Common Facts On Food And Drug Interaction

By: on October 31st, 2017 in

FOOD AND DRUG INTERACTION:

Food and Drug Interaction is a change in how a medicine works by Food, caffeine, and Alcohol.

Food and Drug Interaction can:

  • Prevent a medicine from working the way it should
  • Cause a side effect from a medicine to get worse or better
  • Cause a new side Effect

A medicine can also change the way our body uses a food.

Does it matter if we take a medicine on a full or empty stomach?

  • Some medicines can work faster, slower, better or worse when we take them on an empty or full stomach.
  • Some medicines will upset our stomach and on the other hand, sometimes it reduces the upset if there is food in our stomach.
  • Warfarin & Vitamin K- Warfarin and Vitamin works against each other so if you are taking warfarin its important to avoid Vit K rich foods like- Spinach, Broccoli, Cabbage, Lettuce, Brussel Sprouts, Green Peas, Soybeans, Lime, Green Tea, Kale, Turnips
  • Digoxin, High –Fibre Diets and Herbs- Fibre-rich foods decreases digoxin levels of the body so it is better to interval 2 hours between high fiber diet and digoxin medications.
  • Statins (Lipid-altering Agents) and Grapefruit- Grapefruit Juice can raise the levels of statins in the body and enhance the chances of side effects.
  • Calcium Channel Blockers and Grapefruit- Calcium channel blockers are medications used to relax arterial muscles and helps in the treatment of hypertension and CHD. Grapefruit juice interacts with calcium channel blockers and which metabolizes drugs abnormally into your body.
  • Antibiotics and Dairy Products (Calcium Rich Foods)-Dairy Products like milk, yogurt, cheese interfere with antibiotics as these antibiotics bind to the calcium and form an insoluble substance in the stomach and small intestine which is unable to absorb by the body thus delays or prevents the absorption.
  • MIOS and Tyramine Containing FOODS– MIOS drugs used to treat Depression, Parkinson’s so if MIOS medications are going on you should restrict tyramine-rich foods like Chocolate, Aged Cheese, Yogurt, Processed Meat, Soya Products, dried fruits
  • Antithyroid Drugs and Iodine Rich Foods- Antithyroid drugs interfere with body’s production of thyroid hormone and high iodine diet requires higher doses of antithyroid drugs and higher the dose of antithyroid drugs higher the risk of side effects.
  • Acetaminophen and Alcohol- Acetaminophen can cause liver damage so if you take alcohol while taking Acetaminophen then it will aggravate liver damage.
  • Natural Black Licorice (Glycyrrhiza) and Potassium- Glycyrrhiza depletes the body’s potassium content and causes sodium retention. When the body is depleted of potassium, the activity of digoxin used to treat heart failure can be enhanced resulting fluctuating heartbeats.
  • Antihistamines and Alcohol– Antihistamines used to treat Colds and Allergies. Alcohol adds drowsiness caused by Antihistamines. So while taking antihistamines it’s important to avoid Alcohol.
  • NSAIDS and Alcohol: NSAIDs can cause stomach bleeding and alcohol increases the chances.