Take On An Empty Stomach

It is amazing the number of physicians and nurses who will send you home with a medication and tell you to take it on an empty stomach, and yet they don't explain to you what that means, or why you have to do this.

When they say take with food and most people think they have to eat a whole meal to get down a single pill. 

Well, now you will learn the whys and hows of taking medications (or a supplement) on an empty stomach.

The reason they say "on an empty stomach" is that the substance in the capsule or pill is not intended to be digested in the stomach. Stomach acid and digestive enzymes in the stomach will destroy or damage the contents of the pill.

If you take this pill with milk or orange juice, wham, you've started up the digestive process and chances are, the pill is not going to make it to the duodenum without damage. 

This is why we've mentioned at this site that most Noni products are worthless. They are damaged by the digestive processes in the stomach and most noni drinks are filled with sugar. Sugar, when it hits your mouth has already triggered the digestive processes in the stomach. This is automatic. A bit of sugar in the mouth will close up the stomach for a while to begin the breakdown of the sugars.

Therefore, you must take your "on an empty stomach" pill with plain water. Well, plain "filtered" water. If you are drinking tap water, you are killing yourself (in most metropolises). Even tap water considered safe has chlorine in it, and that is both a carcinogen and is corrosive to your arteries. As we have stated elsewhere in these pages, if you don't have a water filter, you "are" a water filter.

Next, to ensure that the pill you're taking goes right on past the stomach into the first part of your small intestine (duodenum), let us first remember that the temperature of digestion is 100 degrees Fahrenheit. So, to really avoid digestion in the stomach, take your medication with iced water. Please note that I say "iced water" instead of "ice" water. This is because the first person I told this to, popped the pill in her mouth, tilted her head back, took a big gulp of ice water and tried to swallow both the pill, the water and a very large ice cube all at the same time. (Silly me, I stood in front of her and got very wet.)

If you are taking Cell Forte with IP-6 or probiotics (acidophilus is one; there are hundreds) or even powdered noni, you will have to use this technique for taking them. 

Many have asked, "How long after taking something on an empty stomach may I eat?" We've heard five minutes, ten minutes, fifteen minutes, and half an hour. A biologist I once spoke with said that 15 minutes is the answer, but all the medical books say half an hour. The biologist said that doctors sure like being the final authority. But, see below on our Answer 1.

Others have asked, how long after we eat a meal, will our stomachs be considered empty. We'll take our answer from the Jewish Laws of Kashroot (keeping Kosher) until someone corrects us.     

According to Jewish law, you cannot mix milk and meat. You cannot have meat within two hours of eating a milk product, and you cannot eat a milk product within 3 hours of eating meat if you belong to the conservative or the reform movement. However, if you are orthodox, you must wait six hours. So, we'll say three hours. 

Please, if you have better answers, send them to us: Answers!

Answer 1: Here is something we received from a nutritionist. Within thirty minutes after you put a pill or supplement into your stomach, the sphincter at the bottom of the stomach leading to the small intestines opens. So here we have the answer, how long after you take a pill on an empty stomach may you eat, the answer is just over 30 minutes.