Can You Drink Ensure Or Boost While Taking Eliquis?
In our latest question and answer, our pharmacist discusses whether or not it is safe to combine nutritional drinks like Boost and Ensure with Eliquis.
Is it ok to drink Boost or Ensure while on Eliquis?
Jan 25, 2023- You can safely drink Ensure or Boost while taking Eliquis since food does not affect how the medication is absorbed or work in your body. These nutritional drinks do not contain any ingredients known to interact with Eliquis. Unlike some other blood thinners, Eliquis is not affected by vitamin K found in foods and drinks.
Answer
Thanks for reaching out. Yes, it is perfectly safe to take Eliquis (apixaban) with a fortified nutritional drink, such as Boost or Ensure.
These types of drinks do not contain anything known to interact with Eliquis and Eliquis can safely be taken with or without food. Food does not influence how Eliquis is absorbed or metabolized. Per the prescribing information for the drug:
The absolute bioavailability of apixaban is approximately 50% for doses up to 10 mg of ELIQUIS. Food does not affect the bioavailability of apixaban.
You can think of Boost and Ensure as 'food' products as they don't contain any drugs or herbal ingredients, as you can see on the nutritional facts label. Below is the nutritional label for 'Ensure':
While it is true that some vitamins and minerals can interact with some drugs (calcium, magnesium, and aluminum are common culprits), there is no problem with Eliquis here.
Additionally, it is important to note that while vitamin K can interact with the anticoagulant Coumadin (warfarin), it does not interact with Eliquis.
As food does not affect Eliquis, it can safely be taken with Boost, Ensure, or other similar nutritional drinks.
Final Words
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References & sources
- Eliquis Prescribing Information — BMS
- Ensure Product Information — Ensure.com
Glossary — Terms in This Answer
- Eliquis
- A prescription blood thinner medication (apixaban) used to help prevent blood clots.
- Bioavailability
- The amount of a drug that actually enters your bloodstream and becomes available to work in your body.
- Apixaban
- The generic chemical name for the drug Eliquis.
- Anticoagulant
- A medication that thins the blood and helps prevent blood clots from forming.
- Coumadin
- An older blood-thinning medication (also called warfarin) that has different food and drug interactions than Eliquis.
- Warfarin
- The generic name for Coumadin, an anticoagulant medication that interacts with vitamin K.
- Vitamin K
- A nutrient found in some foods that can affect how certain blood thinners like warfarin work in your body.
- Interact
- When two substances affect how each other works in your body, potentially causing unwanted effects or reducing effectiveness.
Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD
Doctor of Pharmacy, board certified clinical pharmacist (BCPS), American Herbalist Guild, Medication Therapy Management certified
Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS, is a licensed pharmacist with more than 13 years of experience across retail pharmacy, clinical pharmacy, medication safety, pharmacy program development, and healthcare administration. He is the founder of HelloPharmacist.com, where he helps patients...
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