It is not advised to take medication on an empty stomach we are often told to eat a bite before taking any pill. However, what we eat has a big impact on how our bodies process drugs, and some foods can improve the effectiveness of a drug, while others can reduce it.
Some drug and food combinations can even lead to blood clots or liver damage. It is important to read the instructions and the medicine before you start taking a new medicine.
You should never mix these five foods with certain medications to avoid unpleasant complications.
Dairy products and antibiotics
Dairy products such as milk, cheese and yogurt can interfere with the absorption of tetracycline and quinolone antibiotics. Calcium binds to the antibiotic in the digestive tract, reducing its absorption and effectiveness.
To avoid this, it is better to take antibiotics a few hours before or after eating dairy products. Also, you should be careful about eating mature and aged cheeses and meats when you are taking certain medications for depression.
Aged and smoked foods including Camembert, Gouda contain an amino acid called tyramine. Monoamine oxidase inhibitor drugs, prescribed for conditions such as depression and chemotherapy, reduce the body's ability to process tyramine.
Leafy vegetables and blood thinners
If you are taking blood thinners such as warfarin, it is a good idea to pay attention to how many leafy vegetables you eat.
Foods such as spinach, kale and broccoli, which are recommended for their health benefits, are rich in vitamin K, which plays a role in blood clotting.
Kale, along with other leafy green vegetables like spinach, can reverse the effects of blood-thinning drugs like warfarin, increasing blood clotting.
Drinks and painkillers
Some painkillers, antidepressants and antidiabetic drugs can also cause a number of complications when they interact with alcohol, reports klix.ba.
These interactions can lead to dizziness, drowsiness, liver damage, and other serious complications. 'Alcohol Change UK' warns that you should never mix alcohol with: the antibiotics metronidazole and tinidazole or the antidepressants monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs).
Likewise, alcohol should be avoided if you are taking prescription-only pain relievers such as tramadol, gabapentin and codeine and other morphine-like drugs.
Drinking alcohol with these medications can be dangerous, leading to severe drowsiness and other side effects, such as nausea.
Coffee and antipsychotics
Antipsychotic medications can help treat people with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder. However, taking caffeine pills in the form of tea or coffee may make your body absorb less of these drugs than if you take them with water.
Meanwhile, research has shown that caffeine can increase the side effects of some antipsychotics and ADHD medications, leading to increased heart rate and blood pressure.
Grapefruit and statins
Statins are drugs that lower the level of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, also known as "bad cholesterol," in your blood. These include drugs such as Lipitor, Lescol, Lipostat, Crestor and Zocor.
Side effects of statins can include muscle pain. If you are taking another type of statin, limit your intake of grapefruit juice to very small amounts or avoid it altogether.
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