Food to Avoid While Treating with Viagra

Viagra is a medicine that can be taken with or without food. However, if you want to get best results and/or prevent negative interactions, you should not use sildenafil with certain food products.

The Use of Viagra

Viagra is a known medication based on the active agent sildenafil citrate, belonging to the class of PDE5 inhibitors. It does not cure erectile dysfunction, but it effectively treats the symptoms of this disease by affecting some enzymes in the penile tissues, which leads to an improvement in blood circulation in the penile organ. AWC Canadian Healthcare professionals recommend administering Viagra 30–60 minutes before the planned sexual intercourse.

However, you can do this 3–4 hours before sex, given that the medication is effective up to 6 hours (in some men up to 12 hours, although its effectiveness is reduced).

The branded medicine has a relatively high price, so many patients prefer Generic Viagra, which has a low cost, but the same beneficial effect.

How to Take Viagra?

With…

…Grapefruit

Grapefruit contains a substance that neutralizes the enzyme in the human digestive system (CYP3A4), which breaks down the active components of certain medications, including sildenafil. As a result, the drug deactivation does not occur in the intestinal canal. Therefore, the body receives increased dosage of the drug and its organs experience extra load. The well-known and widely cited study by A. Jetter has shown that grapefruit juice may raise sildenafil bioavailability by 23%, making the action of the drug less predictable and increasing the possibility of side effects occurrence.

Viagra and grapefruit can affect patients in different ways. Therefore, tell your health care provider how much of the grapefruit you normally consume in your daily diet. If the doctor does not recommend you to drink grapefruit juice or eat grapefruit, keep in mind that this fruit is completely eliminated from the body only after 72 hours (3 days). Only then you can freely take Viagra. The use of Viagra before the expiration of this time can cause some side effects, such as headache.

 …Pomegranate Juice

According to a study by N. R. Srinivas (2013) pomegranate can also affect the enzyme CYP3A4 and potentially have the same effect as pomegranate. But this statement was confirmed only by animal studies, while research data concerning humans are limited. For example, a study by Indian scientists S. Senthilkumaran et al. (2012) showed that the use of Viagra with pomegranate juice can lead to the development of unexplained priapism even in people who are not predisposed to this condition and do not have other risks, like intake of other drugs.

Therefore, do not drink pomegranate juice with sildenafil, especially if you have predisposition to priapism.

…Alcohol and Viagra Interaction

Viagra and alcohol are vasodilators, that is, they both expand the blood vessels in the body. Expansion of the lumen of blood vessels leads to a decrease in the level of blood pressure. In itself, alcohol does not usually significantly affect the pressure. However, the decrease can be substantial if alcoholic beverages are combined with Viagra. This negative effect depends on the quantity of alcohol consumed, for example two glasses of wine or a glass of strong drink, should not affect the sildenafil action. If after taking alcohol you feel some side effects, such as dizziness, heart palpitations and headache, you are advised to see a doctor especially if the symptoms worsen.

…High-Fat Food

According to the official instruction to Viagra, high-fat meals can slow the absorption of the drug so that the effect may appear in 60 minutes, instead of 30.

Products with very high fat content include vegetable oils and butter. Of course, you are unlikely to use these products in their pure form. Caution about the possible slowdown of Viagra effect is associated primarily with such popular products as French fries, cheese and cheeseburgers.

For example, double cheeseburger contains approximately 17% of fat, cheddar – 33%, while French fries feature 15% fat content.

By the way, doctors recommend to abandon fast food or at least minimize its consumption. The fact is that fast food often contains many "bad" fats and trans fats, which can adversely affect cardiovascular health and even erectile function.

Other Considerations

Although Viagra is normally combined with most foods and moderate dosages of alcohol, it can interact negatively with many other substances. If you are going to take Viagra, tell your health care provider about all the medications and supplements you are taking. Sildenafil can create a dangerous combination with medicines from the group of nitrates (like nitroglycerin, isosorbide mononitrate, and others).

Therefore, Viagra is absolutely counter indicated to those patients who are undergoing treatment with these medicines.

Other examples of substances that can interact with the medicament include medicines for the treatment of high arterial pressure, as well as supplements on the basis of L-arginine and St. John's Wort. Arginine can be used as a natural remedy to improve erectile function, while St. John's Wort (hypericum) is a popular best herbal supp for the treatment of depression.

Be careful when combining Viagra with other drugs and supplements!

Canadian Pharmacy Professionals – awcanadianpharmacy.com