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Avoid these foods if you are taking certain medications.
Combining certain foods and medications can lead to serious, sometimes life-threatening health complications. Understanding these interactions is important to maintain the safety and effectiveness of your medications. Here are some important food and drug combinations to avoid:
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Grapefruit and Statins and Other Drugs
Grapefruit and its juice can significantly increase the concentration of these drugs in the bloodstream. This is because grapefruit inhibits the enzymes that break down many drugs in the liver and intestines. Higher concentrations of drugs can lead to increased side effects and toxicity. Do not consume grapefruit if you are taking statins, calcium channel blockers, psychiatric drugs, immunosuppressants, or antiarrhythmic drugs. Dangerous side effects are severe muscle pain and damage, a dangerous drop in blood pressure, increased sedation, risk of serotonin syndrome, risk of infection and kidney damage.
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Leafy Greens and Anticoagulants
If you are taking warfarin, avoid eating leafy greens. Leafy greens such as spinach, kale, and broccoli are rich in vitamin K, which plays an important role in blood clotting. Warfarin reduces the blood's ability to clot by inhibiting the action of vitamin K. Taking large amounts of vitamin K counteracts the effects of warfarin, making it less effective and increasing the risk of blood clots. This food-drug combination increases the risk of stroke and thromboembolism and reduces the effectiveness of warfarin, necessitating a dosage adjustment.
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Dairy and Antibiotics
Avoid consuming milk or yogurt immediately before or after taking antibiotics such as tetracyclines or fluoroquinolones. Dairy products contain calcium, which can bind with these antibiotics in the digestive tract, forming insoluble complexes. This binding can prevent the antibiotics from being absorbed, reducing their effectiveness. This can result in incomplete treatment of infections and increase the risk of bacterial resistance from sub-therapeutic levels of antibiotics.
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Alcohol, painkillers, antidepressants, and other medications
Painkillers, antidepressants, antihistamines, diabetes medications, and blood pressure medications are more likely to interfere with alcohol. Alcohol can interact with medications in a variety of ways, including increasing sedative effects, altering metabolism, and increasing the risk of liver damage. Alcohol can cause liver damage, hypoglycemia, and a significant drop in blood pressure. The specific risks vary by medication but can range from mild to severe.
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Bananas and blood pressure medication
ACE inhibitors such as lisinopril, enalapril and angiotensin II receptor blockers may work differently when taken with bananas. Bananas are high in potassium, and ACE inhibitors and ARBs increase potassium levels in the blood by reducing potassium excretion by the kidneys. Eating large amounts of bananas and other potassium-rich foods can cause hyperkalemia (excessive potassium levels), which can lead to irregular heartbeats, muscle weakness or paralysis, and even fatal cardiac arrest.
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Chocolate and Medication for Treating Nervous System Disorders
If you are taking a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (e.g., phenelzine, tranylcypromine), you should be cautious with chocolate. Chocolate contains tyramine, which can interact dangerously with MAO inhibitors. These drugs inhibit the breakdown of tyramine, leading to a buildup of tyramine. High tyramine levels can cause a hypertensive crisis, a sudden and dangerous rise in blood pressure. Chocolate can interfere with these medications, causing severe headaches, risk of stroke or heart attack, and an acute hypertensive crisis that requires emergency treatment.
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Green Tea and Anticoagulants
Green tea contains vitamin K, which may interfere with the anticoagulant effects of warfarin. Additionally, green tea contains compounds that may increase the metabolism of warfarin and reduce its efficacy. This may increase the risk of blood clots and stroke, and cause unstable INR (International Normalized Ratio) levels.
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Processed Meats and MAO Inhibitors
Processed meats such as sausages, salami and fermented foods are high in tyramine. Like chocolate, high levels of tyramine can interact with MAO inhibitors and cause hypertensive attacks. This can lead to a sudden increase in blood pressure, severe headaches and the risk of stroke or heart attack.
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