Which medications should you not be taking with coffee? 7 drugs examined
Coffee is one of the most popular beverages in the world. Coffee has become a staple in
our culture so much so that the term coffee break is part of our vernacular.
According to uptodate.com more than 150 million people in the US drink coffee daily and the
developed world accounts for more than 70% of worldwide consumption.
Given these numbers it is worthwhile to examine if drinking coffee can interfere with the
absorption of medications. Let’s find out!
Drinking coffee is now part of our morning routine, its part of mine as well. And you
might be asking yourself hey if I’m drinking coffee why not take in my medications. What’s
the harm?
Once you take in coffee your body starts processing and according to medicalnewstoday.com your
“levels of caffeine peak within about 15-45minutes”. You might be asking yourself how long coffee
stays in my body. The half-life of coffee is about 5 hours. What does that mean? This
means if you drank 10mg of caffeine 5 mg would remain in your body after 5 hours. Now this
means half of coffee you drink is not eliminated from your body in a linear way so therefore
the effects of caffeine last longer before being eliminated from your body.
What affects coffee absorption?
Three things:
1)An enzyme system called Cytochrome P450 2) Coffee stimulates gastric acid secretion
in your stomach 3) Coffee is a stimulant and increases gut
motility
The three points I mentioned before will all in turn effect how certain medications are
absorbed. Which common medications should you be aware of:
1) Thyroid drugs:
Thyroid medications should be taken on an empty stomach in the morning. If you drink
coffee, it will affect the absorption of the drug. Caffeine not only increases gut motility
but is also has a mild laxative effect by increasing the amount of fluid in your stool. Also caffeine
causes the drug to move quickly through your gut decreasing the amount of drug being absorbed.
As result this will affect the amount of drugs levels needed to treat your underlying thyroid
condition.
2) Medications to treat osteoporosis:
Bisphosphonates which you see listed here are medications used to treat bone health.
However, these medications should not be with coffee. In fact, it should NOT be taken with
juice, milk, or any other beverage other than plain water. Furthermore, you should wait
30 minutes before taking in other medications or supplements. This is because oral bisphosphonates
are poorly absorbed and beverages such as coffee or when taken with food will create
complexes interfering with GI absorption.
3) Acid reflux medications:
Here is a list of medications which help with your acid reflux.
• Dexlansoprazole (Dexilant) • Esomeprazole (Nexium)
• Lansoprazole (Prevacid) • Omeprazole (Prilosec, Zegerid)
• Pantoprazole (Protonix) • Rabeprazole (Aciphex)
These medications work by reducing the amount of acid secreted in your stomach to help alleviate
your heart burn symptomsf you are interested in the side effects of Omeprazole a common
OTC reflux drug click right here.
4) Iron tablets: Do not take your iron tablets or supplements
with coffee.This is because coffee can affect absoption from both your food and supplements
if taken at the same time.So when should you drink your coffee? It is recommended that
you do drink coffee one hour before a meal or taken in supplements.
5) Ciprofloxacin: (Quinolone antibiotics)
Ciprofloxacin is a common antibiotic and is to treat a variety of ailments such UTI’s,
skin infections or bronchitis to name a few. If you are on this antibiotic do not take
it at the same time with caffeine containing products. Using both together can increase
the effects of caffeine and can increase heart pounding, anxiety, nervousness, and sleepiness.
6) Sudafed (Pseudoephedrine)
Sudafed is a decongestant and is commonly to help symptoms associated with nasal congestion
If you take Sudafed (Pseudoephedrine) and caffeine it can increase the side effects
such as fast heart rate and high blood pressure. Remember caffeine is also found in teas, colas,
some herbal supplements, and chocolate
7) Medications used for asthma called beta adrenergic agonists such as albuterol:
This is because caffeine can stimulate your heart.Medications such as Albuterol can also
stimulate your heart.When taken in combination can cause increased stimulation of your heart
exacerbating side effects of these medications:
If you have reached this far in the video that’s great and thanks for sticking by.I’ll
list other medications, albeit perhaps less common that can interfere with Coffee.
Adenosine, Birth control pills,Clozapine,Persantine,Estrogens,Luvox,Lithium,Mono-amino oxidase inhibitors,Trycyclic depressants,Pentobarbital,Theophylline,
Verapamil, diuretic drugs.
If you are interested in other videos click right here or here, Think your health and
have a good day.