Timing of Protein and Meals With Medications
“The main Parkinson’s medication that we use is called levodopa, and when it’s started, it’s typically a three-times-a-day medication, which can be challenging for people to remember and plan around,” says Stahl.
Scheduling the medication can be especially problematic for some people with Parkinson’s disease who are sensitive to the absorption of their medicine if it’s timed close to protein or iron intake (in the form of iron supplements), she says. “It’s more of a minority of patients who really notice decreased efficacy of the medication if they time it with a high protein intake, but some very much do.”
For people who have more advanced Parkinson’s disease and may be taking the medication three, four, five, or even six times a day, that can get pretty complicated, says Stahl.
Because for many people the timing of protein or meals doesn’t cause any noticeable change in the effectiveness of medication, Stahl doesn’t give special instructions about eating when she starts someone on levodopa. “Sometimes having food in the stomach can even help with side effects, including nausea,” she says.
If it turns out that the person is sensitive, and they aren’t getting the same benefit from the medicine when taking it with food, particularly protein, that’s when to make changes around the timing of protein, says Stahl.
“One strategy that can make things a little easier is to try to compact most of the protein needs of the day into one meal, often the dinner meal. Most people’s schedules are winding down at dinner: They aren’t moving around as much, so if the medicine isn’t quite as effective at this time, it doesn’t have as much of an impact on their daily function,” she says.
Another method that works for some people is to take their medicine 30 to 60 minutes before a meal, so that they give the medicine a head start to get absorbed, says Stahl. Some experts also recommend taking it 60 minutes after a meal.
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