Your body needs a vast array of vitamins and minerals to complete all of your life processes each day. It is always best to get these vitamins from the foods you eat, but supplements and multivitamins are available to fill in any nutritional gaps. Sometimes, if you are taking prescription medications, you can have interactions between the vitamins your body needs and the medicine that is keeping you well. Contact your physician if you believe one of your medications is interacting with a vitamin.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is an important fat-soluble vitamin. You can make vitamin D during sunlight exposure, or you can consume it in milk, fish and fortified foods. Because it is soluble in fat, your body stores excess vitamin D that you ingest. Some medications may affect the levels of vitamin D in your body. Thiazide, a diuretic used to treat high blood pressure, can increase blood levels of vitamin D. According to University of Maryland Medical Center, this can cause blood calcium to rise to dangerous levels, since vitamin D regulates blood calcium levels. Calcium channel blockers, which also treat high blood pressure, may decrease your body's ability to make its own vitamin D. Estrogen, often used as hormonal replacement therapy in women, can raise blood levels of vitamin D. UMMC indicates that this may be beneficial in these patients since higher vitamin D levels lead to increased blood calcium. This, in turn, may increase bone mass.
Vitamin B6
Since it is water soluble, your body does not store excess amounts of vitamin B6 that you consume. Any excess is excreted in the urine, but some medications will affect the metabolism of vitamin B6. Your body uses this vitamin as a participant in many chemical reactions, and it aids in making the hemoglobin found in red blood cells. According to Oregon State University, most adverse effects of vitamin B6 are related to supplements and not vitamin B6 found in foods. However, you should still notify your healthcare provider if you consume large amounts of foods rich in this vitamin. Oregon State University indicates that isonaizid and cycloserine, which are used to treat tuberculosis, bind to vitamin B6 so that your body cannot use it. Other drugs, including the metal chelator penicillamine and L-dopa used to treat Parkinson's disease have a similar effect. Taking high doses of vitamin B6 supplements can also cause the anticonvulsants phenytoin and phenobarbitol to be less effective.
Folic Acid
Folic acid, or vitamin B9, is a part of the B complex of vitamins. This vitamin is also water soluble, so excess amounts are excreted daily in your urine. Avoid taking the antibiotic tetracycline at the same time as folic acid supplements since these can render the antibiotic ineffective. Some over-the-counter drugs, including antacids and NSAID pain relievers, keep your body from absorbing folic acid properly. UMMC indicates that extra folic acid may be necessary when taking oral contraceptives, anticonvulsants or cholesterol-lowering medications, since they prevent your body from using the folic acid you take in.
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