A food-medicine interaction is when a food or drink changes how a medicine works. This can happen with both prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) medicines, including:
- Antacids.
- Vitamins.
- Iron pills.
- Herbs.
- Supplements.
- Prescribed medicines, such as some oral medicines for diabetes, antidepressants, and cholesterol medicines.
Some nutrients can affect the way you absorb certain medicines by binding with the medicine's ingredients. This reduces their absorption or speeds their elimination. For example:
- The acidity of fruit juice may reduce how well antibiotics, such as penicillin, work.
- Dairy foods and drinks may lower how well tetracycline fights infection.
- Some green leafy vegetables can stop the effects of warfarin. This is a blood thinner (anticoagulant).
- MAO inhibitors are not safe when mixed with foods or drinks that have tyramine. These include beer, red wine, chocolate, processed meat, avocados, and some cheeses.
- Grapefruit juice can interfere with some blood pressure medicines, organ transplant medicines, and some cholesterol-lowering medicines. It does this by increasing or decreasing how they break down in the body.
- Some medicines are only absorbed if they are taken with a full meal, a meal high in fat, or on an empty stomach.
Not all medicines are affected by food. But many can be affected by what you eat and when you eat it. In some cases, taking medicines at the same time you eat may change the way your stomach and intestines absorb medicine. Other medicines should be taken with food. Talk with your doctor or pharmacist. Ask for advice about how to take your medicine.