Foods putting patients at risk
Patients could be putting themselves at risk of serious illness or even death by mixing the wrong food with their medication, pharmacists believe.
The list of drugs that interact is growing rapidly and experts are finding it difficult to keep track.
Grapefruit has been hailed as a nutritional powerhouse food but, for many Australians on medication, it is the forbidden fruit.
There are now more than 50 medicines sold in Australia that grapefruit can interfere with, including some for high blood pressure and cholesterol, antibiotics, cough and cold medication and antidepressants.
Packed with Vitamin C, grapefruit interacts with an enzyme which affects the way drugs are absorbed and can lead to kidney damage, gastrointestinal bleeding and even death.
The amount of grapefruit that can cause such effects can be as little as a glass of grapefruit juice.
Similarly, Vitamin K found in leafy greens can interact with anti-clotting medicine Warfarin.
Pharmacists say it is their job to give patients this information when prescriptions are collected but admit that may not always occur.
They say one drug can have more than a dozen different brand names and keeping track of them all can be tricky.
If you are taking a new medication or if you are taking a range of medications, the advice is to always ask your pharmacist for more information.
For more information visit the MedicineWise website or call the Medicine hotline on 1300 633 424.
