Q and A

Question

Will eating garlic or garlic tablets interact with my HIV medication?

13 April 2011. Related: All topics, Drug interactions, Supplements and herbs.

Answer

Answer: Charlotte Walker

Thank you for your question.

Garlic as part of your diet is perfectly fine, but higher dose supplements have the potential to interact with some drugs.

This depends which HIV meds you are taking. Garlic supplements have the potential to interact with NNRTIs and PIs. Saquniavir has a caution to not be taken with garlic supplements.

Garlic is broken down by the body is the same way as these HIV meds. Taking both together could change the amount of HIV meds in your blood. Talk to your doctor about this so that your drug levels can be monitored when you are taking the garlic supplements in case any adjustments need to be made to the dosage of your HIV meds.

24 comments

  1. Lisa Thorley •

    Hi Lucas,

    Yes you can eat garlic and use it in cooking. And drink water as well as inkomazi.

  2. lucas •

    Can I eat garlic or cooking it and
    drink water and eat inkomazi. I am in for months taking medication now on

  3. Lisa Thorley •

    Hi Thembie,

    Please see the above post.

  4. thembie •

    I’m in ARvs 10months it is good or bad to take raw garlic?

  5. Lisa Thorley •

    Hi XX,

    Please see the above post. Using garlic in cooking is fine.

  6. Xx •

    Hi just heard that taking ARVs with garlic it’s not advisable could this be true coz m taking Atrozia nd I sometimes eat raw garlic nd at times I cook with garlic nd ginger , please help worried, thanking you in advance

  7. Lisa Thorley •

    Hi Daf,

    If you want to eat garlic, that’s up to you. It won’t impact on the medication that you’re taking.

  8. Daf •

    It’s almost a month month now taking atroiza,bactrim and tb medication and it has been almost a week since I’ve started eating raw garlic on an empty stomach.Is eating raw garlic on an empty stomach okay since I’m taking all these medication?

  9. Simon Collins •

    Hi Vovo, I think you wrote in another comment that you are trying to put on weight. Rather than just eating high fat foods, eating more carbohydrates might help as well. These are foods like potatoes, yam, pasta, rice and bread – and you can add fat to this both for taste and calories.

  10. vovo •

    eating galic, cheese, full cream milk its assist on boby to gain weight or are part of diet please help

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