You may have heard that some foods and drinks, such as grapefruit and alcohol, shouldn’t be consumed with certain medications. But did you know that dairy products can make some drugs less effective?
This effect is particularly problematic for certain classes of antibiotics, which are drugs used to treat bacterial infections. Antibiotics taken by mouth — in a pill or liquid form, for example — need to be absorbed into the bloodstream to work effectively. But when taken with dairy products, such as milk, cheese or yogurt, some antibiotics are not absorbed as they should be.
For instance, one study found that the absorption of an antibiotic called demeclocycline (brand name Declomycin) into the bloodstream dropped by a staggering 83% when taken with milk, compared with water and a dairy-free meal. Demeclocycline is used to treat bacterial infections of the respiratory tract, like pneumonia. Another study showed that when ciprofloxacin is taken with milk, levels of the drug in the bloodstream are about 30% to 36% lower than when it is taken with water. This antibiotic is used to treat a range of illnesses, from pneumonia to gonorrhea.
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