Posted on October 18, 2005.
Eating Grapefruit Isn’t Always Healthy
Grapefruit is often promoted as a healthy “diet food.” For some, however, there may be times when eating grapefruit or drinking the juice can cause unanticipated problems — like adverse reactions to certain medications, such as cholesterol- or blood pressure-lowering drugs and others.
According to “Today” show contributor Dr. Judith Reichman, “Grapefruit juice inhibits the activity of an enzyme called CYP3A4, which is produced in the intestines and involved in the metabolism of over 50 oral medications.
Grapefruit juice (and, of course, grapefruit) can inhibit the activity of the enzyme that breaks down these medications. More of the medication — sometimes dangerously high amounts — can then enter the blood.”
The most common grapefruit-unfriendly drugs:
- Benzodiazepams (Valium, Xanax, Halcion)
- Buspirone (BuSpar)
- Carbamazepine (Tegretol)
- Fexofenadine (Allegra)
- Statins (Lovastatin, Mevacor, Zocor)
- Nifedipine (ProCardia)
- Viagra, Levitra, Cialis
- Theophylline, Warfarin, Coumadin
According to Dr. Reichman, sweet oranges and tangerines do not pose the same problems. No data is available on lemon juice (although I can speak from personal experience that I haven’t had the problems with lemon juice that I experienced from grapefruit; I even had problems with soft drinks containing a small amount of grapefruit juice. — Pam).
Additional information:
Grapefruit and meds: A cocktail to avoid?
Grapefruit can be toxic when mixed with drugs
Related posts:
- Chlorine Bleach Alternative
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Pammy is the main character in two comic strips by 
A professional writer since 1984, Pamela Rice Hahn is the author of more than 20 published books.
August 10th, 2011 at 1:46 am
Above poster: Agreed.