Taking Meds "Between Meals"?

The probiotic I take states "take between meals" and I have seen other meds that say to take on an empty stomach.  I'm guessing but the reason seems to be that this empty stomach method allows the meds to go through the stomach and into the gut with minimum damage.  To complicate things further, I have seen meds that say to take WITH food.

My question is, what is the meaning of an empty stomach?  I've seen reports that your stomach is empty 20 min after eating to as much as 2-3 hrs.  Obviously, I want to maximize the benefit of the meds and supplements I'm taking.

 

I have read that the best time to take probiotics is before bed, after your dinner has digested. I am not sure if it's true and I've taken them at all different hours of the day. I haven't really noticed having too much positive change from taking probiotics and they are so expensive. I have seen a lot of people here who swear by probiotics but for me, I don't think they were worth the cost. I just eat yogurt now with my cereal.

notsosicklygirl said...
I have read that the best time to take probiotics is before bed, after your dinner has digested. I am not sure if it's true and I've taken them at all different hours of the day. I haven't really noticed having too much positive change from taking probiotics and they are so expensive. I have seen a lot of people here who swear by probiotics but for me, I don't think they were worth the cost. I just eat yogurt now with my cereal.

I agree with this.  I'm not sure that probiotics are helpful to me.  Just started taking them about a month ago after 5 really great months and the only (relatively) bad days I have had in the past month seem to be caused by probiotics.  Like you, I'm sure many find them helpful.  I really asked this question because I found such conflicting information about what an empty stomach actually is despite it being a very popular "dosing" instruction.