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Food and Drug Interactions

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Handbook of Drug Interactions

Abstract

The relationships and interactions between foods, the nutrients they contain, and drugs have gained tremendous recognition in the healthcare and medical fields. Certain foods and specific nutrients in foods, if ingested concurrently with some drugs, may affect the overall bioavailability, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and therapeutic efficacy of the medications. Furthermore, the therapeutic efficacy of many drugs depends on the nutritional status of the individual. In other words, the presence or absence of some nutrients in the gastrointestinal tract and/or in the body’s physiological system, such as in the blood, can enhance or impair the rate of drug absorption and metabolism resulting in treatment failure. These types of interactions are considered to be nutrient–drug interactions.

There are also drug–nutrient interactions, which mean that the presence of some drugs can significantly affect the food and nutrient metabolism and bioavailability in humans. Medications can alter appetite and taste, and also change the absorption and metabolism of nutrients. This can lead to impaired nutritional status, such as depletion of some minerals and vitamins from the digestive system and sometimes weight problems. The use of certain drugs may affect the GI tract function and lead to a loss of body electrolytes and fluid. Limiting prescription drugs to essential medications for as brief a period as possible and periodic re-evaluations are essential for minimizing adverse reactions. There are many clinical issues and questions regarding drug–nutrient interactions which require further research. However, there is already enough evidence to conclude that some drugs affect nutritional status, sometimes adversely, and that nutritional factors can alter the therapeutic efficacy of some drugs significantly. This chapter describes some of the more common interactions between food and drugs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health and Nutrition Sciences, Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ, 07043, USA

    Shahla M. Wunderlich Ph.D., R.D., F.A.C.N.

  2. Department of Health and Nutrition Sciences, Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ, USA

    Jacqueline Piemonte M.S.

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  1. Shahla M. Wunderlich Ph.D., R.D., F.A.C.N.
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  2. Jacqueline Piemonte M.S.
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Correspondence to Shahla M. Wunderlich Ph.D., R.D., F.A.C.N. .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Harris County Institute of Forensic Scie, Old Spanish Trail 1885, Houston, 77054, Texas, USA

    Ashraf Mozayani

  2. 25071 SW. 207th Avenue 1, Homestead, 33031-1532, Florida, USA

    Lionel Raymon

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Wunderlich, S.M., Piemonte, J. (2012). Food and Drug Interactions. In: Mozayani, A., Raymon, L. (eds) Handbook of Drug Interactions. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-222-9_12

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