Moxifloxacin is an antibiotic drug with capabilities to treat a wide range of bacterial infections. It is known to be effective against infections in the respiratory tract, sinus cavities, skin – to name a few. It is often prescribed when the other drugs have failed to yield intended results. Your doctor may also tell you not to take a few foods or dietary supplements while taking moxifloxacin. It can be very helpful to know the types of foods and diet to be completely avoided or to be taken in moderation.
It is not recommended to take multivitamins along with quinolone antibiotics such as moxifloxacin. The oral intake of such vitamins – while co-administered with this antibiotic – may lead to loss in efficacy of the supplements and can also trigger a few adverse side effects. You may also need to remember that moxifloxacin may see a dropped level of absorption if taken with vitamin compounds. Foods and supplementary aids that have iron, aluminum, magnesium and calcium are known to significantly reduce the ability of your system to absorb moxifloxacin. Once the absorption levels are reduced, it can decrease the capabilities of this antibiotic.
As a safety precaution, you are advised to take multivitamin-based dietary aids as well as supplements of iron, calcium or magnesium after needful time intervals. It is widely considered as a good practice to space-out the intake for at least 4 hours after taking moxifloxacin. In some cases, your doctor may suggest the intake of moxifloxacin after as high as 6 hours. It is a good practice to talk to your treating physician or pharmacist to know more details about the time intervals needed between these doses.
In general, you are advised to make a list of foods and other supplements you are currently taking. In this list, ensure to include dietary aids, herbal supplements, vitamins as well as nutraceuticals. If you regularly take vegetables rich in magnesium, aluminum, iron or calcium, your physician needs to know about such dietary practices.
Foods rich in magnesium
Talk to your dietician to know more about foods rich in magnesium. Some of these magnesium-rich foods include avocadoes; a standard serving of this fruit can provide nearly 14% of your daily recommended intake value. A fairly-medium sized fruit may have 60 milligrams (mg) of magnesium in it. This translates to more than 1/6th of your daily need for this nutrient. Not stopping with magnesium, this fruit is also endowed with a healthy share of vitamins; these include vitamin K, as well as vitamin B along with its family of fellow-vitamins.
Apart from avocado, legumes are another rich source of magnesium. Foods such as soybean, chickpeas, lentil, bean, peas, etc. are foods that broadly come under the legume-family of vegetation. You may be surprised to know that a bowl of black-beans (after cooking) has more than 115 mg of magnesium; this is approximately 29% of the daily intake value of the essential nutrient.
You may also need to consult your dietitian or the treating physician if your diet regularly includes foods such as tofu, whole grains-based foods / food products, bananas as well as dark chocolate. Your dietitian may advise to take these foods in moderation while taking moxifloxacin.
Foods with abundant presence of iron
Intake of foods with a marked presence of iron does not go very well with moxifloxacin. Of the foods which are rich in iron, you need to be watchful of liver, spinach, seeds of pumpkin, broccoli, etc. For instance, liver has an iron content of 6.5 mg in every 1100-gram serving. This is approximately 34% of your daily requirement of iron. Spinach has about 2.5 mg of iron in a standard serving. This leafy green may lead to an easier absorption of carotenoids; but, it inhibits the absorption rate of antibiotics like moxifloxacin. Your dietitian may tell you to stay careful while taking pumpkin-seeds; this is because these seeds have both magnesium as well as iron in them. These two minerals may work against the systemic absorption of the active ingredients of moxifloxacin and other such fluoroquinolone antibiotics.
Foods with greater presence of aluminum in them
It may be alarming to know that this metal is found in select foods. But, it is a fact that only a few minor traces of this metal can be detected in excessively processed foods. Such foods include beer-based beverages, cereal-based food products, juices or wines made from fruits, a few types of confectioneries, etc. It is considered as a safe practice to talk to your treating physician about intake of such foods or food products – especially, while you are consuming antibiotics like moxifloxacin.
Calcium-rich foods and moxifloxacin
You may be aware that dairy-based foods are rich sources of calcium. Needless to say – your dietitian needs to be consulted if you are taking dairy foods along with moxifloxacin. However, apart from dairy-based foods, a few other sources are known to have copious amounts of calcium in them. These include sardines / salmon, almonds, fortified products, etc.
The bones of sardines as well as salmon are edible; hence, share of calcium in these foods is significant. Less than 100 grams of sardines can meet more than 33% of your daily need of calcium. On the other hand, nearly 80 grams of salmon can yield upto 20% of your daily requirement of calcium. In the same league, almonds are also endowed with significant percentage of calcium in them. Daily intake of 20 almonds can offer upto 7.5% of calcium needs. Foods fortified with calcium – such as cornflour – can meet more than 95% of your daily needs of calcium. It is with such foods you need be more careful. Most of these foods listed here may alter the absorption levels of quinolone antibiotics such as moxifloxacin.
In sum, foods with multivitamins, iron, aluminum, magnesium and calcium are known to reduce the efficacy of moxifloxacin. You may need to take needful precautions while taking foods like dairy products, salmon or sardines, almonds and few other nuts, spinach, avocado, etc. If you need more inputs on what types of foods are to be avoided, it is recommended to talk to a qualified dietitian as well as your treating physician about this.
Education: Master’s in Public Health (MPH) from the University of Michigan. Experience: Over 8 years of experience writing for health and wellness websites, including WebMD and Healthline, specializing in women’s health and nutrition.
