What you drink with meds matters: Milk and citrus among the risky choices
Many people have to take medication daily. We often also take various kinds of vitamins or supplements. As it turns out, not only the time and dosage matter. It is also important what we drink with the medication. What is convenient may not always be a good choice.
Practically everyone knows how inadvisable the combination of medication and alcohol is. However, you might be surprised to learn that other beverages, which are generally considered healthy and recommended, can negatively affect our medication, specifically in how they behave in our bodies.
For medication to work correctly, it must be absorbed into our body and get into the bloodstream. If we drink the wrong beverages with it, they may be less effective and harm our bodies.
Taking medication? Don’t drink these! These beverages don’t mix with medication
Milk is at the top of the list, as it provides calcium to our body. Calcium in the stomach interferes with the absorption of medication. Citrus juices or carbonated drinks like cola, which increase stomach acidity, are also bad.
Coffee or tea are also bad choices for drinking with medication. The caffeine and theine in them make it harder for drugs, especially painkillers and antibiotics, to absorb.
The already mentioned alcohol is the worst choice. It not only doesn’t help with the effectiveness of pills but actually increases the occurrence of side effects and can even lead to liver damage.
Half a glass is enough. Reliable for medication
The best choice for drinking with medication won’t surprise anyone. It’s a glass of water—any kind—bottled, filtered, or boiled. It’s also worth remembering that in many cities in Canada, tap water is completely safe to drink. This helps if, for example, you are somewhere outdoors and don't have a bottle of mineral water handy.
Dr. Pradip Shah from Fortis Hospital in Mumbai emphasizes that water neither changes the medication's properties nor interacts with it.
