One of the questions I got after Saturday’s Memo was about how to take thyroid medication to maximize effectiveness. It was of those smack-your -forehead moments—how could I forget that? This week’s Memos will cover food interactions with the three most common medications. Your physician and pharmacist should handle the medication-to-medication interactions; I’ll stick to food, including supplements. Let’s begin with synthetic or natural thyroid medications.

In order to maximize absorption of thyroid medication, take it on an empty stomach, preferably in the morning. Wait about an hour before eating.

If you take a multimineral with calcium and iron or a stand-alone calcium supplement, wait at least four hours before you take it. The range of medication loss is 25% to 35% when taken with calcium. But even more important is to be consistent in when you take your medications, when you eat, and when you take your supplements.

Next I’ll cover blood thinners.

The next Insider Conference Call is Thursday might. If you want to attend as well as listen to prior Conference Calls, sign-up as an Insider before then.

What are you prepared to do today?

Dr. Chet