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Whether deliberately or accidentally, almost all people mix medicine and food at some time. The danger, however, exists that a medication's effects can be altered by the components of certain food and drinks. Food & drug interaction can interfere with the body's response to a medication, oftentimes critically increasing or decreasing drug levels in the body. Therefore, FLAVORx Inc, the pharmaceutical flavoring company dedicated to promoting medicinal compliance has decided to launch a nationwide educational campaign on complications that addresses the topic of mixing food and medicine.

Extensive research and information on the interaction of medicine with certain food, beverages, alcohol and caffeine exist and its impact has recently been the topic of a segment on the TODAY Show. The company has made plans to develop a reader-friendly, useful and easy-to-reference guide that will act as a pertinent information resource on these interactions. The guide will be distributed to pediatricians, nurses, pharmacists and their patients to increase awareness on the complications that can occur when medications are mixed with even the most seemingly 'innocent' of food and drink. This work is also the culmination of a project the company is working on with a leading pharmacy journal. The piece, written by pharmacists and for pharmacists, shall be used as an educational tool on medicinal compliance for an upcoming fall 2006 issue.

"Many patients, especially young children, find medications easier to swallow when mixed with food or drink because it masks the existing taste and/or smell," said Kenny Kramm, President and CEO of FLAVORx. "Unfortunately, many common items like juices, dairy products and even fiber, can influence the body's digestion or absorption of a medication." Additionally, many patients will take a medication and inadvertently consume food or drink afterward, without even realizing that it could affect the medication.

Kramm went on to note that there are 3 ways that food and drink can affect a drug's activity on the body. It can interfere with absorption and result in inadequate dosage, increase absorption and interfere with the body's breakdown of the medication, or mimic the effect of medication, the latter two increasing dosage levels in the body, sometimes as much as 2-3 times. Some common items, with less well-known interactions, include grapefruit, tomato and orange juices, dark-green leafy vegetables, dairy products, fiber, caffeine and alcohol.

Grapefruit juice should be avoided with some cholesterol-lowering medications, heart medications, sleep medications, and immune system drugs. By interfering with drug breakdown, grapefruit juice can double and even triple the activity level of the medication circulating in the body. Similarly, acidic citrus juices, like orange and tomato juices, can make acid-labile drugs (which include many antibiotics) ineffective. Dairy products block iron absorption and decrease drug concentration, and should not be taken with iron supplements (for disorders like anemia) or antibiotics. For patients taking blood thinners, avoid vegetables like broccoli and spinach that can increase the level of Vitamin K in the body and thus increase blood clotting. Surprisingly, even common foods like whole grain breads, pasta and cereals that are high in fiber affect absorption by altering the rate the stomach empties, and should not be taken with penicillin. With many medications, alcohol affects the liver and breakdown of medications, leading to interference with disposal from the body and also increaseing the effects of the alcohol. And finally, another substance to be leery of is caffeine. The stimulant effects of caffeine in products like coffee, tea, soft drinks and even chocolate mimic the activity of many asthma medications and also do not mix well with muscle relaxers and analgesics.

Unfortunately, most people disregard the fact that getting too much or too little of a medication can be extremely dangerous. Low dosages do not ensure that a patient is getting enough medication, whereas too much medication can result in negative side effects and less than full benefit from a drug. It is for this reason the International Association of Medicinal Compliance states that thousands of people die each year from noncompliance or taking medication incorrectly. The IAMC states that it is always important to check drug labels, and confirm the specifics of food/drug interactions with a pharmacist or healthcare practitioner.

As an alternative, medicinal flavoring agents that can mask a medicines taste are available in over 35,000 pharmacies across the nation. "FLAVORx provides a safe, effective and scientifically-tested flavoring system for over-the-counter and prescription medications to improve taste and compliance without affecting the drug's efficacy," says Kram.