Vegetarians and patients on restricted diets unwittingly consuming gelatin

摘要

VEGETARIANS and people with dietary restrictions due to religious and cultural beliefs may be unwittingly consuming gelatin used in medicines, a new study suggests. Researchers from Manchester Royal Infirmary analysed questionnaires returned from 500 patients with urological symptoms between January and June 2010. Two firths (200) of respondents said they had dietary restrictions that required them to avoid consuming animal products, and 88 per cent of these said they would prefer to take medicines containing only vegetable products. Around half (56.8 per cent) of those with a preference for vegetarian medicines said they would take drugs containing animal products if no alternatives were available. Only one in five of those who preferred vegetarian medicines said they had asked their doctor or pharmacist whether the content of their medicines went against their beliefs and dietary requirements.