 |
|
|
|
|
More Juices Found to Affect Drugs' Effectiveness: Study
|
| | | | Related Healthscout Videos | |
|
Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 Bailey also found that healthy volunteers who took the allergy drug fexofenadine (Allegra) with grapefruit juice absorbed only half the amount of the drug, compared with volunteers who took the medicine with water.
In each case, substances in the juices affected the absorption of the drugs. Some chemicals block a drug uptake transporter, reducing drug absorption; other chemicals block a drug metabolizing enzyme that normally breaks down the drugs, he said.
"We don't [yet] know all the drugs affected," Bailey said.
Text Continues Below
Michael Gaunt is a medication safety analyst at the Institute for Safe Medication Practices in Horsham, Pa. He said, "If this study holds true [in future research], you are going to have to warn people in a similar fashion" about other juices.
Gaunt's advice for now: "In general, it's safest to take medication with water."
Bailey agreed. If you opt for water, he said, "a glass is better than a sip. It helps dissolve the tablet." And cool water is better than hot, he added, because your stomach empties cool water faster, sending the medication on its way to the small intestine and finally the blood stream.
More information
To learn more about juice and medication interactions, visit the American Academy of Family Physicians.
Page: << Prev | 1 | 2
|
Copyright © 2008 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.
Last updated 8/19/2008
|
|
SOURCES: David Bailey, Ph.D., professor of medicine and pharmacology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; Michael Gaunt, Pharm.D., medication safety analyst, Institute for Safe Medication Practices, Horsham, Pa.; Aug. 19, 2008, presentation, American Chemical Society national meeting, Philadelphia
|
.gif)
