Yasmin dietary taboos

While taking Yasmin, the only food that clearly needs to be avoided is grapefruit (grapefruit) and its products. In addition, you need to try to avoid long-term heavy drinking and high-dose caffeine intake of more than 300mg per day. Other taboos such as "no spicy food, no ice, no seafood" circulated on the Internet have no clear evidence-based medical basis, so there is no need to overdo it.

The taboo of grapefruit is a sure thing, and the principle is not difficult to understand: Yasmin needs to be metabolized by the CYP3A4 enzyme in the liver, and the furanocoumarins in grapefruit will directly inhibit the activity of this enzyme, which is equivalent to holding down the "worker" who helps you break down the drug. The drug cannot be metabolized and excreted normally, and the concentration in the body will be 2-10 times higher than the normal level. Not only may it aggravate the side effects of chest distension, headache, and irregular bleeding, but also increase the potential risk of blood clots. Don’t think that you only need to pay attention to eating whole grapefruit. Grapefruit jam, pre-mixed juice mixed with grapefruit ingredients, and even fat-reducing drinks containing grapefruit extract are all included. I used to have a fitness friend who ate half a grapefruit with salad every day during the fat-reducing period. His chest was so swollen that he couldn’t even touch it for ten days. When he went to check his hormones, he found that the estrogen level was twice as high as before. He recovered within two weeks of stopping the grapefruit. Of course, don’t panic if you accidentally bite a piece of grapefruit. Occasionally ingesting a small amount will not be a big problem. Just drink more water to speed up metabolism. You only need to be vigilant if you eat large amounts for a long time.

Except for the hard red line of grapefruit, most of the other so-called taboos are controversial. The most typical one is whether taking antibiotics will affect the efficacy of the medicine. The current academic circles are not completely unified: European and American contraceptive guidelines clearly state that only special drugs such as rifampicin and griseofulvin that induce liver enzyme activity will accelerate the metabolism of Yasmin and reduce the effectiveness of contraception. Commonly used antibiotics such as cephalosporin and amoxicillin will have no effect if taken for three to five days in the short term, and there is no need to add additional barrier contraception. ； However, out of prudent considerations, many domestic clinicians recommend wearing a condom as long as you take antibiotics to avoid the small probability of contraceptive failure. Both statements are reasonable. You can choose according to your own needs. If you are afraid of having an extra layer of protection, you can also ask the doctor who prescribes the medicine in advance if you find it troublesome. You don’t have to worry about which one is right.

As for many girls who are confused about whether they can eat spicy food or drink iced food, I can only say that as long as your stomach can handle it, it’s totally fine. When I first started taking Yasmin, I was frightened by the list on the Internet. I didn’t even dare to touch my favorite ice powder. After asking my friends from the obstetrics and gynecology department for more than half a month, I found out that these claims are basically false. Temperature and spiciness will not affect the absorption and metabolism of the drug at all. Unless you have diarrhea and vomiting after eating spicy ice cream, you only need to consider taking another tablet if you experience severe vomiting and diarrhea within 2 hours after taking the medicine. Otherwise, you don’t have to torture your mouth at all.

There are two other points that need a little attention, but they are not absolute taboos: one is not to drink a lot of alcohol for a long time. Yasmin itself needs liver metabolism. Long-term alcoholism will increase the burden on the liver, and it is easy to vomit out the medicine you just took after drinking, which will increase the risk of missing a dose.； The other is high-dose caffeine. If you drink three or four cups of strong American coffee every day, it will easily aggravate the side effects of insomnia and chest swelling caused by Yasmin. If you have these discomforts, just reduce the amount of coffee to less than one cup a day. If you don’t feel uncomfortable, drinking as usual will be fine.

In fact, in the final analysis, there are really not that many dietary taboos for taking Yasmin. Remember not to touch grapefruit, drink less alcohol and drink too much coffee. The rest can be done as you feel comfortable. Originally, the purpose of taking short-acting contraceptive pills is to live a more comfortable life. There is no need to dare not even touch the hot pot iced milk tea you want because of unfounded taboos, right? If you really feel uncomfortable after eating something, just stop. Individual differences are much more important than the rules and regulations of the guide.