Medicinal drugs are used to counter every day and long lasting sickness. Certain foods can react with certain drugs and may pose delay in the effectiveness of medicine and potentially harmful health effects. To understand common food-drug interactions, this article will guide you through some must-knows about food-drug interactions.
Food-drug interactions occur when drugs react with your food intake to cause a delayed or enhanced effect of medicines. Here’s a few NO’s when it comes to food-drug interactions.
No. Alcohol reacts actively with some drugs. Play it safe by avoiding alcohol at all costs if you’re under medication.
How about Grapefruit juice?
No. It is one of the most researched topics of food-drug interactions. Grapefruit juice has a tendency to react negatively with certain medicinal drugs. These include blood-pressure manipulating drugs, anti-anxiety, anti-malaria and certain drugs to treat insomnia.
No. Licorice is a seemingly harmless snack; however it could make you prone to Lanoxin toxicity. Lanoxin as a drug is used to treat cardiovascular issues such as stabilizing heart beat rhythms and prevent heart failure.
No. Chocolate reacts with just one category of drugs called MAO inhibitors. These are a class of inhibitors used to treat depression. These are usually used as a last-resort treatment, thus if you’re on these you’re probably on route to recovery from depression. Don’t munch on any chocolates while you empty that tissue box. This food-drug interaction might have adverse effects on your health.
No. While vegetables are generally a healthy form of an essential component of a balanced, healthy diet – some veggies such as spinach and broccoli that are rich in Vitamin K react negatively to Warafin. This negative food-drug interaction is based on a conflict of function. Vitamin K is an acknowledged blood-clotting factor. Warafin is an anti-coagulant which is used for blood thinning and prevention of clots formation. It doesn’t take an expert to figure out that the two will cancel each other out if the intake of Vitamin K along with Warafin simultaneously is high.
No. Black tea is a powerful inhibitor of enzymes. Take cautions and limit the number of cups of black tea you gulp down once on medication.
Comprehensive lists of food-drug interactions are available online should you want to undertake some research before consuming a particular medicine. The common ones and the absolute need to knows have been outlined in this article. Remember: the responsibility for safe consumption of drugs lies first and foremost with you. Always consult your physician before you treat yourself to any medicinal drug. Also, for over-the-counter medicine, make sure you read the tags or research online before you begin drug intake.
