

The same is true of certain antiplatelet drugs like clopidogrel (Plavix) and ticagrelor (Brilinta). This interaction increases the effect of warfarin and makes bleeding more likely.

Warfarin (Coumadin), an inexpensive, commonly-prescribed blood thinner, can interact with grapefruit. These are blood-thinning medications that prevent blood clots. Similar to statins, this interaction also increases the risk of side effects. Some calcium channel blockers like nifedipine (Adalat CC, Procardia), felodipine (Plendil), and amlodipine (Norvasc) can interact with grapefruit, resulting in increased levels of the drug in the blood. These are a group of medications used to treat high blood pressure, angina (chest pain), and coronary artery disease. You should talk to your doctor or pharmacist about which statin drugs are considered safe with grapefruit products. However, keep in mind that even with atorvastatin, you should not drink large quantities of grapefruit juice (more than 1.2 liters a day). Drinking a glass of grapefruit juice several hours before or after taking atorvastatin should be safe. Doctors advise that you should avoid grapefruit and grapefruit juice altogether if you’re taking simvastatin. Consuming grapefruit can increase the blood levels of these medications, increasing the risk of side effects. These medications are used to lower cholesterol in people with high cholesterol. Some statins like simvastatin (Zocor) and atorvastatin (Lipitor) have food-drug interactions with grapefruit. Some of the categories of drugs that can interact with grapefruit are described below. Food and Drug Administration requires some prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs taken by mouth to have warnings against eating grapefruit or drinking grapefruit juice while on the medication. What medications are bad to take with grapefruit? Besides grapefruit juice, orange or apple juice also interact with fexofenadine in this manner. This interaction makes less fexofenadine available, causing the therapy to be less effective. When you drink grapefruit juice or eat grapefruit, it blocks the action of these transporter cells. This medicine is transported by certain cells in the small intestine. An example is fexofenadine (Allegra), an antihistamine used to relieve allergy symptoms that are available by prescription or over-the-counter. On the other hand, grapefruit can interact with some other medicines and have the opposite effect. In addition, people have variable amounts of this enzyme CYP3A4 in their intestines and liver therefore, grapefruit juice can have a different effect on people taking the same drug. This can increase the risk of side effects like muscle damage, liver injury, and kidney failure. Grapefruit juice can block this enzyme, allowing more of the statin drug to stay in the bloodstream longer.

Possible food-drug interactions can occur because grapefruit can interfere with these enzymes and transporters cells, causing blood levels of the medicine to fluctuate.įor example, statins that are used to treat high cholesterol are broken down by an enzyme called CYP3A4 in the liver and small intestine. From there, they enter the bloodstream and travel to the liver where they are metabolized (broken down) or activated by the enzymes in the liver. When you take the drugs by mouth, they are absorbed through the transporter cells in the gut. Here’s how the potential drug interactions happen. Now you may be wondering why only certain drugs interact with grapefruit. In most cases, the drug interaction leads to increased blood levels of the medicine, causing an increased risk of side effects.

Yes, there can be some food-drug interactions between grapefruit products and certain medications. Does eating grapefruit or drinking grapefruit juice affect medications? Please continue reading to learn more about some common medications with which grapefruit juice and grapefruit interact. Do not stop taking the medication without medical advice. If your diet usually includes grapefruit and you’ve been prescribed a medicine that grapefruit juice affects, you should speak to your doctor or pharmacist. However, drinking grapefruit juice and eating grapefruit, unfortunately, can affect how some medicines work. Therefore, grapefruit juice and grapefruit can be good additions to a healthy diet. This citrus fruit is also low in saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium. It is a good source of nutrients like vitamin C and potassium. Grapefruit is high in nutrition and low in calories.
