Many times we hear from our parents or some elders not to have grapefruit juice if you are taking any cholesterol medications. This is not the only combination of food and drugs which should be avoided, there are so many other combinations too. Grapefruit juice can react with other medications too and similarly many other foods can interact with drugs too.
Steve Plogsted, BS, PharmD, BCNSP, CNSC, clinical pharmacist with Nutrition Support Service of Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, tells us about the most commonly reactive five foods that react with other medications. So let’s discuss these foods.
1. GRAPEFRUIT JUICE
“Grapefruit juice has the ability to interact with medications in numerous ways,” says Plogsted. One way is to increase the absorption of certain drugs, this is the case with some cholesterol-lowering statins but not with all sort of drugs. MedinePlus recommends you not to have grapefruit juice if you are taking any sort of cholesterol lowering medications.
Grapefruit juice can also be the reason to metabolize drugs abnormally in your body, which can affect your blood levels and can increase or lower the normal blood levels of the drugs. There are many other medications which can affect in this way that includes antihistamines, blood pressure drugs, thyroid replacement drugs, birth control, stomach acid-blocking drugs, and the cough suppressant dextromethorphan. So the best way to reduce such negative effects on the body is to avoid or reduce the intake of grapefruit juice when you are taking such medications.
Grapefruit juice can also cause the body to metabolize drugs abnormally, resulting in lower or higher than normal blood levels of the drug. Many medications are affected in this way, including antihistamines, blood pressure drugs, thyroid replacement drugs, birth control, stomach acid-blocking drugs, and the cough suppressant dextromethorphan. It’s best to avoid or significantly reduce intake of grapefruit juice when taking these medications.
Now the question which arises in everyone’s mind is why only grapefruit juice has such negative effects and no other citrus juices?
2. GREEN LEAFY VEGETABLES
There are certain drugs that make your blood thin like as Coumadin® (warfarin), it interferes with Vitamin K-dependent clotting factors. Intake of too much green leafy vegetables can decrease the ability of blood thinners to prevent clotting, as almost every green leafy vegetables are high in vitamin K but that does not mean that you should stop eating all the green leafy vegetables.
The problem is not those vegetables, in fact, the problem is the high intake of those vegetables as it can affect the body in a negative way as it alters the characteristics of the medicine. So we should eat the vegetables but in a consistent manner.
3. NATURAL BLACK LICORICE (GLYCYRRHIZA)
According to Plogsted, glycyrrhiza — a natural ingredient used to make black licorice, it can reduce the potassium of the body and can increase the sodium of the body. When your body is depleted of potassium, the activity of digoxin, a medication which is used to treat heart failure, can be greatly higher, which can affect the heart beat rate as well.
4. SALT SUBSTITUTES
Consumers who intake digoxin for heart failure or ACE inhibitors for high blood pressure should be careful in taking salt substitutes, as it replaces sodium with potassium. If a person takes too much of potassium, the effectiveness of digoxin can be decreased which can also a cause of heart failure. People who took ACE inhibitors will notice a major increase in blood potassium levels, as ACE are known to increase potassium.
“There is no real need to avoid salt substitutes, although care should be taken when using the product,” say Plogsted. “If the patient noticed any sort of kidney disorder then they should consult their doctor as well
5. TYRAMINE-CONTAINING FOODS
High blood levels of the amino acid tyramine can cause an increase in blood pressure. There are several medications that can interact with the breakdown of tyramine, which includes including monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) that are used in the treatment of depression, including monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs).
Plogsted suggests to people who are taking these drugs to avoid having tyramine-rich foods. There is a long list of such foods but here we are listing down some of them which include: chocolate, aged and mature cheeses, smoked and aged/fermented meats, hot dogs, some processed lunch meats, fermented soy products and draft beers (canned and bottled beers are OK).
If you are starting any new medicines or having a new prescription then you should always read the drug warning labels and ask about them from you doctor or pharmacist about which foods you should take and which you should avoid while taking these drugs and not only this you should ask about all other precautionary measures too.
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