April 3rd, 2009
Understanding Drug-Food Interactions
A drug-food interaction occurs most commonly when the consumption of a specific food or beverage affects the activity of a drug or consumption of the drug affects the activity of the food or overall nutritional status.
When a food alters a drug’s activity or vice versa, the affected compound is changed in aspects of how quickly or how much of it gets absorbed into the body, how much of it distributes to it’s site of action, and how quickly it gets broken down or passed out from the body. Such drug-food interactions may result in the individual experiencing side effects, toxicity or not getting full benefit from the drug or food.