Do you ever find yourself wondering why some medicines seem to lose their power after a few days of use? You might start to question whether the drug is fake, if it has run out of supply, or if you got the wrong prescription. Some people even blame causes that they have no influence over for their bad luck. But did you know that eating certain foods could actually interfere with how your medications work?
Some foods may reduce the effectiveness of your medications or perhaps cause side effects that could be disastrous. Here is a list of six common food and medication combinations that should never be combined. Please do not hesitate to share this knowledge with others as it could be very helpful.
For example, although bananas are a great source of potassium, if you are using anti-hypertensive medications, which also increase potassium levels, this mineral may accumulate in your blood. Overconsumption of potassium can cause symptoms such as palpitations, arrhythmia, and irregular heartbeats. To keep your heart healthy while taking these medications, you should limit your intake of bananas.
2. Similarly, iron influences the life cycle of the parasites that cause malaria in addition to being important for the liver. Vitamin C facilitates iron absorption, which may unintentionally benefit the parasites and reduce the efficacy of your malaria treatment. For this reason, people who are treating malaria are advised not to take high-dose vitamin C supplements or eat citrus fruits.
3. Taking painkillers with soft drinks increases your risk of toxicity since the carbon dioxide and acidity of the drink may increase the amount of the medication in your system, potentially causing problems. The best course of action when taking medications is to drink regular water.
Antibiotics like tetracycline and penicillin work well to treat bacterial infections, but dairy products, which are high in calcium, may make it harder for the antibiotics to be absorbed. In order to optimize the effectiveness of your antibiotics, you should avoid consuming dairy products during this time.
5. Although statins are good at reducing cholesterol, they can sometimes have negative side effects. Grapefruit has a substance that stops statins from being broken down in the stomach, which could lead to dangerously high levels of the medication in the body. Grapefruit should not be consumed when taking statins.
Finally, if you are using anticoagulants (blood thinners) such as warfarin or aspirin, eating leafy greens, which are high in vitamin K, may help counteract the effects of these drugs by promoting blood clotting. To keep your medication working as intended, be careful to restrict how much leafy greens you eat.
