#medication interaction

Did you know that Neo citraine mixing with certain mental health medications causes hours of potentially violent psychosis? I didn't before last night but I do now.

Don’t believe me?

Read this: https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000198.htm

Arugula,  rocket 

eruca sativa; syns. E. vesicaria subsp. sativa (Miller) Thell., Brassica eruca L.) rocket salad", "rucola", "rucoli", "rugula", "colewort", and "roquette"

“is an edible annual plant in the family Brassicaceae used as a leaf vegetable for its fresh, tart, bitter, and peppery flavor Some additional names are ". Eruca sativa, which is widely popular as a salad vegetable, is a species of Eruca native to the Mediterranean region, from Morocco and Portugal in the west to Syria, Lebanon, and Turkey in the east.

The Latin adjective sativa in the plant's binomial name is derived from satum, the supine of the verb sero, meaning "to sow", indicating that the seeds of the plant were sown in gardens. 

The English common name rocket derives from the French roquette, a diminutive of the Latin word eruca, which once designated a particular plant in the family Brassicaceae (probably a type of cabbage) Arugula (/əˈruːɡələ/), the common name now widespread in the United States and Canada, entered American English from a non-standard dialect of Italian. The standard Italian word is rucola, a diminutive of the Latin "eruca"

Virgil penned a poem mentioning our favorite salad leaf: et Venerem revocans eruca morantem (or, loosely translated, “… and arugula, which recalls the lagging wish for sexual delights”).

In addition to the leaves, the flowers, young seed pods and mature seeds are all edible.

In Italy, raw rocket is often added to a pizza at the end of or just after baking. It is also used cooked in Apulia, in southern Italy, to make the pasta dish cavatiéddi, "in which large amounts of coarsely chopped rocket are added to pasta seasoned with a homemade reduced tomato sauce and pecorino", as well as in "many unpretentious recipes in which it is added, chopped, to sauces and cooked dishes" or in a sauce (made by frying it in olive oil and garlic) used as a condiment for cold meats and fish. In the Slovenian Littoral, it is often combined with boiled potatoes, used in a soup, or served with the cheese burek, especially in the town of Koper. It is also used with salad, tomatoes and mozzarella cheese. In Rome, rucola is used in straccetti, a dish of thin slices of beef with raw rocket and Parmesan cheese.

A sweet, peppery digestive alcohol called rucolino is made from rocket on the island of Ischia in the Gulf of Naples. This liqueur is a local specialty enjoyed in small quantities following a meal in the same way as a limoncello or grappa.

In Cyprus, the plant is used in salads and omelettes. An omelette with rocket (Greek rokka) is common in Cypriot restaurants. 

In Persian Gulf countries the plant is used raw in the salads mixed with other vegetables or alone. In Eastern Saudi Arabia it is widely believed the plant has a lot of health benefits and recommended for newlywed couples.

In Egypt, the plant is commonly eaten raw as a side dish with many meals, with ful medames for breakfast, and regularly accompanies local seafood dishes. In Turkey, similarly, the rocket is eaten raw as a side dish or salad with fish, but is additionally served with a sauce of extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice.

In West Asia and Northern India, Eruca seeds are pressed to make taramira oil, used in pickling and (after aging to remove acridity) as a salad or cooking oil. The seed cake is also used as animal feed”

Anti-cancer properties (Excerpt :” We found that erucin inhibits proliferation of MCF7 breast cancer cells… suggesting that inhibition of proliferation by erucin is associated with inhibition of mitosis.  “)  * see research link 24950293/   Hc  , PMC4065051/  Hc , 28862664/

Might double the absorption of medication, in this case Sildenafil  *see research 28871716/

Natural pesticide, as its high in Glucosinolates (excerpt:” The pungency of those plants is due to mustard oils produced from glucosinolates when the plant material is chewed, cut, or otherwise damaged. “)*see research link PMC4011049/   & wiki

Glucosinolate values increase up till the third day of harvest ,stored at either at 4 °C or at 15 °C and decreases after 1 week of storage at 4 °C over a period of 21 days *see research link PMC4011049/ , 23794443

Rucola (the leaves) are high in Magnesium, Calcium, Iron  and Kalium/Potassium *see research link PMC4011049/  

High in Vitamin C, slightly higher when harvested in fall *see also link  49/

Contains Vitamin E *see also 49/

High in chlorophyll * see also 49/

Contains Quercetin, lutein and b-carotene and specific kind of xanthins which are converted to vitamin A  * see also last 49/

Anti-microbial against E. Coli, P. aeruginosa, Shigella flexneri, S. typhi, K. pneumonia) and Gram-positive (S. aureus, S. epidermidis, Bacillus subtilis) bacteria *see research link  PMC4011049/

Best NOT eaten in combination with meat, as rucola’s nitrites can react with meat ammines through certain processes in our mouth/stomach which could result in nitrosamines and cause tumors  *see research link  PMC4011049/ , Sciencedirect , PMC4690057/ , wiki

Consuming 44 mg arugula/day will not exceed the ADI intake of nitrate * see research link PMC5412236/

Contains about 4354.9 mg/kg) nitrate in autumn *see research link PMC5412236/

 Research links & tips:

I’m out here begging you not to give your loved ones in care facilities, or bring cared for in their homes, over the counter medications that they can keep at their bedside.

Take them to the nurses’ station, or the nurse, first. They NEED to be checked against their (likely extensive) medication list for contraindications. (Contraindications are medications, food or drinks that don’t play well together. Like, alcohol and sleeping medications; or, alcohol and pain medications.)

This includes*:

- eye drops, and ear drops

- vitamins, and pills

- creams, powders, and lotions

- patches, and roll ons, etc.

*This is a list from my experience as a car-giver in nursing homes. It doesn’t mean you can ignore it if the super specific item isn’t listed.

Yes, this includes Tylenol, Ibuprofen, pain patches and roll ons. If it is marketed as at all medicinal, don’t give it to them. Don’t let them have it.

Your loved one could die because they are already getting the maximum safe dosage of Tylenol a day from the nursing staff AS PRESCRIBED BY THEIR DOCTOR and you let them have Tylenol in their room in addition to that. Probably because you thought, “It’s just Tylenol. What’s the harm?”

They will get a gastrointestinal bleed. Or something equally as terrible. It’s a horrible way to die.

I have seen someone die from a GI bleed because they had OTC Tylenol in their room in addition to receiving Tylenol four times a day scheduled by their doctor.

Did I just make you angry? Furious? Irate?

I’m sorry. But, this is serious. I care about your loved ones. I care for your loved ones. I want them to not be in pain, to live a full life, to not die any sooner than they ought to.

Don’t just let them have the OTC medications.

Hard to know what to quote here, but to summarize: a number of supplements aiming to treat erectile dysfunction have been found to be tainted with chloropretadalafil, propoxyphenylsildenafil, and sildenafil, which haven't been evaluated for safety by the FDA yet. In addition, at least one of the contaminants may interact with some prescription drugs used in the treatment of diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or heart disease.