Can't drink milk when taking antihypertensive medicine? Stay away from these 5 foods!

With the acceleration of the pace of life and changes in living habits, high blood pressure has become an "invisible killer" that affects the health of many people. For friends who are taking antihypertensive drugs, a reasonable diet is the key to controlling blood pressure.

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Aunt Liu's experience is a good example. She usually took her medicine on time, but one morning she hurriedly took her antihypertensive medicine with milk , which caused her blood pressure to rise suddenly . The doctor explained that this was because some antihypertensive medicines reacted adversely with the ingredients in milk. This also reminds us that we do need to be extra careful with some foods while taking antihypertensive drugs.

Antihypertensive drugs and milk: Not all cases require "insulation"

First of all, let me clarify that not all antihypertensive drugs cannot be taken with milk. However, certain types of antihypertensive drugs, such as calcium channel blockers (such as amlodipine) and beta-receptor blockers (such as metoprolol), may affect their efficacy or cause adverse reactions if taken with milk. This is because these drugs help lower blood pressure by regulating the concentration of calcium ions in the blood , and milk contains a lot of calcium, which may interfere with this process.

In addition, tyramine in milk may also cause problems when it encounters certain antihypertensive drugs, because it can be inhibited from decomposition by these drugs, thus accumulating and causing abnormally high blood pressure. Therefore, if you are taking the above-mentioned antihypertensive drugs, try to avoid drinking milk immediately, and it is best to drink it half an hour after taking the medicine .

When taking antihypertensive drugs for a long time, you need to be wary of five "minefield" foods

1. Coffee

Coffee is a good helper for many people to wake up in the morning, but it contains caffeine, which can increase blood pressure in a short period of time. When it works together with thiazide diuretics, it may also cause electrolyte imbalance. Therefore, it is recommended that patients with hypertension reduce their coffee intake, especially not to consume it at the same time as antihypertensive drugs.

2. Potassium-rich foods

Potassium is essential for heart health, but when taking ACEI antihypertensive drugs, excessive intake of potassium-rich foods (such as bananas, oranges and sweet potatoes) may increase blood potassium levels and bring about the risk of arrhythmia. Therefore, such patients should carefully choose potassium-rich foods.

3. Grapefruit and its juice

Grapefruit contains a substance called furanocoumarin, which can interfere with the efficiency of drug-metabolizing enzymes in the body, making the effect of antihypertensive drugs unpredictable. Sometimes it can even cause low blood pressure or other side effects. Therefore, for safety reasons, patients with hypertension should avoid eating grapefruit and related products.

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4. Alcohol

Moderate drinking seems to help dilate blood vessels and temporarily lower blood pressure; however, alcohol can also interfere with the mechanism of action of antihypertensive drugs, causing blood pressure fluctuations. More seriously, long-term heavy drinking can also damage heart function and weaken the body's ability to fight high blood pressure.

5. High-salt foods

Excessive sodium intake is one of the important factors leading to high blood pressure. Even if you have taken medication, you still need to pay attention to the sodium content in your daily diet. You should eat less or no high-salt foods such as processed meat and canned products to reduce the burden on your kidneys and maintain a stable blood pressure level.

Use medicine correctly and avoid misunderstandings

Finally, we would like to remind you of the following points:

Being asymptomatic does not mean that you do not need to take medication, and even if your blood pressure is normal, you cannot stop taking medication without authorization: changes in blood pressure often do not have obvious early symptoms, and irregular medication may cause a sudden increase in blood pressure. Once you start treatment, you should continue until your doctor clearly instructs you to stop.

It is not advisable to pursue too low blood pressure: too low blood pressure is also dangerous and may lead to insufficient blood supply to the brain and other vital organs.

Be cautious when changing medications: There are many types of antihypertensive drugs, and each drug has different mechanisms of action and side effects. Changing medications at will may lead to poor or unstable treatment effects.

In short, a reasonable diet plus scientific medication is the best way to control high blood pressure. I hope everyone can develop good living habits and protect their cardiovascular health!