Drug & supplement interaction

Chaga + Colesevelam

Colesevelam brand names: WelChol, Lodalis.

No Known Interaction
Medically reviewed by · Updated July 2026 · Pair last verified Sep 20, 2026
The bottom line No known interaction

We found no known interaction between Chaga and Colesevelam in our sources. Absence of a documented interaction is not the same as proven safety, and does not guarantee one does not exist. Do not start, stop, or change a medication or supplement based on this page; confirm with your pharmacist or doctor first. Additionally, although there is no interaction, the label for Colesevelam states a food rule worth keeping to.

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Interaction report

Chaga and Colesevelam

We checked these two against our interaction database. Here is what we found.

No Known Interaction Found

We did not find a documented interaction between Colesevelam and Chaga in our sources. This does not guarantee that the combination is completely free of risk — there is often limited research on supplements and herbal products, especially around drug interactions.

If you decide to take both, the practical routine is simple: add one new thing at a time and note the date you started it. If the combination is going to disagree with you, it usually shows in the first days to a couple of weeks — and a start date turns “I’ve been feeling off” into something a pharmacist can actually work with. Do not stop a prescribed medicine on your own.

Always talk with your pharmacist or doctor before making changes to your medications or supplements, particularly if you take several medications or have an ongoing health condition.

Chaga safety at a glance

Chaga overall Use caution Generally used in foods and teas, but human safety data are limited and a few risks have been reported.
Pregnancy Avoid Not enough safety information; best to avoid during pregnancy.
Breastfeeding Avoid Not enough safety information; best to avoid while breastfeeding.

Safety guidance is general; always confirm with your pharmacist or doctor for your situation.

Still wondering about combining Colesevelam and Chaga? Ask Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS directly ›
How we checked

Why No Interaction Is Listed for Colesevelam

Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes, not just single drug names. Colesevelam is filed under a single classification — oral drugs. Chaga has documented interactions with 3 drug classes — the most serious being anticoagulant/antiplatelet drugs (moderate), antidiabetes drugs (moderate) and immunosuppressants (moderate) — and none of Colesevelam’s classifications are among them.

Classification data comes from our licensed Natural Medicines dataset. A medication can belong to classes beyond those recorded there, so this describes how the check was run — it is not a safety guarantee.

Keep it in perspective

Chaga Does Interact With Other Medications

Chaga has 327 moderate known drug interactions in our database — Colesevelam isn’t one of them. If you take anything else, check it against the full list below.

Moderate 327 No known interaction 2,503 (incl. Colesevelam)
Taking anything else?

Check Another of Your Medications Against Chaga

Covers the 2,830 medications we’ve checked against Chaga. Pick one to open its full report.

What to actually watch for

What Chaga Itself Has Been Linked To

This is not an interaction — nothing below involves Colesevelam. It is the side-effect record for Chaga on its own, from the licensed Natural Medicines monograph. If something new turns up after you add Chaga, this list is the first place to look. One entry is worth acting on rather than waiting out — marked below.

  • Kidney problems Worth acting on Additional detail

    “Orally, there have been two cases of kidney failure and one case of acute nephropathy related to excessive chaga consumption, which contains high concentrations of oxalate.”

    Chaga · Natural Medicines adverse-effect record, reported in kidney failure.

    3 sources cited
    1. 96566. Kikuchi Y, Seta K, Ogawa Y, et al. Chaga mushroom-induced oxalate nephropathy. Clin Nephrol 2014;81(6):440-4. PubMed
    2. 105246. Lee S, Lee HY, Park Y, et al. Development of end stage renal disease after long-term ingestion of chaga mushroom: case report and review of literature. J Korean Med Sci. 2020;35(19):e122.
    3. 108756. Kwon O, Kim Y, Paek JH, et al. Chaga mushroom-induced oxalate nephropathy that clinically manifested as nephrotic syndrome: A case report. Medicine (Baltimore) 2022;101(10):e28997. PubMed

Everything above comes from the Natural Medicines adverse-effect record for Chaga — expand a row for the licensed statement it rests on. We read the ADVERSE REACTIONS section of Colesevelam’s FDA label too, and the two lists don’t meaningfully overlap — which is why no Colesevelam column appears here.

How to take them

Some Colesevelam Products Have a Food Rule — Chaga Should Not Break It

At least one FDA label for a product containing Colesevelam says to take it with food. If you take Chaga on an empty stomach out of habit, keep them separate — and take Colesevelam with a meal where the label says to.

This may not be true of your version. Food instructions belong to the product, not the ingredient: two Colesevelam products can carry different directions, and extended-release forms often differ from immediate-release ones. The label we read is quoted below — check the directions on your own box or bottle, or ask your pharmacist, for how to take the exact product you were given.

Colesevelam hydrochloride should be taken as follows ( 2.2 , 2.4 ): Tablets Take 6 tablets once daily or 3 tablets twice daily with a meal and liquid.

From the Dosage and Administration section of the FDA label we read for Colesevelam — where that label names a specific product, the instruction is that product's. See the Colesevelam drug page ›

A food rule is not an interaction — it is about how much of the medicine you absorb. The directions that came with your own product, and your pharmacist, outrank anything on this page.

Overlapping uses

What Colesevelam Is Prescribed For, and What Chaga Has Been Studied For

These two come up together because they touch the same health topic — not because they do the same job. Colesevelam is a prescription medicine with approved uses on its FDA label. Chaga is a supplement: what follows is what researchers have looked at it for, and how strong that evidence is.

Colesevelam is prescribed for: Colesevelam is used alongside diet and exercise to reduce high LDL cholesterol (the "bad" cholesterol) in adults with primary hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol). It is also approved to lower LDL cholesterol in boys and girls aged 10–17 who have heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HeFH) — an inherited condition that causes very high cholesterol — when diet and lifestyle changes alone haven't worked. Colesevelam tablets and oral suspension (Welchol and colesevelam hydrochloride products) are also used to improve blood sugar control in adults with type 2 diabetes, as an add-on to diet and exercise. Colesevelam is not for type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis.

Chaga has been studied for:

  • Diabetes studied, not established Chaga has been studied for this. Natural Medicines rates the evidence: Insufficient Reliable Evidence To Rate Read what the research shows

    Chaga for diabetes

    Although there is interest in using oral chaga for diabetes, there is insufficient reliable information about the clinical effects of chaga for this condition.

Effectiveness ratings and the research summaries above are the verbatim record from the Natural Medicines database, which grades evidence from “Effective” down to “Insufficient Reliable Evidence To Rate”. A rating below the top of that scale means researchers have looked at it — not that it works, and never that it can stand in for a prescribed medicine. Do not stop or replace Colesevelam on your own; if you are taking Chaga for the same health topic, tell your prescriber, especially if the medicine is being adjusted to a target.

From our Q&A

Questions About Chaga or Colesevelam

These are real questions from readers, answered by the pharmacists at HelloPharmacist — written by a person, not generated from a database. Each one covers Chaga or Colesevelam, not necessarily both, but if one is close to what you were about to ask it will usually go further than a database entry can:

Not quite your question? Ask our pharmacists directly — it is free, there is no account required, and answers usually come back within 24 hours.

Everything else you take

See Every Supplement That Interacts With Colesevelam

This page covers Chaga only. If you take other supplements — a multivitamin, a sleep aid, something for joints — the Colesevelam page lists 17 supplements it has a documented interaction with, worst first, each one explained.

The most serious there right now: Activated Charcoal (major), Coffee Charcoal (moderate), European Mandrake (moderate), Glucomannan (moderate) and Guar Gum (moderate).

By severity: 1 major · 7 moderate · 9 minor.

From our pharmacist’s overview on the Colesevelam page

“Colesevelam (WelChol, Lodalis) lowers cholesterol by binding bile acids in your gut, and every one of the 17 supplements on this list can interfere with how oral medicines are absorbed in that same territory. I would treat this list with genuine care, and the place to start is activated charcoal, the only major-rated entry.”

Reviewed by 2 · Jul 18, 2026

Open the Colesevelam interaction page

One more smart check

Taking Chaga as Part of a Dietary Supplement Product? Check It for Interactions

We hold 889 real supplement products containing Chaga, each one broken down to its full ingredient list — and combination products often carry several ingredients besides Chaga. Even though Chaga itself has no known interaction with Colesevelam, another ingredient on your label might. Find your product and we’ll check every ingredient on its label:

How much people look this up

Where Chaga and Colesevelam Sit Against Everything Else

Out of every supplement and medication people look up on HelloPharmacist, here is where these two land this week — and which way each has been moving.

Supplement Chaga
Top 25%

#282 of 1,452 supplements looked up here in the last 7 days

29 days ago today
Medication Colesevelam
Steady interest

#2,411 of 2,830 medications looked up here in the last 7 days

29 days ago today

Position among everything looked up on this site, not a measure of how commonly either one is used or how important it is. A supplement can climb this list because of a news story. It counts every request to the page, automated ones included, and nothing here identifies anyone.

Where does our data come from?
  • Source: the Natural Medicines (TRC Healthcare) clinical database — the evidence-graded professional reference for herb & supplement interactions.
  • Citation library: 103,510 references behind our interaction content, 65,311 of them resolved to verified PubMed/DOI sources. See every Chaga reference on this page ↓
  • Freshness: we automatically re-check this combination every week — this pair was last verified September 20, 2026. The Chaga and Colesevelam records this page draws on were last updated July 10, 2026.
  • What “no known interaction” means: no documented interaction in the sources above — not a guarantee of safety. Supplements are studied far less than prescription drugs, so we say exactly what the evidence supports, and nothing more.
Data structure & sourcing designed and verified by .
Supplement

About Chaga

What is Chaga?

  • Immune support
  • Antioxidant support
  • General wellness/tonic
  • Blood sugar support
  • Inflammation

Chaga is a fungus that grows mostly on birch trees and is used as a tea or supplement, mainly for immune and antioxidant support. Human evidence for its benefits is very limited, and it may raise some safety concerns such as effects on blood sugar, bleeding, and kidney stones. Talk with your pharmacist or doctor before using it, especially if you have a health condition or take other medicines.

Inonotus obliquus · Hymenochaetaceae · Sclerotium (the dark, hardened growth on the tree) · Tea, powder, capsules, tinctures, liquid extracts

An interaction check asks whether these two react with each other — it does not ask whether Chaga is a good idea for someone in your situation. Here is what our Chaga record says about it on its own.

Chaga: dosing

There is no standardized or officially established dose for Chaga. The amount in supplements and teas varies widely depending on the product and how it is prepared.The safest approach is to follow the directions on the product label and not exceed the recommended amount.

From our Chaga monograph — the full record covers uses, side effects and every documented interaction.

Read the full Chaga monograph & all interactions
Medication

About Colesevelam

What Is Colesevelam Used For?

Brand names: WelChol, Lodalis

Colesevelam is used alongside diet and exercise to reduce high LDL cholesterol (the "bad" cholesterol) in adults with primary hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol). It is also approved to lower LDL cholesterol in boys and girls aged 10–17 who have heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HeFH) — an inherited condition that causes very high cholesterol — when diet and lifestyle changes alone haven't worked.

Colesevelam tablets and oral suspension (Welchol and colesevelam hydrochloride products) are also used to improve blood sugar control in adults with type 2 diabetes, as an add-on to diet and exercise. Colesevelam is not for type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis.

Most-Reported Side Effects for Colesevelam

From FAERS, the FDA’s public side-effect reporting system (2,014 reports, all brands). Reports are voluntary and are not proof the drug caused the effect.

Diarrhea 241 reports
Dyspnea 172 reports
Cough 169 reports
Muscle spasms 163 reports
Nasopharyngitis 150 reports
See full Colesevelam drug information
Keep checking

Other Drugs & Chaga

Browse every other medication we’ve checked against Chaga — both the ones with a known interaction and the ones without. Select any drug for the full detail.

0Major
327Moderate
0Minor
2,502No known interaction
327 Moderate 2,502 No interaction
Moderate

327 interactions

Showing 60 of 327 moderate interactions — see all 327 on the Chaga page.

No interaction 2,502 drugs checked — show the list

We also checked Chaga against these medications and found no known interaction in our sources. Open any page to confirm.

Showing the 60 most looked-up of 2,502 medications checked with no known interaction — see the full Chaga list.

See the full Chaga interactions page
See every supplement checked against Colesevelam, ranked by severity
Evidence & sources

Chaga References

The 9 references that drive our Chaga monograph and interaction data, from the evidence-graded Natural Medicines (TRC Healthcare) database. Citations with a link open the study on PubMed or the publisher’s site.

  1. Sun JE, Ao ZH, Lu ZM, et al. Antihyperglycemic and antilipidperoxidative effects of dry matter of culture broth of Inonotus obliquus in submerged culture on normal and alloxan-diabetes mice. J Ethnopharmacol 2008;118(1):7-13. PubMed
  2. Hyun KW, Jeong SC, Lee DH, et al. Isolation and characterization of a novel platelet aggregation inhibitory peptide from the medicinal mushroom, Inonotus obliquus. Peptides 2006;27(6):1173-8. PubMed
  3. Kim YO, Han SB, Lee HW, et al. Immuno-stimulating effect of the endo-polysaccharide produced by submerged culture of Inonotus obliquus. Life Sci 2005;77(19):2438-56. PubMed
  4. Kikuchi Y, Seta K, Ogawa Y, et al. Chaga mushroom-induced oxalate nephropathy. Clin Nephrol 2014;81(6):440-4. PubMed
  5. Lee S, Lee HY, Park Y, et al. Development of end stage renal disease after long-term ingestion of chaga mushroom: case report and review of literature. J Korean Med Sci. 2020;35(19):e122.
  6. Kwon O, Kim Y, Paek JH, et al. Chaga mushroom-induced oxalate nephropathy that clinically manifested as nephrotic syndrome: A case report. Medicine (Baltimore) 2022;101(10):e28997. PubMed
  7. Su L, Xin C, Yang J, et al. A polysaccharide from Inonotus obliquus ameliorates intestinal barrier dysfunction in mice with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Int J Biol Macromol 2022;214:312-323. PubMed
  8. Chen S, Ma Y, Li H, et al. Anti-diabetic e?ects of Inonotus obliquus extract in high fat diet combined streptozotocin-induced type 2 diabetic mice. Nutr Hosp 2022;39(6):1256-1263. PubMed
  9. Ye X, Wu K, Xu L, et al. Methanol extract of Inonotus obliquus improves type 2 diabetes mellitus through modifying intestinal flora. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2023;13:1103972. PubMed

Medication overviews come from MedlinePlus (NIH); supplement label data from the NIH Dietary Supplement Label Database. Content is written and reviewed by licensed HelloPharmacist pharmacists — see our data sources and editorial standards.

Pharmacist Counseling Corner

Taking Chaga and Colesevelam Together: Common Questions

Is it safe to take Chaga with Colesevelam?
We do not list a known interaction between Chaga and Colesevelam. That does not guarantee the combination is risk-free, so confirm with your pharmacist or doctor — especially if you take other medications or have a health condition.
Should I take Chaga and Colesevelam at the same time of day?
At least one FDA label for a product containing Colesevelam says to take it with food. If you take Chaga on an empty stomach out of habit, keep them separate and take Colesevelam with a meal where the label says to. Food instructions belong to the product rather than the ingredient — two Colesevelam products can differ — so check the directions on your own box. This is about absorption, not an interaction.
Are Chaga and Colesevelam used for the same thing?
They overlap in purpose, which usually means the real question is whether you need both rather than whether they are safe together. This page lists the shared uses and how strong the evidence is for Chaga in each. That is a conversation for your prescriber, especially if Colesevelam is being adjusted to a target.
How was the Chaga and Colesevelam combination checked?
Interactions in our licensed database are recorded against drug classes. Colesevelam is filed under 1 classification, and Chaga has documented interactions with 3 drug classes — none of Colesevelam's classifications are among them. A medication can belong to classes beyond those recorded in our dataset, so this describes how the check was run rather than guaranteeing safety.
Does Chaga interact with any other medications?
Yes. Chaga has 327 documented drug interactions in our database — Colesevelam is simply not one of them. If you take anything else, it is worth checking each one; they are all listed on this page.
Does Colesevelam interact with any supplements?
Yes. Colesevelam has documented interactions with 17 supplements in our database — Chaga is not one of them. The Colesevelam interaction page linked on this page lists every one, ranked by severity.

Written and reviewed by the HelloPharmacist editorial staff. Our editorial policy

Where next

Keep Exploring

Chaga monograph Uses, safety profile, and every drug interaction in one place Colesevelam drug information The full plain-English guide to this medication Colesevelam supplement interactions Every supplement checked against Colesevelam, ranked by severity Supplement interaction checker Check any supplement or product against your medications Browse medications A–Z Every drug we’ve checked against herbs & supplements References The 9 citations behind this page Ask a pharmacist Free, personal answer from our licensed team

Still Have a Question About Colesevelam and Chaga?

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This information is for education only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always check with your pharmacist or doctor before starting, stopping, or combining supplements and medications.