're often signs that something deeper is happening in your gut. Your gut isn't just about digestion. It's connected to your immune system, your mood, your energy, and your overall health. In today's episode, we're breaking down what gut health really means, the myths, the must knows, and the questions CVS pharmacists hear every day. Welcome to beyond the Script, the show in which we gather at the counter to talk to pharmacists about how to stay healthy and feel better. I'm Dr. Jake Goodman, a board certified psychiatrist and health educator, and on each episode I'll be joined by a CVS pharmacist to explore the most pressing questions they're hearing in communities around the country. Before we get into those questions, it helps to understand why gut health has become such a big topic. Gut health has gone from a buzzword to a bonafide health discussion, and for good reason. Your digestive system isn't just where food goes to get broken down. It's a complex ecosystem of trillions of microorganisms that we now actually communicate with your brain. Did you know about 70% of your immune system lives in your gut? A healthy gut helps your body recognize what's harmful and what isn't. When gut health is poor, your immune system can become overactive or weakened. The bottom line is when your gut is healthy, your whole body functions better. Digestion, energy, sleep, mood, and even long term disease risk. When it's not, the effects often show up far beyond the stomach. To help break this down, I'm joined by someone who has these conversations every day, both as a pharmacist and as a mom. Victoria Mottola is a CVS pharmacist and district leader based in Miami, Florida. She works closely with patients across South Florida and she's especially passionate about wellness, nutrition, and helping families make informed, informed health decisions. She's also a new parent herself, which means many of the questions we're talking about today, especially when it comes to kids, are personal. Victoria welcome to beyond the Script.
- [03:16]
B
Thank you, Jake. Thank you for having me Here today,
- [03:19]
A
before we dive in between your life at home and what you see every day at the pharmacy, has becoming a parent changed the way that you think about health?
- [03:29]
B
Yes, absolutely. And my husband and I talk about this often, how becoming a parent really has reinvigorated and energized us into becoming just a healthier versions of ourselves. So we look about, what are we eating? Right? Like, what are we eating? What do we fuel our bodies with? Are we making the right decisions now in our 30s that are gonna set us up to be healthy adults in our 50s and 60s when our son at that point, is 20? So we think about that a lot now.
- [03:57]
A
Yeah, I resonate and I relate. I have a baby at home, and we're having those same conversations, and we're thinking, like, the same thing, you know, 10, 20, 30 years down the line.
- [04:06]
B
How old's the baby?
- [04:07]
A
Four months. What about you?
- [04:09]
B
So he actually turns a year and two weeks.
- [04:12]
A
Okay, super cool. We're in a similar stage of life. You're a little bit ahead of me. What is the name of your son?
- [04:18]
B
So his name is Leo?
- [04:20]
A
It's not.
- [04:21]
B
It is. What's the name of your son? Is it Leo? No way. You know, I haven't heard another Leo, so this is really exciting for me. I named him Leo because I was born in August and my horoscope is Leo. This. We could go way back, but. That's really funny. That's really interesting.
- [04:37]
A
That is incredible. I thought you were pranking me.
- [04:40]
B
No. That's so funny. Okay, we have two awesome Leos, two baby Leos in this. In this house.
- [04:46]
A
It's a great name. Wow. Yeah. So before we get into specifics, what's one of the gut health questions that you find yourself answering most often at the pharmacy counter?
- [04:59]
B
So a lot of what we see as pharmacists in the pharmacy counter is what kind of probiotic do you recommend? There's a lot. You go on the shelf and you're gonna see, especially if you walk into a cvs, we have a lot of options. So you're gonna see 30, 40 vitamins in a row. And a lot of our patients probably get overwhelmed with all the choices. So what benefits me, what benefits my child? And a lot of symptomatic help. So I'm having a lot of bloating, or I recently traveled and I'm having diarrhea. Like, what can I do to help any of these things?
- [05:34]
A
Perfect. Okay. We will get into all of that, especially probiotics. A lot of people have questions about that and just to get to know each other a little bit more. Can you paint a picture of where you live and work and your neighborhood and community?
- [05:47]
B
Absolutely. So I live in Miami, Florida, so right Now I oversee 18 pharmacy CVS locations, and I travel to a lot of those pharmacies to help with different innovations. In the pharmacy, we see a lot of different patients, older patients, younger patients, so a different array of patients that were coming in with questions. And that's a bit about, you know, in the last couple of years, what my day to day has looked like.
- [06:11]
A
Very cool.
- [06:11]
B
Very cool.
- [06:12]
A
Fun fact. I lived in Miami. I. I trained for residency in, in Miami. So I lived there for four years. And I remember the humidity, the heat. Oh, yeah, the, the rain. But it's a beautiful place. So, Victoria, let's talk about gut health and we'll get to all of those questions that the CVS pharmacists get asked the most. But first, when people hear gut health, what does it actually mean from a medical and pharmacy perspective?
- [06:45]
B
It's a good question because it's pretty broad. So gut health can include your small intestine, your large intestine, your stomach. So it houses a lot of what your immune system is. So when you think about energy levels, immunity, digestion, getting the proper nutrition, all of that is encompassed in the umbrella of gut health.
- [07:07]
A
And people hear this term all the time, gut microbiome. Can you explain what the gut microbiome is?
- [07:14]
B
Of course. So the gut microbiome, I was about to say, it's millions of microorganisms, but it's actually trillions. So when we hear microorganisms and viruses and bacteria, I think a lot of people say, oh, that's a bad thing. And in the sense of gut health, it's a great thing. So what we want and what we want to see in a healthy gut is trillions and trillions of different microorganisms, because it's like little soldiers that your body has and they help with an array of different things. So like I mentioned, 70% of the immune system is in the gut. So a gut microbiome in short term is just a ton of microorganisms in your body that help your body do a lot of very important things.
- [07:59]
A
Incredible. And so a CVS pharmacist can play a practical frontline role in supporting gut health because so many gut concerns are treated with over the counter products. So I want to talk through some of those questions that you get asked a lot by patients when they come up to the counter. What Sort of problems are people talking to you the most about.
- [08:19]
B
So a lot of the time somebody will come and they'll have, you know, a pain in their shoulder or something along those lines. And they're asking to use Advil, and they've been using it long term. I would counsel and tell the patient if you use an nsaid, so such as Advil, Aleve long term, that could also cause some issues in the gut, basically, like a depletion of something called prostaglandin. And that will cause. So you don't have a really great mucus lining anymore on your gut. So what that causes is a lot of like stomach pains. My mom actually had a lot of this issue. She always had a little bit of a back problem. So she took a ton of NSAIDs, a ton of ibuprofen. And my mom always had a stomachache. No matter what she ate, no matter what time of the day, she always had a stomachache. And so when I got to pharmacy school, I was kind of learning about the process of these OTC medicines and I was like, mom, you take ibuprofen almost every day. I mean, have you considered just slowing that down and seeing if it helps? And so we got her on this plan to maybe take it, you know, once a week or once every two weeks. The problems with her stomach went, you know, completely out the door. So it really can be such a, a small counseling moment for a patient to come in that maybe five minute conversation around that and can really just change the course of maybe pain they're feeling or a course of where their disease was going. So that is something that I get a lot questions on OTC medicines, how they affect the stomach. A second question that I get is something that we talked about already, but which probiotic? So there's a lot on the shelf and you know, a lot of the time I basically just turn around the, the box and I, I actually show the patients, okay, this is the bacteria that's in this probiotic. So that explanation also kind of sets them up for success in the future when they're thinking about what foods to eat and things like that.
- [10:15]
A
Let's touch on probiotics. This is an area that there's a lot of interest in right now. And it's also an area that can be pretty overwhelming. There's probiotics, there's prebiotics. Sometimes when you look at the back of a probiotic package, it's hard to read what we're actually ingesting and what it's doing. It can be overwhelming. I'm a physician, and I'm saying it's overwhelming, so I'd love some clarity. What is a probiotic? What's the difference between a probiotic and a prebiotic? And in general, what do probiotics do?
- [10:46]
B
It is overwhelming. I agree. So when you're talking prebiotics and probiotics, the easiest way to think about it is that the prebiotic is food for the probiotic, and the probiotic are those microorganisms that we've been talking about. So the prebiotic is going to feed those little microorganisms, which are the probiotics, and what we want is those little microorganisms, the probiotics, to live. So the prebiotic and the probiotic together is actually a pretty great combo because you're already giving the probiotic what it needs.
- [11:19]
A
Can you give us some examples of prebiotic?
- [11:22]
B
Sure. So prebiotic, think about eating fruits, vegetables, whole wheats, legumes, things like that. And something that is also great is going to be your fermented foods.
- [11:34]
A
Yeah, let's talk about that.
- [11:37]
B
So fermented foods, we hear a lot about yogurts, kefir, all of that is something that's really good for your gut because it has those living microorganisms already.
- [11:48]
A
So you can get prebiotics naturally through food, but probiotics are something that you would go to a pharmacy, for example, and purchase.
- [11:56]
B
You know, to be honest, you can get both through foods. I think it was 95% of Americans don't get enough fiber, so they're not eating the right vegetables, the right fruits.
- [12:06]
A
So can you walk us through a little bit about, like, what is fiber and, like, what's the difference between different fiber types?
- [12:12]
B
Yeah, of course, there's two types of fibers. There's insoluble fiber and soluble fiber. And it's kind of what it sounds like. So the soluble fiber, it's going to add a little bit of, like, a gel, like, substance to your gut, and it's going to aid in that digestion, it's going to slow down digestion. So that's the soluble fiber part, and then the insoluble fiber, it's actually going to add bulk to your food so that the stool can pass through. So it's going to prevent constipation and things like that. So both are needed in order to aid the right food digestion. We don't see a lot of that fiber in an American diet. So there's really good supplements. I mean, there's one at cvs called Benefiber that that can be bought over the counter. And it's basically like a powder you add to your food. It doesn't taste like anything, but it adds some of that really great fiber into your diet if you're not getting it enough from foods.
- [13:04]
A
Got it. Okay, let's talk about gerd. Gastroesophageal reflux disease. What is GERD and what medications can you direct people towards to help with gerd?
- [13:13]
B
So GERD is basically your acid in your stomach, coming back up through your esophagus and it just gives that really icky burning sensation. So we see a lot of acid reflux happening and we get that question a lot actually in the pharmacy of what should I take for my acid reflux? There's short term and long term antacids
- [13:33]
A
and can you go over short term versus long term antacids and like, why would one use short term versus long term?
- [13:41]
B
Yeah, absolutely. So we have basically like the household name that I think about a lot for short term is tums. They're actually pretty effective. My husband and I joke a lot now that we have TUMS in our counter all the time because if we eat something, just something wrong, then we'll need a tum. But it's basically works really quickly, so it neutralizes the acid the minute that you take it. And it works really good for short term. So, you know, you ate at an interesting restaurant and you, you found that it just didn't sit well. Tums is probably a good choice. There's also the long term, which are the H2 agonists, which you hear a lot like Pepcid, famotidine. Those are the ones that you'll see over the counter. And they take a little longer to work, probably more like more so an hour, but they work for a longer time. Lantoprazole, pentoprazole. So you see those over the counter as well, and those take a couple days actually to work because they have the body basically they inhibit from making it too much acid. But all of it should be monitored for long term use because there are some, you know, concerns with long term use of antacids.
- [14:49]
A
I want to touch base on probiotics. Again. This is a topic that even as a psychiatrist I'm being asked about a lot right now because there's so much emphasis on the gut brain connection and we both have kids. I actually just got back from a pediatrician appointment last week where my, my son is having a little bit of a rash and the pediatrician actually recommended A probiotic. The first thing I thought of is, are probiotics safe for kids to use?
- [15:17]
B
I'm actually reading a book called Healthy Kids, Happy Kids and it talks a lot about the gut and its connection to the first thousand days of a child living and just building that gut. There's been a lot of studies lately that really link the eczema and allergy outbreaks in children to the gut. So in regards to safety, there's a lot of probiotics out there that have been tested over time. The Floristor probiotic is a yeast as opposed to a bacteria. So because it is a yeast, if a child has to take an antibiotic, it won't die off.
- [15:50]
A
That's interesting because when I think of gut microbiome, the first thing I think of is bacteria. And I definitely don't jump to thinking about yeast infection viruses. So that's a, that's a new thing for me to learn.
- [15:59]
B
Yeah, super varied. There's so much living in our guts and what we want to do is, is basically preserve all of it.
- [16:07]
A
So a lot of people experience issues when, when going to the bathroom. How common is the need for something like a laxative or an anti diarrheal medication? And, and what advice do you offer people?
- [16:19]
B
So we get this question a lot, and I would say it always, every patient is specific. We have to ask background questions. So one size does not fit all. If a patient is having chronic diarrhea or chronic constipation, that's not something that they should live with. It's not really normal for a patient to have that all the time. So I would ask the questions of, have you recently traveled? Have you recently changed your diet? Are you trying a new diet? You know, sometimes there's a lot of fad diets where you cut out a lot of foods. So has anything changed? Have you taken an antibiotic recently? So I try to ask all those questions so that we can get a better background onto what's going on. Because that background is gonna tell me whether it's something that a laxative is something I could recommend just because maybe they need to use it one time, or do they just need to add that benefiber into their diet to get a little bit more fiber or just try different foods, or is it something that could be more concerning? You know, I like to even ask the question of what do your stools look like? And a lot of the time I get a look like, why do you want to know what my stools look like? But it really it really paints a picture of, okay, could there be a bleed? I mean, if it's like a dark color or how regular are you, how often are you going? All of those questions are really important to ask in the background.
- [17:40]
A
What is traveler's diarrhea? And what products have you seen that can help people who experience it?
- [17:46]
B
So traveler's diarrhea, we see this a lot with patients that travel to different countries. So usually when someone's traveling or they come back from traveling, I like to tell them to always pick up a box of Imodium just to have, because that over the counter is going to be able to at least stop the diarrhea so that they don't get dehydrated. And again, it's for a short period of time. So I do recommend them taking that and then starting with maybe like an oral rehydration solution like Pedialyte, making sure that they're not getting dehydrated, like I mentioned.
- [18:18]
A
Got it. So what about interactions between gut health products and other meds? Because most people that come into the pharmacy, they're taking some sort of other medication. Is that a consideration for you as a pharmacist?
- [18:30]
B
Yes. I mean, we could be taking something like fiber or a psyllium husk to help with constipation. And we always look to see if it interacts with the medication that they're taking so that the medication doesn't work as well. Because let's say that you're taking something that stops absorption, then maybe at the same time you taking a prescription medication, then you're not gonna be getting the benefits of that prescription medication. So, again, it's very patient specific. And this is, again, why pharmacists are really positioned in a good place. Because when you see a patient's profile out of CVS pharmacy, you get to see all the medications they're taking from all different providers. So it's kind of like that glue point where you can see, okay, they take this from this doctor, this doctor, plus whatever they're just asking me about over the counter. So all of that together, you can kind of make an informed decision in counseling for the patient of when to take what and if it's going to affect the absorption of some medications.
- [19:29]
A
Let's talk about ways to improve gut health that have nothing to do with medication. What are some things that people can do to improve their gut health?
- [19:39]
B
So, like I mentioned, the gut health houses a lot of that second brain. So stress management is really big. I don't know if you, if this happens to everybody. I think it does. But like, when you get nervous or you have like a big presentation or something's coming up, a lot of the time you get like that weird feeling in your stomach or an empty stomach. Lifestyle and stress management is one really big one to affect the gut. And then we've touched a lot on this. But nutrition is just probably the biggest, biggest one. I mean, really thinking about what am I eating and how what I'm eating is affecting my gut and like, what good am I getting out of it? So really making sure that your plates have vegetables, they have fruits. Like, you know, I always talk about eating like the rainbow. So your plate shouldn't look like a bunch of browns, like brown sauce and just fries, but it should look like a ton of different colors. And that's how you know that you're probably getting the right foods with the right fiber.
- [20:37]
A
It's funny when you mentioned before big presentations or events having a little bit of GI distress due to kind of feeling nervous. I relate. And my, my wife and I actually have a term called pgp, which is a pre game poop. We're on the same soccer team. Before we have a soccer game, we both get PGPs. Maybe a little bit TMI. Too much information. Ari, if you're listening to this, I'm sorry, but I can, I can totally resonate and relate. Sure. Other people can.
- [21:04]
B
Absolutely. It's more common than you think. And in the pharmacy we get a lot of questions about that. So I want more people to feel more comfortable talking about their poop. Okay, we should be talking about it.
- [21:15]
A
Speaking of poop and embarrassment, it is a topic that people get embarrassed by. It's. It's something that a lot of people don't want to talk about. So what do you say to someone who is putting off talking to you about gut health or poop?
- [21:28]
B
So I try to make him as comfortable as possible. And a lot of the time you'll see that someone wants to say something to you at the consultation and they're embarrassed to say, well, I have diarrhea or I've gone to the bathroom five times today. And, you know, I started by making them comfortable by letting them know this happens to a lot of people. Maybe I'll say it happened to me. I traveled to this country and I got, you know, diarrhea for four days. And then I think the more we talk about it, the more comfortable individuals will get on sharing.
- [21:57]
A
I agree. We need to be talking about poop more.
- [22:00]
B
Yes.
- [22:01]
A
Which symptoms do people ignore or maybe like put up with that, in your opinion, they really shouldn't ignore.
- [22:09]
B
A lot of what I see is just like chronic bloating, chronic stomach aches. Like I get a stomachache every time that I eat and it just becomes like a lifestyle where, oh yeah, you know, I just, every time I have a stomachache every day or I'm constantly feeling like gassy and all of those things are not something that generally if you have a healthy gut, you should be living with. So that's when we deep dive, we deep dive into your medication, we deep dive into your OTC medication. And then at that point we can probably identify something that we can change. But we start off small. Okay, what's the one thing maybe something that you're taking that you shouldn't that hurts your stomach, or maybe you're drinking too much caffeine. Something that we can change where the patient will start to see something change in their day to day and they'll come back and they'll say, okay, that actually works. So what else can we do?
- [23:01]
A
When people come into cvs, there's obviously options to speak to a pharmacist. What other resources does CVS offer for information on on gut health?
- [23:11]
B
So we have a really good website called the Wellness Zone and it has a lot of great articles on there. It has articles regarding just general health, general nutrition, general mental health. So a lot of different things that you can on in the Wellness Zone. Even if you Google just CVS Wellness Zone, it'll come up. We also have something that I love at cvss, which is kind of like a gut microbiome test. So it's sort of like a stool sample that you send in and it tells you just a general idea of what your gut looks like.
- [23:42]
A
I'm sure you've had so many different stories from patients coming up to you and talking to you about their gut health. Can you share a story of when you help someone navigate a gut related issue?
- [23:54]
B
Sure. I actually remember having a patient that came in, they were an elderly patient and they were recently prescribed a medication that was a blood thinner after a stroke. So I remember two days later this patient came in and you know, she was like, I'm having a lot of like upper GI pain and it's not going away. And I asked the question about poop. I said, what does your poop look like? And at that point she mentioned that it was really, really dark, like black. So at that point to me that, you know, put off a light bulb in my head where I told her. Okay, you probably need to go to the emergency room now. You know, it would be better if you got that checked out, because I know that a blood thinner could cause a GI bleed and that could get really serious really quick. So, you know, that patient came back, thanked me later. You know, she said, I did go and there was an issue, but they caught it early on. And, you know, to me, that's probably like my favorite moments in pharmacy when they ask like a simple question and you give what you think is just like a small piece of advice, and it really changes the course of what could have happened to that patient. So that was one where I asked about poop, and it, it went well.
- [25:02]
A
What about gut issues that are beyond pharmacy help?
- [25:05]
B
So if I were to see a patient that's consistently asking about the GERD and the acid reflux, a lot of very, just like severe pain, ibs, you know, we see a lot of that. So irritable bowel syndrome. So not being able to make it to the bathroom, having that urge to go right away, not being able to make it, having to run to the bathroom, the chronic bloating. I think at that point it's really beneficial to see a specialist and really take a deep dive into what's going on because we do see a lot of those chronic inflammatory diseases.
- [25:37]
A
I'd love to talk a little bit more about some of these conditions, you know, like Crohn's, for example, or ulcerative colitis or irritable bowel disease. What sort of advice do you have for chronic conditions like that?
- [25:49]
B
So I would probably say for, for those chronic conditions, A, seeing the specialist, B, medication adherence, a lot of what we see is during a flare up, a patient will take medication and maybe it starts to make them feel better, and they say, oh, I'm feeling better, I don't want to take my medication anymore. And then they'll see another flare up. So we see a lot of non medication adherence, which basically just means I'm not taking my medicine when I, when I feel good.
- [26:14]
A
Can pharmacists help people know what to ask their doctor? And how do pharmacists work with other healthcare professionals to coordinate care?
- [26:21]
B
Yes, and that's a great question, because pharmacists a lot of the time see all of the different care that the patient is getting in one place. So the best advice I would give to patients is to stick with one pharmacy, one pharmacist, one pharmacy. Because then we get a big clear picture of all the different medications that you're taking. And whether or not they interact with each other. A lot of the time, the things we do might be behind the scenes and the patient might not even see it. We will see that a patient is getting prescribed an antibiotic that interacts with maybe a heart medication that they're taking. We'll give a call to that prescriber and discuss a better option, and then we'll make that change. So having relationships with your nearby physicians, your nearby ERs, your nearby hospitals, especially as a community pharmacist, is extremely important and something that I was taught early on because the amount of conversations regarding patient care, particular patient care that you'll be having will be a ton. So definitely very important.
- [27:20]
A
I like that. One pharmacist, one pharmacy. I like that. Okay, so we're going to take a quick break, but don't go anywhere because up next, we're talking about over the counter medications and some of the myths that surround them. We'll be right back.
- [27:49]
C
At cvs, it matters that we're not just in your community, but that we're part of it. It matters that we're here for you when you need us, day or night. And we want everyone to feel welcomed and rewarded. It matters that CVS is here to fill your prescriptions and here to fill your craving for a tasty and, yeah, healthy snack. At cvs, we're proud to serve your community because we believe where you get your medicine matters. So Visit us@cvs.com or just come by our store. We can't wait to meet you. Store hours vary by location.
- [28:30]
A
Welcome back to beyond the script. I'm Dr. Jake Goodman, and I'm here with CVS pharmacist Victoria Motala from Miami, Florida. Victoria, on every episode of beyond the Script, we have a look at some of the myths that exist in the wellness space. And we ask our pharmacists to break down if there's any truth in them. It's time for myth versus Medicine. Today, it's all about over the counter medications. Are you ready?
- [29:08]
B
I'm ready. I'm excited.
- [29:10]
A
All right, question number one. If a medication is sold over the counter, that means it's completely safe for everyone. Myth or medicine?
- [29:19]
B
I'm gonna say myth with this one because it's only safe on the amount that you take it, everything in moderation. So. So the dosing is really, really important. So it's always best to consult with your pharmacist. How much of it you can take an example being Tylenol, you can take too much Tylenol you can take too much Advil. So I'm going to say the amount is where that caveat is.
- [29:41]
A
Got it. Taking more than the recommended dose can make an over the counter drug work faster or better. Myth or medicine?
- [29:50]
B
Myth. Myth. Always take the recommended amount because taking more can actually cause adverse effects and effects that you don't want.
- [29:58]
A
Okay. Herbal over the counter remedies are always a safe option. Myth or medicine?
- [30:05]
B
Myth. Because some herbal over the counter medicines can actually interact with prescription medication that you can be taking. So it's always best to see what you're taking at home, consult with your pharmacist and see if those medications interact with.
- [30:19]
A
It's okay to drink alcohol if you're only taking over the counter medications. Myth or medicine?
- [30:25]
B
Myth. And we know a lot about this with Tylenol. Tylenol is metabolized by the liver and so is alcohol. So if you're taking too much Tylenol and also drinking alcohol, it can actually end you up in the hospital.
- [30:37]
A
Children are just small adults when it comes to over the counter dosing. Myth or medicine?
- [30:43]
B
Myth. I feel like I'm saying myth for
- [30:45]
A
all of these, but I promise lots of myth.
- [30:47]
B
I have, I have something to say for this one too. So I learned this in pharmacy school. But little kids, sometimes medications actually need to be higher dose, lower dose, and it just really depends on the medication. So you can't, can't guess with it just being a smaller portion of what an adult should take.
- [31:04]
A
Taking multiple over the counter products with the same active ingredient can be dangerous. Myth or medicine?
- [31:11]
B
Medicine, yes. My first medicine. So absolutely it can be dangerous to take two products with the same active ingredients. Think about Dayquil and Tylenol. Maybe patients won't know that Dayquil actually already has Tylenol in it. So if you take both at the same time, you could be doing a little bit of overdosing on Tylenol.
- [31:31]
A
If an over the counter medicine worked for someone else, it works the same for you. Myth or medicine?
- [31:38]
B
Myth. Like we mentioned, a lot of herbal supplements, sometimes depending on the dose, sometimes depending on what other medications they're taking or just how your gut absorbs medicine is going to work different for different people. So again, best to consult with your doctor or your pharmacist.
- [31:56]
A
Well, that is it for this round of myth or medicine. Huge thank you, Victoria, for our conversation today. I learned a ton. In particular, prebiotic is the food for probiotic. Yes, that's a major takeaway for me. And it's just so cool to talk about gut health and all the different things that we can do to improve our gut health. So it's been such a pleasure having you on here and I just to want to thank you for for all of the advice and and guidance and insight today.
- [32:34]
B
Thank you. I'm happy to help and thank you for having me.
- [32:40]
A
Next time on beyond the Script, we're going to be discussing heart health. From the everyday habits that silently damage your heart to the simple changes that could really improve your health and even add years to your life. For more information about everything we've talked about about on today's episode, Please head to cvs.com pharmacy and for ongoing health and wellness advice you can trust anytime, don't forget to follow CVS on social media at cvspharmacy. Beyond the Script is produced in partnership with CVS Pharmacy and iHeartMedia's Ruby Studio. Our show is hosted by me, Dr. Jake Goodman. Our producers are Sam Walker, Julie Belevsky, Carter Wogan and Marina Paez, with original music by Max Hirschenau. Ruby's managing EP is Matt Romano and our EP of post production is James Foster. Of course, a big thank you to our friends at CVS and their incredible pharmacists. Until next time, don't forget to rate and review the show wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening.
- [33:59]
C
At cvs, it matters that we're not just in your community, but that we're part of it. It matters that we're here for you when you need us, day or night, and we want everyone to feel welcomed and rewarded. It matters that CVS is here to fill your prescriptions and here to fill your craving for a tasty and, yeah, healthy snack. At cvs, we're proud to serve your community because we believe where you get your medicine matters. So Visit us@cvs.com or just come by our store. We can't wait to meet you. Store hours vary by location.