Define Clinical Significance and Risk Factors for Drug-Nutrient interactions?

We are already aware of the fact that poor nutritional status can impair drug metabolism and the drug treatment can have a detrimental effect on the nutritional status. Not all drug-nutrient interactions are clinically significant. In many instances, any losses in nutrient availability or drug action will be small in scale and may be of short duration. Drugs, which are most likely to have diuretic implications, are those which:

• Have a narrow range between therapeutic effect and toxicity,
• Need to be taken for a prolonged period,
• Have implications in terms of the timing of food intake,
• Necessitate dietary restrictions or regulation,
• Have side-effects which influence appetite or gastro-intestinal function, and
• Compete directly with a nutrient.