All of us, at some point in our lives, have taken a paracetamol or ibuprofen tablet to try to combat the symptoms of a cold, pain or general discomfort. The general recommendation in these cases is to accompany these pills with a glass of water. However, it may happen that you do not have a supply on hand or that you simply prefer to use another drink, such as soda, to help ingest it. At first it may seem that it will not pose any risk, but the truth is that it can be harmful to your health.
You may not be aware, but medications can interact with spices or even foods that can be found in any pantry. For example, cinnamon and statins or turmeric and anticoagulants or antiplatelets. Likewise, it must be taken into account that this type of drink can also interfere in some way with the functioning of the drugs.
How does this combination affect health?
The pharmacist Fran Iniesta has explained on his TikTok account the health risks that taking a tablet and, instead of drinking water, using a soft drink can pose. “An example of this could be ibuprofen with Coca-Cola,” he notes. This professional assures that the organ that is most affected by this combination is the kidney.
«When health professionals advise that you take a tablet with a good glass of water, it is no coincidence, it is that when we do not take it with water it can interact with the drug, it can stop working or, much worse, increase the risk for your health. health,” he explains.
What happens in these cases is that these drinks “have a large amount of carbonic acid” that comes from CO₂, which is what gives them the gas. So, when it interacts with the drug it can “modify the absorption time, modify the maximum concentration in the blood and modify the effects and increase the risk of poisoning, mainly kidney poisoning,” he highlights.
This problem does not only affect carbonated drinks. As published in 2021 by Saudi Pharmaceutical Journal, these interferences can also occur in other types, such as coffee or juices. The study determined that the option that may seem healthier, in this case juice, was one of the drinks that most affected the programmed release of a drug comparable to paracetamol.
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