Food and medications interaction:
- Dietitian.Lauren Hmede
- Apr 16, 2019
- 3 min read
Things That Can Affect Your Medication
Some Things Don’t Mix Well
Some medications may interact together and dont work well. You need to know also that some food and drinks affect how medications work. Before taking any medications it is better to consult your doctor.
Grapefruit
This citrus fruit changes the way certain cells in your gut take in and move medication through your body and it can affect more than 50 drugs. It can make some, like fexofenadine (Allegra) for allergies, less effective and make others too strong, including ones that lower your cholesterol like atorvastatin (Lipitor).
Milk
Minerals in milk like calcium and magnesium along with the protein casein affect and slow the work of antibiotics. If you’re taking antibiotics, make sure to find out about the foods or beverages you should stay away from.
Licorice
Licorice is a herbal remedy used to ease digestion. But glycyrrhizin, a chemical in licorice, can weaken the effect of some drugs, including cyclosporine, used to keep people who’ve had transplants from rejecting their new organs.
Chocolate
Dark chocolate in particular can weaken the effects of drugs meant to calm you down or make you sleep, like zolpidem tartrate (Ambien). It also can boost the power of some stimulant drugs, like methylphenidate (Ritalin). And if you take an MAO inhibitor, used to treat depression, it can make your blood pressure dangerously high.
Iron Supplement
This can lower the effects of levothyroxine (Synthroid), a medicine that gives you thyroid hormone when your body doesn’t make enough (a condition called hypothyroidism). If you take this medication and a multivitamin, check to see if the vitamin has iron in it. If you need an iron supplement, ask your doctor about taking it and your medication at different times.
Alcohol
This makes certain drugs less effective or even useless, including some blood pressure and heart medicines. It also can make others stronger than they should be or cause dangerous side effects.
Coffee
It can weaken antipsychotic drugs like lithium and clozapine, but boost the effects -- and side effects -- of others. Those include aspirin, epinephrine (used to treat serious allergic reactions), and albuterol (taken by inhaler for breathing problems). It can also make it harder for your body to take in and use iron.
Antihistamines
These help with the sneezing and runny nose caused by allergies, but some of them can make medication for high blood pressure less effective and raise your heart rate. Talk to your doctor about other ways to manage your allergies if you take blood pressure medicine.
Anti-Epileptic Drugs (AEDs)
These control seizures in people who have epilepsy. But AEDs can make birth control pills less able to prevent pregnancy, and early research shows they may make other drugs stronger and cause potentially serious side effects.
Vitamin K
If you take the drug warfarin -- used to treat and prevent blood clots -- be aware of how much vitamin K you take in. It can make the blood thinner less effective and put you at higher risk of a dangerous blood clot. Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale, parsley, and spinach are some of the most common foods high in vitamin K. Try to eat the same amount of these foods every day so the level of warfarin in your blood stays the same.
Ginseng
This can lower the effects of warfarin, too. And it can make you more likely to have internal bleeding if you take the blood thinners heparin or aspirin, as well as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen or naproxen. If you take MAO inhibitors, ginseng can cause headaches, sleep problems, hyperactivity, and nervousness.
St. John's Wort
It is used to treat depression but there is no supporting evidence for its use. It can make your liver release enzymes (things that boost certain chemical reactions in your body) that can weaken some medications. Those include cholesterol drugs like lovastatin (Altoprev and Mevacor), the erectile dysfunction drug sildenafil (Viagra), and digoxin (Lanoxin), used to treat certain heart conditions.
Ginkgo Biloba
Some people use this herb to help with or prevent high blood pressure, dementia, ringing in the ears (tinnitus), and other conditions, but there’s no research that shows it does any of that. It can weaken the effect of drugs used to control seizures, including carbamazepine (Carbatrol, Equetro, and Tegretol), and valproic acid (Depakene, Depakote, and Stavzor).
Take as Directed
You need to understand the treatments and prescription of medications as only 50% of people take medications as they should be taken while others take less dose, randomely or even more/.
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