Taking medication is not just about the right dose and timing, but what you eat also matters. A doctor now warns that certain food items can interfere with the absorption of medications, affecting their effectiveness, or in rare cases causing toxicity when combined with pills.
Dr Xand van Tulleken, a British doctor, who is known for various health-related TV programs warns against mixing certain food items with medications, especially one fruit.
On BBC’s Morning Live, Dr Tulleken said grapefruit can hinder the absorption of all medicines and the fruit should not be taken in any form including jam or juice while on regular medicines. Those who are regularly taking statins, blood pressure pills, psychiatric drugs, immunosuppressants, and heart rhythm medications should definitely avoid grapefruit.
“If you’re eating grapefruit and you take drugs regularly, you should definitely have an alertness and a knowledge of what’s going on because grapefruit can be dangerous,” Dr. Tulleken said.
Dr. Tulleken explained that grapefruit naturally produces chemicals to deter certain animals in the wild, for survival and seed dispersal. These same chemicals can affect the way the enzyme breaks down drugs.
“When we take medication our bodies break them down so we can excrete them harmlessly after they’ve worked – so grapefruit can either stop breaking down the drugs so you got a very high dose and that can have quite toxic effects,” he explained.
Even small amounts of grapefruit, like half a glass of juice, can affect how medications are processed in the body for several days. So, Dr. Tulleken advises anyone on regular medication to check with their pharmacist or GP before consuming grapefruit.
“Sometimes it can even have the effect of not breaking the drug into the molecule that’s actually active in your body so you can get a toxic effect and the drug isn’t even giving you the benefit as well,” he added.
Dr. Tulleken also pointed out vitamin K, found in foods like leafy greens, avocados, and egg yolks, as another factor that can impact the effect of certain medications. As vitamin K is essential for clotting, it can reduce the effectiveness of blood thinners, so he advised spreading the intake of vitamin K-rich foods evenly rather than avoiding it completely.
