CA – JAN 15 – HEALTH MATTERS
- Posted by CERC India
- Posted in monthly
Foods and medications that don’t mix
Some foods and drugs shouldn’t be taken together.Some foods interact badly with medication. They reduce the efficacy of your drugs or, worse still, become a health nightmare. Given below is a non-exhaustive list of foods to avoid if you are taking certain medicines.
Bananas
Don’t eat them if you take ACE inhibitors such as captopril, enalapril and fosinopril, among others. ACE inhibitors lower blood pressure and treat heart failure.
Why not? Bananas (as well as oranges and leafy greens) are high in potassium. Too much potassium can cause an irregular heartbeat and heart palpitations.
Milk
Don’t drink it when you take some antibiotics including tetracycline, ciprofloxacin (quinolone antibiotics), and certain osteoporosis medication, such as alendronate.
Why not? Calcium can interfere with the effects of some antibiotics, so you shouldn’t take these at the same time as eating products high in calcium, like milk, yoghurt or cheese.
Leafy greens
Be careful if you take anticoagulants/blood thinners such as warfarin which lower the chance of blood clots.
Why? Leafy greens are full of vitamin K, which can make anticoagulants less effective. Foods high in vitamin K include green vegetables, egg yolks, chickpeas and lentils. Also, limit garlic and ginger because they can increase the chance of bleeding.
Coffee
Don’t drink it if you take clozapine, an antipsychotic.
Why not? Caffeine can increase the amount of certain antipsychotics in your blood and put you at greater risk of side effects. You should also exercise caution if you’re on bronchodilators for asthma – consuming a lot of caffeine can inhibit their effect in an emergency.
Grapefruit
Don’t eat it if you take a range of medicines including some lipid-altering agents/statins, which lower the rate of production of bad cholesterol, anti-anxiety medicine buspirone, quinine, erythromycin, or triazolam, a medication used to treat insomnia. This is not an exhaustive list of medicines that don’t mix well with grapefruit.
Why not? Chemicals in grapefruit interfere with how your body metabolises certain drugs, which can result in more of the medicine ending up in your bloodstream. It can increase the chance of side effects if you’re on the lipid-altering statins.
Alcohol
It is contraindicated for several medicines, particularly sedatives like certain antihistamines, pain killers including morphine, codeine, paracetamol, diabetes medication, drugs for HIV/AIDS and antibiotics.
