IF you take painkillers or medication regularly you might have forgotten there are certain things you shouldn’t eat or drink with them.

All drugs will come with information you are supposed to read, but probably often don’t.

1

It will include the best way to take the medicine, and if you need to have an empty stomach or swallow with food.

Generally the instructions will also include advice to take with water.

Most people will use a glass of H2O to gulp down a pill, but often simply will chug whatever is to hand.

But experts have found five drinks you should avoid using to take medication with.

This is because they could increase the drugs’ disintegration time – how long it takes to break down – which might mean it’s dissolved before the body is able to properly absorb it.

A study published in the Saudi Pharmaceutical Journal looked at the effects of taking a range of over the counter painkillers and allergy pills with popular drinks.

They found: “The tested beverages should not be used as substitutes for water when ingesting medications.”

Coffee

The experts looked at two hot coffees – at 41C and 100C – to see how they reacted with drugs.

It is already known that coffee, and the caffeine in it, can potentially cause problems with medications.

But this study’s findings suggest hot drinks, such as coffee, could have an impact on disintegration time.Meaning you might not get the right amount of the medication you need.

OJ

It’s a classic morning drink, so might be what you have to hand as you take any drugs you need.

But the study found orange juice can have a real effect on the timed release of a drug.

Therefore it’s best to try and separate when you drink your glass of Vitamin C and take any medicine, to avoid disrupting the effect.

Coca-Cola

This popular drink was found to affect the disintegration time of most of the drugs tested.

The only one it didn’t affect was a medication to treat allergy symptoms, the experts said.

Energy drinks

Having an energy drink to wash down your medication is not a good plan, the scientists found.

These also speed up the time the drugs are supposed to break down and get into your system.

You want to make sure you are taking them correctly, so they work at their best.

Buttermilk

While not everyone is going to be glugging down a glass of buttermilk – it suggests dairy products in general, therefore milk, might not be a good plan to pair with drugs either.

The buttermilk also impacted the absorption and breakdown of medication.

The experts wrote: “Patients should be advised to avoid consuming beverages other than water with therapeutic products.

“Increasing public awareness of drug-beverage interactions is needed.”