Supplements and Telmisartan.
Telmisartan, sold under the brand name Micardis, is an angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB): it lowers blood pressure by blocking the angiotensin II receptor directly.
Telmisartan is an angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB). The class blocks the angiotensin II type 1 receptor directly, achieving similar BP reduction to ACE inhibitors without the bradykinin cough side effect. Renal monitoring is the same as for ACE inhibitors. Annual U&E, with attention to potassium especially in CKD. Where supplements meet ARBs, the additive BP signal from nitrate pathway compounds (beetroot, hibiscus) matters. Liquorice runs the opposite way: at high intake it opposes BP control by retaining sodium, driven by glycyrrhizin rather than by aldosterone, and it lowers potassium rather than adding to the hyperkalaemia risk. NSAIDs blunt the antihypertensive effect of ARBs much as they do for ACE inhibitors. The CYP-mediated interactions vary across the class. Losartan is the most CYP-sensitive; candesartan and irbesartan less so. The supplement profile is therefore ARB-specific rather than uniform.
Below are the 2 documented pairs we have explicitly assessed against Telmisartan in the Distil database: 1 severe and 1 caution. The pairs cluster around 2 mechanisms: Additive hyperkalaemia (raised potassium) and Reduced renal lithium clearance. Every call is cited to either a clinical reference (PMID) or the British National Formulary. Anything not on this list is either still to be assessed or beyond our database scope. The checker beneath surfaces assessments by supplement, and the missing-item form at the bottom of the page routes any uncatalogued supplement into our next curation pass.
Documented interactions
Last reviewed 9 November 2026. Each interaction below lists the evidence its assessment drew on: some rest on studies of the exact pair, others on mechanism evidence, where a citation may support one part of the reasoning rather than the exact combination. The evidence line on each entry says which.
Additive hyperkalaemia (raised potassium)
Severe Does Potassium interact with Telmisartan?
Telmisartan raises blood potassium by reducing how much the kidneys pass out. A potassium supplement adds more potassium on top. Together they can push potassium high enough to affect the heart rhythm, which can be dangerous. Do not take a potassium supplement alongside telmisartan unless your GP has specifically advised it and is checking your blood potassium.
Evidence: Supported by human study data.
Reduced renal lithium clearance
Caution Does Lithium Orotate interact with Telmisartan?
Angiotensin receptor blocker blood pressure tablets such as telmisartan can reduce how well the kidneys clear lithium, which raises the lithium level in the blood. With prescription lithium this has caused toxicity in reported cases. At the small amount of lithium in a typical lithium orotate supplement (around 5 mg) the effect is expected to be very small; it matters more for higher-strength products (around 20 mg) and for anyone whose kidney function is reduced. If you take one of these blood pressure tablets, check with your pharmacist or GP before using a lithium supplement.
Evidence: No direct study of this exact combination yet; the caution rests on a plausible mechanism or on reports involving a related medicine.
Reviewer-flagged: awaiting clinical-reviewer sign-off.
What this list does not say. Pairs not flagged here are not implicitly safe. They are either not yet in our database, or fall outside our inclusion scope (food-supplement interactions only; for drug-drug interactions, the BNF is authoritative). Use the checker below to surface any supplement, and submit a missing item if you take something we have not catalogued.
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How the checker decides
Every result has a source
Each pair we have assessed is cited to a published study (PMID) or the British National Formulary, so you can read the source yourself.
Four kinds of answer
Severe, caution, no known interaction, and not yet assessed. A pair we have not assessed is never shown as clear.
- Severe
- Caution
- No known interaction
- Not yet assessed
Nothing in our data is not a clearance
When nothing in our data records a problem with a pair, the result says no known interaction at typical doses, which is not a clearance: your pharmacist or GP can check the pair against your full medical history.
A full supplement review, built around you, not a generic stack.
The free checker answers one interaction question at a time. A Distil report reviews the bigger picture: your goals, diet, medications, current supplements and any blood results you provide, then shows what appears worth keeping, changing, adding or leaving out.
- what your diet already covers, so you are not adding a capsule for something food is already handling
- which evidence-graded compounds are worth considering for your goals, and which were considered but left out
- what to keep, change or stop from what you already take, plus the order to introduce anything new
- how your medications and complete supplement stack fit together, with daily timing and a clear point for reassessment
The interaction check is one section of the full report. You also get the reasoning behind each recommendation and the evidence references used.
£49 until 30 June 2027 · £79 from 1 July 2027.
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