Grapefruit Juice Interactions - The Sour Truth.
Q. I was once told to not drink grapefruit juice with my medication. Does this mean I should take grapefruit juice and medication separately, or not take grapefruit at all?
A. There are a few chemicals in grapefruit that may interact with certain medications. Usually these chemicals cause an increase of the amount of drug in your body. This makes you at higher risk for side effects from the medication, some of which can be quite dangerous.
Some of the medications that might interact with grapefruit juice (listed by their actual drug name rather than brand name):
- amiodarone
- diazepam
- alprazolam
- triazolam
- budesonide
- buspirone
- caffeine
- calcium channel blockers including felodipine, amlodipine, diltiazem, verapamil, nifedipine
- carbamazepine
- carvedilol
- clomipramine
- cyclosporine
- estrogens
- "statins" including atorvastatin, lovastatin, simvastatin
- itraconazole
- losartan
- methylprednisolone
- quinidine
- saquinavir
- sertraline
- tacrolimus
How long do the effects of grapefruit juice last?
It has been shown that the effects of grapefruit juice last for as long as 3 days. This means, to prevent a grapefruit juice interaction, it is safer to avoid grapefruit juice altogether if you are taking any of the above medications regularly
Is it only grapefruit juice that I should avoid?
To avoid grapefruit-medication interactions, you should avoid grapefruit juice and the grapefruit fruit itself. Also, it might be best to avoid Seville oranges and Tangelos. Limes may also be involved, but this has not been confirmed entirely by research yet.
For more information on grapefruit juice-medication interactions... Ask Your Pharmacist!
Some information from Pharmacist's Letter. 2002. Vol. 18. No. 180905.
