Food and Drugs That Don’t Mix

We all know not to mix drugs without consulting our doctor, but how many of us know that some foods don’t mix with the drugs we take? Here are some examples of foods never to eat with:

Grapefruit:

1. Cholesterol: Lowering statins like, atorvastatin (Lipitor)
2. Calcium channel blockers
3. The heart-beat regulating drug amiodarone (Cordarone)
4. Immunosupressants, including cyclosporine (Sandimmune, Neoral) and tacrolimus (Prograft)
5. Antiretroviral agents like: Saquinavir (Fortovase)

Grapefruit can heighten the effects of the medication even days before taking the medication, so you should never eat grapefruit when taking these medications.

Green Vegetables:

The blood thinner: Warfarin (Coumadin)

Green vegetables can weaken the medication leading to dangerous blood clots. Your doctor will regulate your vegetable intake when prescribing this medication, so if you haven’t been eating vegetables, do not start.

Dairy Products:

1. Quinlone antibiotics such as Ciprofloxacin (Cipro)
2. Tetracline antibiotics such as tetracycline (Achromycin), minocycline (Minocin) or doxycycline (Vibramycin)

Never consume dairy when taking these medication because calcium in the dairy products binds with certain antibiotics. You must wait at least two hours after the medication to use dairy.

Caffeinated Beverages:

1. Asthma drugs (Ventolin, Provetil or Combivent) or epinephrine (Primatene Mist)
2. Quinoline antibiotics (”see dairy products”)
3. Anti-anxiety drugs such as diazepam (Valium), alprazolam (Xanax) orlorazepam (Ativan)
4. Histamine blockers, including: Cimetidine (Tagamet), famotidine (Peptide) or ranitidine (Zantac)

The side effects of the medication with caffeine will make you wired and hyper.

Alcohol:

1. Codeine based pain killers combined with acetaminophen (Perocet, Roxicet), meperidine (Demerol) or hydrocodone with acetaminophen (Vicidon, Lorcet)
2. The asthma medication theophylinne (Slo-bid, Theo-Dur, Uniphyl)
3. Beta-blockers propanolol (Inderal), isosorbide dinitrate (Isordil, Sorbitrate) Or nitroglycerin
4. Statins (see “grapefruit juice”)
5. The antibiotic metronidazole (Flagyl)
6. The anti-depressant bupropion (Welbutrin) and anti-anxiety drugs( see”Caffeinated beverages”)

Never drink alcohol when taking these drugs. You could go to sleep which is extremely dangerous if you are driving. It could drastically slow you heart and your breathing rate. It could also cause seizures and lower your blood pressure to a dangerous level.

There are other foods you should not mix with certain medications. Always ask your doctor and pharmacist about any food to avoid when taking medications.

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