Medication and Diet

Be sure to talk to your doctor about whether the medications you take affect your diet and if a vitamin supplement would be useful in your situation.

• Researchers have found that patients who take folic acid or folinic acid supplements along with the arthritis drug methotrexate are less likely to have a malfunctioning liver than those taking just methotrexate. As a result, patients taking folate supplements are able to continue their drug therapy for longer periods.
• Popular arthritis drugs called nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can damage the lining of the gut. Adding a cup of active-culture yogurt and a banana each day to the diet can help protect the digestive tract. Yogurt's bacteria helps maintain a healthy mix of microorganisms, while bananas have a type of starch that is digested by organisms in the gut to form a substance that helps protect the lining of the gut wall. Easily reap the benefits by combining the banana, yogurt, and a cup of orange juice for a quick and delicious smoothie!
• If you are taking any medication, including over-the-counter medications, check with your pharmacist before drinking alcohol. Alcohol can intensify the effects of many medications, and can interact with others, making them ineffective. Such interactions also can lead to an increased risk of illness, injury, or death. Since the liver detoxifies (or metabolizes) alcohol, continued and excessive use of alcohol may damage the liver in various ways, including the eventual development of a potentially fatal condition of the liver called cirrhosis.
• To further complicate things, the presence of alcohol impairs the absorption of essential nutrients because it can damage the lining of the small intestine and the stomach, where most nutrients are digested. Alcohol also requires some vitamins in its metabolism, and it interferes with the absorption and storage of some specific vitamins.