Not-so-inactive ingredients in our most common medications

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the back of a box of medications, listing instructions, side effects and inactive ingredients. the box is surrounded by different color pills — Credit: Katie Feather

Anyone who peeked at the back of an aspirin bottle or any box of allergy tablets saw it: the list of "inactive ingredients ". All drugs include compounds that helps stabilize or help absorb the drug. They do not think too much because they are "inactive", suggesting that these ingredients do not hurt.

But in fact, according to a new study released this week, over 90% of drugs contain inactive ingredients that may cause allergic reactions in some patients, including peanut oil, lactose and gluten.

Dr. Giovanni Traverso, a Gastroenterologist at Brigham Women's Hospital and Adjunct Professor at Harvard Medical School and MIT Department of Mechanical Engineering, join Ira to share the less inactive ingredients of some of our most common medications.

Credit: Diana Saville

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