I think hydro works differently for everyone, but when I WAS (stopped for about a week now) on them, I couldn’t eat or drink anything but water with mine. Not even milk, juice, etc. If I did, it was like I never even took them. At first, I would drink milk, but I noticed even the small amount of protein in milk kept them from absorbing with me. So, I always had to take them on a complete empty stomach with water only and then wait 15-20 minutes before I drank or ate anything. But again, that is just me.