Question: Food with Kaletra 

I'm thinking of making a change to Kaletra (from Crixivan). The dosing information from the Kaletra/Abbott site says to "take with food". I'm not sure what they mean by food...is that a cracker or is that a Big Mac Meal Deal? I can't seem to find anything on the Net that talks about that aspect. It has actually been easy for me to starve with the fasting periods for Crixivan and I am worried that it will be harder for me to take the Kaletra with food. Thanks! (April, 2001)

Ken Stringer, Administrator and Webmaster of Jennifer Jensen's Nutrition Power web site, notes: For those interested in what a "Crixivan diet" would look like, see Jennifer's Picnic Basket for her article Protease Perfection: Flawless Fasting, and for more general information on how and why some drugs work better with food and some without, see her article Feasting, Fasting & Side Effects.

Answer: Charlie Smigelski, RD responds:
Kaletra is a protease inhibitor that includes a little bit of Norvir in it. Norvir is a drug that gives many people some stomach cramps and nausea, even in small doses. It also goes through about four break-down stages in the liver before it is eliminated from the body.

I often suggest that people have their liver in good shape for drug processing by taking some Designer Whey protein or two grams of NAC and a few grams of glutamine each day when they start the drug. (Reminder, I think people ought to be taking these amino acid supplements always, anyway. See the Q&A on Lypodystrophy for my recommended supplement regime to keep your liver healthy).