What Foods & Supplements to Avoid While On Eliquis (Apixaban)

Your Complete Guide to Eliquis Interactions

It can be confusing to figure out exactly what (not) to eat, drink, and take while you’re on Eliquis.

Save this guide for reference now and later! Let’s get started with a few foundational definitions.

What is Eliquis?

Eliquis (apixaban) is a type of anticoagulant, or a medication that thins blood. It’s relatively new on the scene. Drugs similar to Eliquis, such as warfarin, have been used to treat heart conditions since the 1950s. Eliquis has only been approved for use since 2012.

In that time, Eliquis has quickly become a go-to for heart condition management. It stops the formation of blood clots by blocking a specific blood clotting mechanism. With that mechanism turned off, blood clots can typically neither form nor get bigger.

Having blood clots in your cardiovascular system can be extremely dangerous. Blood clots can block blood flow to the heart, brain, or entire body systems. This can cause stroke, heart attacks, or other potentially fatal adverse events.

This means Eliquis, as a powerful blood thinner, can save lives.

Doctors prescribe Eliquis for many indications, including:

Powerful medications usually don’t come without side effects. Eliquis is no exception.

For example, the most common side effect of Eliquis is increased bleeding. (This makes sense if you remember how Eliquis works: Scabs don’t form as quickly for people taking this medication.)

Before writing your prescription, your doctor will ask you if you bruise easily, experience nosebleeds often, or see blood when you floss. After taking Eliquis, you should keep an eye on these situations and report any significant changes to your doctor.

A one-month supply of Eliquis costs about $315.00, or $10.50 per dose, in America. Good news if you are considering an international or Canadian pharmacy for Eliquis: You can buy brand-name Eliquis for around $4.30 per pill (up to 59% savings) through NorthWestPharmacy.com.

Food Interactions with Eliquis

You don’t take medications in a vacuum.

Whenever you swallow a medication, it interacts with foods you’ve recently eaten and any other medications you may be taking.

Although it may not seem like it, some foods can have a negative effect on Eliquis.

Depending on how they interact, certain foods could render Eliquis ineffective – or even make it too effective for safe use.

One of Eliquis’s main selling points over alternatives like warfarin is that Eliquis has fewer negative food interactions. After years of avoiding certain foods while taking warfarin, heart disease patients that switched to Eliquis could enjoy more variety in their cuisine.

This doesn’t mean that all foods are safe while taking Eliquis.

Here’s a comprehensive guide to what foods to avoid while on Eliquis.

What Foods to Avoid While on Eliquis

Keep this list handy to make sure your meals are as safe as possible during treatment with this blood-thinning medication!

Eliquis Food Restrictions

In addition to this list, many doctors recommend that patients taking heart disease medications stick to diets low in saturated fats.

In some cases, diets high in saturated fats can lead to higher risks of plaque buildup in a patient’s arteries and veins. This may lead to a stroke or heart attack.

Taking Eliquis is not a safeguard against unhelpful dietary habits, so it may benefit patients to consider reducing how often they eat the following foods:

100% adherence to a low- or no-fat diet may not be necessary but trying your best to keep your percentage of high-fat foods low regularly can make a world of difference.

What Foods Can You Eat While Taking Eliquis?

Wondering if there are specific foods that can result in a better experience taking Eliquis – or at least don’t get in the way of this life-saving drug?

While there are no foods that patients taking Eliquis must take, following a healthy, varied, and balanced diet can help manage heart health.

Depending on your unique situation, tastes, location, and lifestyle, this could include eating fibrous foods, fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein sources.

Talk with your doctor or a nutritionist to see which foods would be best for you to avoid, reduce, or prioritize in your diet and incorporate those suggestions as well as you can.

It may help to track your mood to see if any dietary changes you tackle make you feel better in the moment – this can support your ability to embrace those changes long-term.

Eliquis Interactions with Supplements

Although many supplements don’t require a prescription, they can be very powerful – and can even impact the way your body interacts with Eliquis.

Consider the following:

Even if they don’t feel related, tell your doctor about the supplements you’re taking before you start treatment with Eliquis. They’ll be able to determine if you need to reconsider your diet or supplementation regimen.

Eliquis Drug Interactions

We’ve discussed the supplements and foods you may need to avoid when taking Eliquis, but prescription medications are an entirely different category.

Before prescribing Eliquis, your doctor should consider all your other medications. (Your online pharmacy or bricks and mortar one will likely have a built-in system to check your medications for safety and their potential interactions, too.)

Some drug-drug interactions can result in moderately undesirable side effects, like irritability or gastric pain. Other interactions could be significantly more dangerous.

For example, if you take Eliquis while taking another blood thinner, or some non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, you could trigger a hazardous health condition.

Drugs that have especially severe interactions with Eliquis include:

What About Eliquis and Alcohol?

The prescribing information that comes with Eliquis does not explicitly prohibit the use of alcohol. While that could seem like a green light to grab a drink, any person on blood thinners could benefit from cutting back.

Alcohol, even when drunk in moderation, can have blood-thinning properties. The American Blood Clot Association has stated that two drinks of alcohol could decrease blood coagulation.

Because of this, drinking and taking Eliquis at the same time could lead to severe blood loss, hemorrhaging, and other dangerous situations.

In addition, alcohol consumption can be a risk factor for the heart disease a patient is treating with Eliquis.

What to Do if You’ve Eaten Something Off-Plan

Life happens – and, sometimes, you’ll realize that you’ve eaten something containing grapefruit juice after the fact. What’s your plan?

After you’re prescribed Eliquis, it’s worth spending time brainstorming the best ways to avoid unhelpful foods and supplements.

For example, it might help to download the menus of your favorite restaurants, select foods with only Eliquis-safe ingredients, and make those your new go-to dishes. Alternatively, you might do some research and find delicious, safe snacks and make sure your home is stocked with those at all times.

That way, you’ll be less likely to grab something with potentially unsafe additives if you’re hungry while out and about.

Figured Out Food Interactions with Eliquis? Here’s What’s Next

As you learn how to adjust your lifestyle to support your health goals, there’s a lot that you need to relearn and reorganize. Depending on the severity of your condition and your doctor’s recommendations, you could be switching up your entire diet.

That can be costly – and stressful.

At NorthWestPharmacy.com, we don’t think finding and buying Eliquis should be exhausting or expensive. In fact, we think that should be the least stressful part of your healthcare experience.

That’s why we offer consistently low prices, simple ordering processes, and even online-only perks like constantly updated informational guides, access to an our pharmacists, and multiple ways to order your required medications.

We routinely work with Americans to ship medications across the border to their front door. If you’re interested in choosing an international and online Canada drugs store to lower your bills and reduce your stress, check out our Canadian online pharmacy ratings on TrustPilot.com and Shopper Approved (we have a 4.9/5 rating across hundreds of thousands of reviews!).

Then, call our friendly 7-days-a-week customer service team at 1-866-539-5330. You can order over the phone or complete your transaction through a safe online portal.

Whenever you’re ready, our safe Canadian online pharmacy and international drugstore is here to support your healthcare needs.