Foods and drinks you should never combine with medication

Do you take your medication with a glass of fruit juice or milk without thinking twice? It may not be the right choice for you if your medication ends up interacting with the food you take it with.
When this type of interaction occurs, the effects of the medication may increase or decrease, or cause unwanted side effects that can range from mild to serious. It is important to consider how your foods would interact with your medications before combining them.
Some commonly used herbs, fruits and alcohols can lead to treatment failure and even serious impairment of the patient’s health.
Here are some foods and drinks you should avoid combining with medications:

1. Fruit juice

Perhaps one of the worst drinks to consume with medication is grape juice, as it can react negatively with almost any type of medication. According to the Oman Medical Journal, grape juice changes the way the body metabolizes medication, thereby affecting the liver’s ability to move the medication through a person’s system. Grapefruit juice, statins and calcium channel blockers are a potentially dangerous mixture and can affect heart rate and blood pressure, causing symptoms such as headaches and dizziness.

2. Broccoli, spinach and kale

Warfarin is a medication intended to prevent blood clots, but it does not work well when certain vegetables like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale, parsley, spinach, which are high in vitamin K, are consumed in large quantities or when sudden changes are made to the quantities consumed. of these vegetables. This could interfere with the effectiveness and safety of warfarin treatment.

3. Cranberry juice

Cranberry juice may interact with warfarin, potentially leading to elevated INR levels (a measure of blood clotting) without causing bleeding, especially in older patients. Studies suggest that compounds in cranberry juice may interfere with the enzyme (CYP2C9) responsible for breaking down warfarin, thereby affecting its effectiveness. However, it’s unclear whether cranberry juice alone is causing this increase. Additionally, consuming leafy green vegetables with warfarin may reduce its anticoagulant effects, increasing the risk of blood clots.

4. Cheese and red wine

Foods high in tyramine such as aged cheese, red wine, ripe bananas and salami can trigger dangerous spikes in blood pressure, known as the “cheese reaction”, in patients taking MAOIs (inhibitors of blood pressure). monoamine oxidase), used to treat depression. This happens because MAOIs block the enzyme that breaks down tyramine, allowing it to reach the bloodstream and cause hypertensive crises. However, newer transdermal formulations of MAOIs may reduce these risks while remaining effective against treatment-resistant depression.

5. Coffee

Coffee, a caffeine-rich beverage, may interact significantly with bronchodilators like theophylline. Since both coffee and theophylline contain xanthine, drinking large amounts of coffee while under theophylline increases the risk of drug toxicity, leading to side effects such as nausea, vomiting, headache, and pain. irritability. Additionally, both substances stimulate the central nervous system, potentially amplifying their effects. Patients are also advised to avoid other caffeinated foods and beverages, as well as grapefruit juice, which increases the bioavailability of theophylline, increasing the risk of adverse effects. Monitoring theophylline levels is crucial for patients who regularly consume coffee.