December 13, 2002
Other Medications
Question from Las Vegas, Nevada, USA:
My father has recently suffered a stroke, and I have asked the doctor to prescribe IntraMax [a nutritional supplement] for him him due to the fact that the food he is getting at the facility where he is staying has little nutritional value. On the bottle, it states to give two hours away from pharmaceuticals either before or after. Can you tell me why this would be necessary? Do the minerals interfere with the drugs (Insulin, Precose and Actos) or do they enhance their activity? We would love to get him off of the diabetic drugs being as he does have the ability to produce his own insulin.
Answer:
It is unlikely that the product will interfere with insulin. I do not know if it would interfere with the Actos [pioglitazone] or the Precose (acarbose). The most common reason for separating out a medication or other product from a meal is that it will complex to food and not allow it to be absorbed. Although it would be good for your father if his diabetes improved and he required less medication, this is unlikely to occur. If anything, improving nutrition is more likely to increase diabetes medications.
JTL
