ORLANDO, Fla – More than 131 million adults in the U.S. take a prescription drug. But taking these medicines with popular beverages, like coffee and juice, can be dangerous.
About 94 percent sip on caffeinated drinks and about 23 percent enjoy a glass of juice, but if you take medications, you should be careful about what you’re drinking!
The caffeine in a cup of coffee can interact with common meds. Taking antidepressants with caffeine can cause dangerous spikes in blood pressure. Caffeine can also interact with blood thinners, like warfarin, causing more of the medicine to linger in the body. Antibiotics and cold or allergy meds can inhibit the metabolism of caffeine, which may leave you feeling jittery and anxious.
Caffeine can also reduce the absorption rate of thyroid medicines by as much as 50 percent. Caffeinated beverages may also affect how asthma drugs, blood pressure meds, ADHD therapies, anti-psychotics, and osteoporosis drugs work.
Fruit juices can also interact with medicines. Orange juice can lower how well your body absorbs osteoporosis drugs. Apple juice can lower the effects of certain blood pressure meds. And you shouldn’t drink grapefruit juice with certain cholesterol-lowering drugs, heart medicines, hormone therapies, blood pressure meds, anxiety drugs, steroids, or medicines that suppress your immune system.
Many drugs also interact with alcohol, including depression or anxiety meds, diabetes drugs, cold medicines, blood pressure drugs, sleep aids, pain meds, and more.