Download Foods to Avoid When Taking Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitor (MAOI

 Fresh fish, meat and poultry
 Fruit juice and squash
 Cottage cheese, cream cheese, fresh yoghurt (associated with
minimal risk)
 Eggs and milk
 Butter, margarine
 Tea, coffee and fizzy drinks in moderation
 Use meat juices or gravy browning for gravies and sauces
 Plain crisps, nuts, sweets, chocolate (in moderation) and
toffees
Remember to check all medications taken with the
pharmacist and always read the manufacturer’s patient
information leaflet supplied with your medication.
Foods to Avoid When
Taking Monoamine
Oxidase Inhibitor (MAOI)
Medicines
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Produced by: The Dietetic Department, Brighton and Hove,
Sussex Partnership NHS Trust,
Tel: - 01273 621984 ext 2364
The Pharmacy Team,
Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust,
Tel: - 01323 440022 ext 3523
Produced February 2008
Updated July 2009
Updated May 2013
To be reviewed by February 2017
1. isocarboxazid
2. phenelzine (Nardil®)
3. tranylcypromine
Reversible
1. moclobemide (Manerix®)
Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitor (MAOI) Medicines
MAOI medicines belong to a group of medicines called
antidepressants that are used to treat depression. They can
react with tyramine, a chemical present in some foods,
causing your blood pressure to rise. There are two types of
MAOI medicines; the older types (isocarboxazid, phenelzine
and tranylcypromine) can provoke a more severe reaction
with tyramine containing foods. The newer reversible MAOI
medicine, moclobemide is less likely to cause a severe
reaction with tyramine containing foods but large quantities
of food containing tyramine should be avoided.
It is very important whilst taking MAOI medications and for two
weeks after stopping the tablets that certain dietary restrictions
are followed, as it takes a long time for the medicine to be
removed from the body. The diet restrictions are to limit the
amount of tyramine containing foods eaten.
Foods that can cause a severe reaction
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Cheese: hard, soft, mature, processed or cheese spreads
Foods containing cheese: e.g. pizzas, lasagne, pies, quiche
Sour cream
Meat or yeast extracts or meals containing these extracts, e.g.
Bovril®, Oxo®, Marmite®, gravy granules, stock cubes,
brewer’s yeast
Savoury meal replacements: Complan®/Build-Up® soups
Tinned or packet soups
Tinned meats or ready made dishes
Smoked or pickled fish, e.g. herrings, caviar, salted dried fish
Game, fermented sausage, pâtés, e.g. salami/pepperoni,
black pudding
Broad bean pods, banana skins
Flavoured crisps
 Any food that has been kept for a long time or has
gone mouldy
Any foods which do cause a reaction, e.g. throbbing headaches
or flushes and high blood pressure, should be recorded and
discussed with your doctor or pharmacist
Alcohol
Due to the yeast involved in the brewing process avoid alcohol,
low alcohol and non-alcohol beers, lagers and wines. Drinks that
may particularly be a problem include chianti, homemade beers
and wines, real ales and red wine.
Foods which may on rare occasions cause a reaction
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Overripe avocados or broad beans, canned or overripe figs
Soya sauce, fermented soya products, Worcestershire sauce
Shrimp paste
Too much caffeine, e.g. coffee, tea or cola unless
decaffeinated
Too much chocolate
Ginseng
Plums, raspberries (in large amounts)
Spinach (in large amounts) or sauerkraut
Sausages
Vinegar
Artificial sweeteners
Foods to try and eat instead
Always try to eat a balanced diet, with plenty of fruit and
vegetables and not too many fatty foods.
Eat fresh foods wherever possible
Eat defrosted foods within 24 hours of thawing
 All fruit and vegetables (see above)
 Homemade soups
 All cereal and cereal products
 Unflavoured textured vegetable protein (TVP)
List continued overleaf…