Grapefruit juice: Beware of dangerous medication interactions

I like to drink grapefruit juice but hear that it can interfere with some of my prescription medications. Is that true?

Yes, grapefruit juice, other grapefruit products and certain other citrus fruits can interfere with several kinds of prescription medications. Don't take these interactions lightly, as some can cause potentially dangerous health problems. Check with your doctor or pharmacist before consuming any grapefruit products or citrus fruits if you take prescription medications. You may need to eliminate grapefruit products from your diet. Simply taking your medication and grapefruit product at different times doesn't stop the interaction.

Certain chemicals that grapefruit products and citrus fruits contain can interfere with the enzymes that break down (metabolize) various medications in your digestive system. As a result, more medication stays in your body. This can increase the potency of your medication to potentially dangerous levels, causing serious side effects.

Pomelos and Seville oranges, a type of bitter orange often used to make marmalades and compotes, may have a similar effect. Researchers are identifying other foods that also may interact with medications, so check with your doctor or pharmacist if you have any concerns.



Here are a few examples of prescription medications that can have serious interactions with grapefruit products. This is not a complete list of grapefruit-medication interactions, so check with your doctor or pharmacist to see if your medication is affected.

Examples of grapefruit-medication interactions
Type of medication	Medication name
Anti-anxiety	Buspirone (BuSpar)
Anti-arrhythmia	Amiodarone (Cordarone)
Antidepressant	Sertraline (Zoloft)
Antihistamine	Fexofenadine (Allegra)
Anti-retroviral	Saquinavir (Invirase), indinavir (Crixivan)
Anti-seizure	Carbamazepine (Carbatrol, Tegretol)
Calcium channel blocker	Nifedipine (Procardia), nimodipine (Nimotop), nisoldipine (Sular)
Immunosuppressant	Cyclosporine (Neoral, Sandimmune), tacrolimus (Prograf), sirolimus (Rapamune)
Statin	Simvastatin (Zocor), lovastatin (Mevacor), atorvastatin (Lipitor)

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