Symptoms of hypoglycemia include nervousness, sweating, trembling, intense hunger, weakness, palpitations, confusion, drowsiness, and ultimately coma. The glucose-lowering action of alcohol can last as long as eight to 12 hours. Insulin, Oral Diabetic Agents, and AlcoholĪn alcoholic drink can increase or prolong the effects of insulin or oral diabetic agents (pills) and thus lead to hypoglycemia or low blood sugar. He describes a scenario that could spell trouble for an older adult: “If a doctor tells a patient that they should lose weight and they, in turn, start to eat more greens, their vitamin K intake will go up, and this will counteract the anticlotting action of warfarin.”Ģ. “Rather, they should keep their intake consistent from day to day.” “It’s not that patients should avoid foods that contain vitamin K,” advises Zive. The highest concentrations of vitamin K are found in green leafy vegetables such as kale, collards, spinach, turnip greens, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, scallions, asparagus, and endive. Eating certain foods, especially those rich in vitamin K, can diminish warfarin’s effectiveness. Warfarin (Coumadin) is a blood-thinning medication that helps treat and prevent blood clots. What these facts add up to, says Joel Zive, PharmD, vice president of Zive Pharmacy & Surgical, Inc in Bronx, NY, and a spokesman for the American Pharmacists Association, “is a greater risk of food-drug interactions in older Americans.”īelow are the ill-advised combinations that Zive believes comprise the top 10 types of drug-nutrient interactions affecting older adults, along with his recommendations for preventing potentially deadly problems. At the same time, physiological changes related to aging affect the absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion of drugs, as well as food. This same survey also revealed that older patients often have more than one prescribing physician, making it difficult to track the total number and types of medications elders take.
In addition, a survey of 17,000 Medicare beneficiaries conducted in 2007 found that two of every five patients reported taking five or more prescription medications. Consider these surprising facts: Older adults comprise 13% of the population but account for 34% of all prescriptions and 30% of all over-the-counter drugs used in the United States.
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