[Interactions between nutrition and drugs]

Abstract

It is only recently that the question of interaction between nutrition and drugs has been investigated. Generally there are two ways by which such an interaction may occur. On the one hand the food-intake and its composition may influence the effects of drugs by altering their pharmacokinetics. In most cases the abosrption of drugs and thereby also their biological effects are decreased when they are taken together with food, by only a few drugs the opposite effects have been observed. Furthermore the biotransformation of drugs may be inhibited by giving a diet poor in proteins. A diet rich in meat or in vegetables may also influence the urine pH in the more acid or basic direction and in this way the renal excretion of drugs may be changed considerably since drugs are generally either weak organic acid or bases. On the other hand drugs may also interfere with the availability and utilization of certain nutrients e.g. vitamins, electrolytes or trace elements. Such interaction could be observed when giving for example antibiotics, alcohol, contraceptives, anticonvulsives or laxatives over a long period. Deficiency of certain nutritional factors or even diseases can then be the consequence of such interactions.