While the interactions between different kinds of medication have been extensively analyzed and documented, there are significantly fewer studies on the interactions between drugs and food, pollutants (nicotine) and alcohol – although they doubtless exist. Drugs can have a strong impact on eating and food assimilation, for example by changing your sense of taste and your appetite. Inversely, substances in food may be detrimental to the effectiveness of medication by binding the active substances and delaying or blocking assimilation of them.
Here are some examples of this kind of interaction:
Grapefruit and related fruits
Grapefruit (Citrus paradisi), bitter orange (Citrus aurantium L, also known as Seville orange) or pomelos (Citrus maxima), whether in fruit or juice form, are not innocuous in the way they interact with many drugs.
Among other things, they ensure that the active substances remain longer in the body, accumulate and consequently amplify their effect.
Not all drugs interact well with minerals such as calcium, magnesium, iron or zinc. It is a well-known fact that antibiotics interact with dairy products.
Besides milk and other dairy products, mineral-rich mineral waters, calcium-enriched foods and fruit and vegetables can form complexes with pharmaceutical substances.
Cabbage, soybeans, peanuts – enemies of the thyroid hormones
Numerous food components inhibit the absorption of the hormone levothyroxine, which is used to treat thyroid disorders.
Green vegetables
Green vegetable and lettuce are actually good for health, since they are rich in fibre, vitamins, minerals and secondary phytonutrients that boost our immune system. However, vitamin K, a fat-soluble vitamin which occurs especially in broccoli, spinach, chard, peas and also cabbage, can cause problems in conjunction with drugs taken to thin the blood, known as anti-coagulants (Phenprocoumon, Warfarin).
Other things to be careful about when taking drugs:
Read the leaflet!
Given the complexity and variety of the substances and of the forms in which they are administered, the specific recommendations for each drug are explained in the package leaflet.
It’s also important to take your medication at the right time:
• “Before meals" means 30 minutes to one hour before eating.
• If a drug is best taken with food, take it "during or immediately after” a meal.
• “On an empty stomach” means either one hour before or two hours after eating.
Silvia Bürkle
Medical Advisory Body, Metabolic Balance
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