YOUR favourite spooky treats may come with an unintended trick, an expert has warned.
An ingredient in many Halloween snacks can stop lifesaving medicines from working properly.
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Activated charcoal, found in some toothpastes and face washes, is becoming a popular food colouring used to make various snacks and drinks pitch-black.
Chefs and supermarkets use the ingredient to make all sorts of treats, from black iced cupcakes right through to black spaghetti bolognese.
But registered nutritional therapist Lauren Johnson Reynolds (@londonwellnesscoach) says people taking certain medicines should be wary of creepy treats.
She tells the Sun: “Activated charcoal is known for its adsorption capabilities.”
In fact, activated charcoal is commonly used to treat poisoning. It works by absorbing the dangerous substance before the body absorbs it.
“When ingested with medicines, charcoal acts as a binding agent, attaching not only to toxins but also to the medication’s active ingredients in the digestive tract, reducing their absorption into the bloodstream,” she explains.
“This results in diminished therapeutic effects, making the medications less effective,” she adds.
But fear not, that one black cookie you just munched on is unlikely to stop your pill working.
“You would have to eat lots more than a pizza crust to cause any real issue, “Lauren explains.
“A little in a drink or on a crust is unlikely to interfere.”
According to the Cleveland Clinic, activated charcoal can interact with the following medications:
- Acarbose: used to treat type 2 diabetes
- Aripiprazole: used to manage and treat schizophrenia, mania and autism
- Birth control pills: used to change the way the body works and prevent pregnancy
- Carbamazepine: a medicine used to treat epilepsy
- Dapsone: an antibiotic
- Digoxin: used to treat heart problems
- Olanzapine: used to treat schizophrenia
- Phenothiazines: used for the treatment of schizophrenia, bipolar disorders and to control vomiting
- Phenytoin: used to treat epilepsy
- Pindolol: used to teat high blood pressure
- Some herbal medicines or dietary supplements
- Theophylline: used to treat asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
- Ursodeoxycholic acid: used in the management and treatment of liver disease
Lauren says people taking any of these drugs should wait “at least an hour” before scoffing down snacks coloured with activated charcoal.
“If you are concerned, always consult with your healthcare professionals to ensure that charcoal colouring don’t interfere with the prescribed treatments,” she explains.
Other foods, like grapefruit, can also affect how the body absorbs medicines.
According to the NHS, eating grapefruit or drinking grapefruit can increases the level of the medicine in your blood.
This can increase the risk of side effects or alter the effect the medicine has.
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