Diet gun

Taking certain foods with certain antibiotics may affect the effectiveness of the antibiotics.

Antibiotics and Dairy

Taking antibiotics with dairy products, which are rich sources of divalent ions, such as calcium and magnesium, can form complexes with some antibiotics and prevent their absorption.

Tetracycline

Tetracycline should generally not be taken with dairy products because it binds calcium and iron, affecting its absorption and bioavailability.

There are some tetracycline products (minocycline/Minocin® and doxycycline/Vibramycin®) that are NOT affected by dairy intake.

Urinary tract antibiotics

The absorption of urinary tract antibacterial antibiotics such as nitrofurantoin/Macrodantin® may be increased by milk or food.

Ciprofloxacin

Casein and calcium present in milk and fruit juices (especially if they contain grapes) reduce the absorption of ciprofloxacin.

Penicillin

Among the penicillins, amoxicillin/Amoxil® and vaccambicillin/Spectrobid® appear to be unaffected by food intake.

Erythromycin

Erythromycin is better absorbed with any liquid other than acidic juices or carbonated beverages.

Cephalosporin

When taking second and third generation cephalosporins (cefoperazone/Cefobid®, ceftriaxone/Rocephin®), it is recommended to consume foods rich in vitamin K (not necessarily with the vitamin but during the daily diet), as many cases of hypoprothrombinemia have occurred, which can cause hemorrhagic syndrome.

Azithromycin

Taking azithromycin with food reduces its absorption by up to 43%. Foods rich in fat such as butter, fatty cheese, fatty meat are best avoided during treatment with azithromycin.

Because most antibiotics are administered for a relatively short period of time (usually from single doses to 2 weeks) even when interactions with nutrients occur, their long-term effect on them is minimal.

The long-term effect of antibiotics on nutrients exists in patients who are at risk of inadequate nutrition, namely patients in intensive care units, oncology patients, patients with malabsorption syndrome, kidney patients, patients with long time hospitalization.