FAQs: Salicylates

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1. Short Explanation of Salicylates
2. Calcium
3. Vitamins
4. Will traces of salicylate in topical products block guaifenesin?
5. Char's Salicylate Motto
6. Can I eat Flax Seed Oil
7. Does ingesting calcium help purge phosphates?
8. Are Alpha or Beta Hydroxy Acids Salicylates?
9. What is the difference between bisabol and bisabolol?
10. Can I drink tea while taking guaifenesin?
11. How do I check my medications for salicylates?
12. What is the quick salicylate screening test?
13. Are plants in vitamins, like acacia, ok to ingest?
14. Are lutein and lycopene salicylate free?
15. Are menthol, menthyl, mentha and methyl salicylate free?
16. "CROWS" mean?

1. Short Explanation of Salicylates
Salicylates block the uricosuric effect of medications, this is well documented. They cannot be used with the medications that cause the kidney to excrete more uric acid because they park in the renal tubule area and allow nothing else to pass.

Salicylates you eat as food are glycinated and some are also destroyed in the digestive tract. Thus they do not make it to the kidneys and cause the problem. Topically applied they go directly into the bloodstream, in medicinal strengths they overwhelm the liver's capacity to handle them.

Salicylate exposure is cumulative. You get some from food --a small amount--and some from food colors and dyes. Preservatives are often salicylates as well. Thus at a certain point guai is blocked, at a lower concentration it is slowed down. We ask people to avoid them as much as possiblet o give the medication its best chance to work. . A small amount in a single product might not be a problem but it is easier not to bargain and try to calculate a number that is different for each person. So we just ask patients to avoid the concentrated forms: oils, gels, extracts from plants and the chemical itself. Toothpaste with mint oil, which is methyl salicylate is a problem. Mint is salicylate, the same chemical. The oil, in the dentifrices is absorbed topically quickly just as are sublingual medications.

Guaifenesin acts upon the mucus producing cells to thin the secretions. Thus, for that action it is not dependent on occupying receptors in the kidneys. Guai works for that purpose when salicylates are taken. top

2. Calcium
If you need supplemental calcium the type you use is up to you. You should check the label for how to take it. The reason I say this is that there are many types of calcium and doses are different for each type, plus tablets come in many different strengths.

Citrate is generally considered the easiest to absorb so most people take citrate. A few people (not many but a few) experience urinary burning with a citrate compound and those should not take it. If you decide on citrate there are many brands.

For some people calcium causes constipation. If you are one a calcium magnesium tablet will solve that problem.

If calcium upsets your stomach another option is to take one of the stomach compounds like Tums (calcium carbonate). I take my calcium that way, I just keep a big bottle of the generic (el cheapo) drugstore faux Tums (fruit flavors) on my desk and pop one a few times a day. top

3. Vitamins
How do I find vitamins that do not contain salicylates?
" Herbal supplements and "natural" vitamins have plant ingredients in them that are thousands of times stronger than you would get in a normal food amount. That's why you can't use them in vitamins. To find OK vitamins, avoid the word "Natural" on the label and look for plant extracts, oils, or gels on the list of ingredients. One pesky source of salicylate in supplements goes by several names. It's called bioflavonoids, but it includes rutin, hesperidin, and quercitin. So if you see any of those on a vitamin or supplement label, you can't use them."

Here is a vitamin caution:
A. No bioflavinoids, rose hips, flavonoids, rutin, quercetin.
B. No plant oils, gels or extracts (such as ginseng, kava kava, alfalfa)
Ingredients such as the ones following are fine.
Vitamin A, Vitamin C***, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin B12, Pantothenic Acid, Calcium, Iron, Zinc.

 ***In choosing your Vitamin C buy one WITHOUT *Rose Hips* as this is a salicylate. top

4. Will traces of salicylate in topical products block guaifenesin?
Almost all fragrances and all food colorings have a TRACE of salicylate in them. We have always known this. F D and C and related food coloring are all salicylates. However, they DO NOT BLOCK in the quantities used in topical products.

If you ask a company if something is SALICYLATE FREE they will always tell you that it is NOT --because of the dyes and fragrances. But, these food colors and chemical colors are not blockers.

That's why technically SALICYLATE-FREE is not the correct term. There are products you CAN use and products you CAN'T use.

Tom's of Maine toothpastes are NOT salicylate free. If you get a chemist on the phone at a company they will balk at salicylate free. But that doesn't mean the salicylate is strong enough to block. top

5. Char's Salicylate Motto
IF IN DOUBT...DO WITHOUT...OR THROW IT OUT.

6. Can I eat Flax Seed Oil
Flax Seed Oil is fine as long as it NOT concentrated. The label will list nutrition facts, not milligrams.

7. Does ingesting calcium help purge phosphates?
The action of Guaifenesin is so powerful that adding calcium usually doesn't have much effect.

8. Are Alpha or Beta Hydroxy Acids Salicylates?
Beta Hydroxy Acids is a term used for a group of acids, and one of them is salicylic acid. When a cosmetic or skin preparation says "beta hydroxy acid", there is a very strong likelihood that it contains salicylic acid.

Salicylic acid is NOT an alpha hydroxy acid.  Therefore if a product only contains ALPHA hydroxy acids it does not contain salicylic acid. . Any other ingredient that has the word "hydroxy" attached is fine. top

9. What is the difference between bisabol and bisabolol?
"Bisabol" is the fragrant oil of a shrub and contains salicylates. You may not use it. "Bisabolol" is the end product derived from the chemical breakdown of chamomile. If it were pure chamomile, it would be full of salicylates. As a chemical by-product, it has no salicylates. It is often used in lipsticks.

10. Can I drink tea while taking guaifenesin?
You can drink teas that are sold as beverages. Herbal teas that are concentrated and sold as supplements will block guaifenesin. Herbal supplements come in many physical forms: tablets, capsules, liquids (like evening primrose oil or tea tree oil), powders, liquids and teas. To make sure your tea is safe look at the box. The label will tell you, and here's how:

A. If it says NUTRITIONAL FACTS (like a cereal box or milk carton) and has the info below it, then it's a food and you can have it.

B. If it says SUPPLEMENT FACTS (like your vitamin pill) with measurements such as milligrams next to it ... then it is an herbal supplement and you can't. For example a Green Tea that has 125 mg of alfalfa root and 125 mg of ginseng in it can not be used. top

11. How do I check my medications for salicylates?
Checking your medications is really very easy. If the medication is a salicylate, it will say so in the chemical name. All you need to know then, is the chemical name of your medication. For instance, Zelnorm is a product name. The chemical name is tegaserod maleate. That doesn't include salicylate, so it's okay. Urised (the product name)is a blocker because the chemical name, phenol salicylate reflects this. Tylenol with Codeine is Acetaminophen with Codeine and neither of those is salicylate. The aspirin and codeine compound is acetylsalicylic acid and codeine. Migraine medications such as Imitrex (sumatriptan) are fine, but ones that contain aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) are blockers. top

12. What is the quick salicylate screening test?
Read your product ingredients list and do this:

#1-- look for any plant name (aloe, chamomile, coconut, etc.) and see if it is followed by the word oil, gel or extract. If you do not see any plant names skip to step 3. If you see any plant oil, gel or extract go to step 2.

#2 If there is a plant oil, gel or extract, and the plant is NOT soy, wheat, corn or oats you cannot use the product. If it IS soy, wheat, corn, or oats (soybean oil, oat extract) go on to the next step.

#3. Check the product for salicylate or salicylic acid. If you see one of these you can't use the product.

#4. Check for camphor, menthol or chemicals beginning with CAMPH or MENT --you cannot use it if you see these.

#5 Look for barks: Balsalm, pycnogenol, bisabol--you cannot use these

#6 If it is a sunscreen look for octisalate, homosalate, meradimate, mexoryl.  You cannot use it if you see one of these.

#4. If the product has mint flavor, or any flavor that contains mint, you can't use it.

#5. If the product is a supplement of any kind and contains bioflavinoids, (hesperiden, quercetin or rutin) you can't use it. top

13. Are plants in vitamins, like acacia, ok to ingest?
If it is in the INACTIVE ingredients list, it is ok. If it is in the ACTIVE ingredients list it is medicinal strength and is not ok. Here's an easy way to check: an active ingredient has a strength after it, for example, milligrams. Alfalfa 125 mg. is a blocker, because it has a concentration above and beyond what you could get from eating this as a food. Acacia, corn starch, gelatin are "other" ingredients and don't have a concentration after them. These are not blockers. top

14. Are lutein and lycopene salicylate free?
Yes, they are salicylate free. They are two relatively new ingredients added to vitamin supplements. Both are chemicals derived from plants: Lutein from marigolds and lycopene from tomatoes. Because they are single chemicals derived from plants and chemically purified they will not block guaifenesin. top

15. Are menthol, menthyl, mentha and methyl salicylate free?
Here's the way to remember it. If you see an N in it -- it's a salicylate. These words are all from the latin word for MINT.
MENTHOL--is an alcohol from mint oil. It's a blocker.
MENTHYL- is compound radical that is the base of menthol. So Menthyl anything is a salicylate. It signifies a compound made from menthol.
MENTHA - is the prefix meaning Mint. (Latin, like most plant names) So Mentha Arvensis, Mentha Piperita, Mentha Viridis are just species of mint plants. They are salicylates.
METHYL (no N in this word) is not made from menthol, menta, or any of those. Methyl signifies a chemical derived from METHANE (by the removal of one hydrogen atom). So these chemicals are NOT salicylates, except for one - methyl salicylate - because you see the word "salicylate." Methyl salicylate is oil of wintergreen, or a mint oil.

MEN--watch out for salicylates.
MET--not a salicylate (unless salicylate is added) top

16. What does "CROWS" mean?
CROWS is an easy way to remember these salicylate-free plant ingredients: Corn, Rice, Rye, Oats, Wheat, Soy. These are seeds or grains that do not contain salicylates. You need to avoid all oils, gels and extracts with a plant name EXCEPT if the name is Corn, Rice, Rye, Oats, Wheat, or Soy.

Not all parts of all plants produce salicylates. These grains do not. But you still have to avoid the plants they grow on: wheat grass, for example IS a blocker, but wheat germ oil isn't. Thus if an oil comes from the grain and ONLY the grain of corn, rice, rye, wheat, oats, or soy it is OK. top