Current situation on nutrient-drug interactions in health care practice

Since the description of the serious interaction between IMAO drugs and tyramine containing foods in the 50s, there has been an incresing awarnes of their importanceof food-drug interactions as well as news ones are described and new drugs are continually apearing in the market. Furthemore, the impact of these interactions, increases due to the fact that polymedication is increasing, especially in older people.

We also have to take in account, in this area of knowledge the relation between nutritional status and drug treatment, as well as the adverse reactions that some drugs could have on it.

However we still facing some difficulties, such as:

Lack of information in new commercialized drugs, due to the fact that these interactions are not studied or evaluated in premarketing assays
Very few are described in patient’s handout
There are few databases and information sources, where health care professionals could find reliable and complete information.
Another important aspect is tha not always health care givers takes fully in account or give full importance to this kind of interaction. Therefore, there is still a long way to go, more reasearch in this area is needed in order to detect unknown food-drug. interactions and to have more knowledge about its importance in the patient outcome. Moreover ther is a need to increase the knowledge and awareness between physicians, pharmacists, dietitians and nurses, initiating them since the degree studies.