4 eating habits that affect blood pressure medication

Even when taking medication for high blood pressure, your daily diet still plays a very important role. In fact, some seemingly harmless eating habits can reduce the effectiveness of blood pressure medication.

Below are some eating habits that people with high blood pressure should pay attention to, to avoid reducing the effectiveness of medication.

Eating grapefruit while taking medication

Eating grapefruit or drinking grapefruit juice is a healthy habit. However, if the patient is taking certain blood pressure medications, it can lead to interactions. According to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), grapefruit juice and fresh grapefruit can affect many types of drugs, including blood pressure medications.

Fresh grapefruit may affect blood pressure medication.

Photo: AI

This is because grapefruit contains an inhibitor of the CYP3A4 enzyme in the small intestine, while many drugs are metabolized by this enzyme. As a result, the drug is not broken down properly in the intestine, causing the amount of drug absorbed into the blood to increase 2-3 times higher than normal. This condition can lead to increased blood pressure lowering effects, leading to dizziness and fatigue.

If you are taking blood pressure medication, especially calcium channel blockers, consult your doctor or pharmacist to see if it is safe to take grapefruit juice with it. It is best to avoid drinking grapefruit juice or eating grapefruit while taking medication or taking it several hours apart from grapefruit.

Eat salty

Eating salty foods causes the body to absorb high amounts of salt. This not only increases blood pressure but also reduces the effectiveness of blood pressure medications. In fact, research evidence shows that a low-sodium, high-potassium diet enhances the blood pressure-lowering effects of RAS inhibitors, according to the health website Healthline (USA).

Sodium is found in abundance in salt. When you consume too much sodium, your body reacts by retaining more water, increasing blood volume and blood vessel pressure. This reduces the effectiveness of blood pressure medications.

Experts recommend that people should only consume about 5 grams of salt per day. If you want your meals to retain flavor while reducing salt, you can switch to using flavors from herbs and lemon.

Regularly drink alcohol

Drinking alcohol not only affects blood pressure directly but also reduces the effectiveness of blood pressure medication. These drinks dilate blood vessels and increase blood flow immediately, causing high blood pressure in the long term.

When used with blood pressure medication, alcohol can cause reactions or reduce the effectiveness of the medication. At the same time, these alcoholic beverages also affect the liver and kidneys, which are the two places where drugs are metabolized and eliminated. This condition contributes to changes in drug concentrations.

Experts recommend that if you are taking medication to treat blood pressure, you should avoid or limit alcoholic beverages because it can cause blood pressure fluctuations and drug interactions.

Drink a lot of caffeine

Many people are drinking coffee, tea, and energy drinks containing caffeine without realizing that it can affect blood pressure or medications. This is because caffeine increases heart rate and temporarily constricts blood vessels, thereby causing an acute increase in blood pressure.

This condition reduces the inherent effects of blood pressure medications or makes them less effective. At the same time, some energy drinks contain herbs or other stimulants that can interact with medications, according to Healthline .

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/4-thoi-quen-an-uong-anh-huong-den-thuoc-huet-ap-185251022183052467.htm