Why you should probably be taking your pills with tap water

You are what you eat — but what you drink could make or break your medication.New research suggests the beverage you wash down pills with could influence their effectiveness, but many drug labels offer little to no guidance on what should be used.“In the pharmacy, we regularly see that many patients are unaware of how much it matters what they take their medication with,” Dr.

Adrienn Demeter, student at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Semmelweis University and first author of the study, said in a press release.“This can also affect whether the treatment works as intended.”In the study, Demeter and her colleagues focused on enteric-coated oral medications.These pills are wrapped in a protective polymer coating that helps the active ingredients survive stomach acid before dissolving in the intestine, where they can be absorbed.

The coating also helps prevent certain drugs from irritating the lining of the gut.Enteric coatings are commonly used on anti-reflux medications, gastroprotective drugs, psychiatric medications and anti-inflammatory pain relievers.To see how different beverages affected the pills, the researchers tested 22 common drinks on enteric-coated tablets, taking a closer look at seven — including mineral waters, tap water, filtered water and apple juice — in a lab.The team found that alkaline bottled waters with high mineral content caused the greatest changes to the pills’ protective coating.This type of water has grown in popularity in recent years, with some proponents claiming it may help with a range of health concerns, including acid reflux and bone loss, as well as supporting better hydration and even reducing the risk of serious conditions such as cancer and stroke.But because alkaline bottled waters are less acidic than regular drinking water and contain higher levels of minerals and ions, researchers believe they sped up the breakdown of the coating.In some cases, deterioration began after just five minutes.After 1...