Food and medication
Fatty meals and medication
A heavy, fatty meal can change how quickly some medicines are absorbed, or make stomach side effects worse.
2 medicines on our checker are affected. Tap a medicine for every food and drink that matters with it.
Take care fatty meals with these medicines
- Beta blockers · propranolol, metoprolol, atenolol
A heavy meal can change how quickly some beta blockers (such as propranolol) are absorbed. Take it the same way each day.
- GLP-1 agonists · semaglutide, ozempic, wegovy
Fat sits for hours in a stomach the medicine has slowed down, the most common trigger for nausea and reflux. Small portions if at all.
Foods and drinks that count as fatty meals
- Fried food
- Fish and chips
- Full English breakfast
- Burgers
- Fried chicken
- Cream sauces
- Pastries
- Doughnuts
- Kebab
- Large meals
- Lasagne
- Pies
- Fried rice
- Onion rings
- Samosas
- Battered fish
- Chips
Common questions
- Which medicines does fatty meals affect?
- 2 medicines on our checker: Beta blockers (take care), GLP-1 agonists (take care).
- Which foods count as fatty meals?
- Fried food, Fish and chips, Full English breakfast, Burgers, Fried chicken, Cream sauces, Pastries, Doughnuts, Kebab, Large meals, Lasagne, Pies, Fried rice, Onion rings, Samosas, Battered fish, Chips.
General information from NHS medicine pages and drug labels, not medical advice. Always follow your prescriber, pharmacist or the leaflet with your medicine. How we check.