These foods can affect the effects of medication.
It is widely known that alcohol should be avoided when taking medicines and that interactions between medicines can occur. However, the fact that the effect of drugs can also be influenced by everyday nutrition is only mentioned on a few leaflets. The Telemedizinportal Fernarzt.com examined the interaction of the seven most frequently prescribed groups of medicines and compiled in an Infografik. These include painkillers such as ibuprofen and paracetamol, but also blood pressure medicines and asthma medicines.
Fernarzt
Grapefruit, black pepper and mineral water:
Many of the foods are part of a healthy and balanced diet. Whole grain products can inhibit the absorption of painkillers such as ibuprofen or diclofenac due to their high fibre content.
Care should also be taken with mineral water, as bottled water often contains a lot of calcium, which in turn inhibits the absorption of thyroid hormones and antibiotics.
"Many patients don't even know that the drugs they take regularly can interact with certain foods," says Karoline Kulke, a doctor and member of the medical advisory board of Fernarzt. "It is therefore important to inform patients about possible interactions, as they may have far-reaching consequences for the effect of their medicines and thus for the development of the disease.
The grapefruit is particularly conspicuous as it increases the effect of painkillers, contraceptives and antihypertensive drugs. With certain cholesterol-lowering substances, the concentration can already be significantly increased by a glass of grapefruit juice per day. The consumption of black pepper, which has a positive digestive effect according to the Federal Centre for Nutrition, can - like chocolate, by the way - even cause severe problems in combination with asthma drugs. In combination with the active ingredient theophylline, both foods can lead to cardiac arrhythmia.
Be careful as a vegetarian with thyroid problems:
Patients who eat meat-free and suffer from underactive thyroid glands should avoid tofu as a meat substitute if they take their medication regularly. Soybeans can reduce the effect of the thyroid hormone levothyroxine, which is found in many common medicines for hypothyroidism. Other foods that can reduce the absorption of thyroid hormones in the body are walnuts, cabbage and mineral water.
In addition to these less known interactions, the information chart also lists and explains common interactions, such as a reduced effect of antibiotics through milk products or a weakened effect of the contraceptive pill through St. John's wort. "St. John's wort is an over-the-counter drug that patients often buy in pharmacies because of its calming and antidepressant effect, without knowing that it can interact with many other drugs," says Karoline Kulke.
Of course, the mode of action always depends on the drug. In the case of some substances, undesirable interactions can already be avoided by keeping a time interval between meals. In addition, medication in tablet form should always be taken with sufficient liquid, preferably tap water.
Note: This article has been translated using a computer system without human intervention. LUMITOS offers these automatic translations to present a wider range of current news. Since this article has been translated with automatic translation, it is possible that it contains errors in vocabulary, syntax or grammar. The original article in German can be found here.
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