Which Medications Should I Take Before Meals, And Which Medications Should I Take After Meals?

Joon Sup Lee, M.D., Professor of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh; Clinical Director, UPMC Cardiovascular Institute

December 24, 2008

Question: I Thought I Was Supposed To Take Medications With My Meals. Which Medications Should I Take Before Meals, And Which Medications Should I Take After Meals?

Answer: The interaction of medications and food is very complex and needs to be indvidualized for each patient and each medication. However, there are some generalizations that can be made. We're most concerned about the medication's effect on the GI tract as some medications can irritate the GI tract and how food affects that. Also food can also affect the absorption of the medication and thus affect its efficacy.

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The two most common examples that we deal with in the cardiology realm are so-called blood thinning medicines or anti-platelet medicines, aspirin and Plavix which are commonly prescribed to heart patients. Those are irritating to the GI tract so we usually recommend that they be taken with food.

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