Grapefruit, a type of citrus fruit, can be consumed as food, juice, or a dietary supplement. However, it can interact with many types of medications. These interactions usually occur due to grapefruit’s effects on naturally occurring proteins in your body.
This may lead to inappropriate medication levels in the body. If there is too much of an active substance, you may experience side effects. If there is too little of an active substance, the drug cannot do its job. This is why grapefruit can be dangerous and should be avoided for some medications.
Certain statins and grapefruit do not mix well together. For example, consuming grapefruit while taking Lipitor (atorvastatin) can result in high atorvastatin levels in your bloodstream. Too much atorvastatin may increase your risk of rhabdomyolysis (muscle breakdown).
This interaction is more likely when you drink or eat grapefruit at more than 1.2 liters daily.
The following is a list of statins that interact with grapefruit:
However, there are alternative statins with a lower risk of interacting with grapefruit. These statins include:
Grapefruit may interact with some blood pressure medications—specifically the calcium channel blocker drug class.
For example, grapefruit can raise levels of Procardia (nifedipine), a calcium channel blocker, in your bloodstream. This increases your risk for side effects, such as low blood pressure (hypotension) and swelling.
Some alternatives to calcium channel blockers with little to no interaction with grapefruit include:
Grapefruit can increase estrogen levels in estrogen-containing medications, such as hormonal contraceptive pills or estradiol tablets. High estrogen levels may lead to more side effects.
In general, high doses of estrogen are linked to a risk of heart-related conditions, such as heart attack and blood clots. Overdose with estrogen may also cause nausea, vomiting, and vaginal bleeding.
Grapefruit interacts with certain immunosuppressants—drugs that decrease the intensity of the immune response when the immune system is overactive and doing damage. It raises the levels of some immunosuppressive drugs, which can increase the risk of problems such as kidney toxicity.
The following is a list of example immunosuppressants that interact with grapefruit:
You’ll likely need to avoid or limit grapefruit while taking any of the above medications.
Grapefruit interacts with a medication called buspirone, which is used to treat anxiety disorders. It does this by increasing the amount of the drug in your bloodstream.
High levels of buspirone may increase your risk of side effects, such as:
If you are taking buspirone, it’s recommended to avoid drinking grapefruit juice in large amounts.
Grapefruit can raise the levels of certain oral corticosteroids (steroids) in the body. This includes budesonide, a steroid used in treating the inflammatory bowel disease Crohn’s disease, and Medrol (methylprednisolone), which treats several inflammatory conditions.
Too much steroid in the bloodstream can cause Cushing’s syndrome (hormonal disorder caused by high levels of cortisol) or increase the risk of side effects, such as high blood pressure or fluid retention.
Grapefruit can interact with some anti-arrhythmic medications, such as Multaq (dronedarone) and Pacerone (amiodarone). Grapefruit raises the drug levels in your body. This may increase the risk of side effects, including severe heart rhythm problems.
Onglyza (saxagliptin) is a diabetes medication in the dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4) inhibitor drug class. Grapefruit might increase saxagliptin levels by blocking the CYP3A4 liver protein that breaks down this drug.
Common side effects of saxagliptin include:
If taken with something that strongly blocks the CYP3A4 liver protein—like grapefruit—the saxagliptin dosage should be low at 2.5 milligrams (mg) daily.
Alternatives may include a similar but different class of diabetes medication called glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) agonists. Examples include Victoza (liraglutide) and Ozempic (semaglutide).
Allegra (fexofenadine) is an example of an OTC antihistamine that interacts with grapefruit. Grapefruit can limit how much fexofenadine enters the bloodstream. This decreases the drug’s effectiveness.
An alternative antihistamine that is likely safe against grapefruit is Claritin (loratadine).
Grapefruit might increase the levels of certain blood thinners by blocking the CYP3A4 liver protein that breaks them down. As a result, you might be at an increased risk of bleeding.
Examples of blood thinners that can interact with grapefruit are:
Grapefruit can interact with some cancer medications, such as dasatinib and nilotinib used for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Grapefruit can raise the amount of these medications in your body. This can increase the risk of side effects, such as severe heart rhythm problems and toxicity.
Some dosage adjustments are possible with dasatinib.
Grapefruit can interact with certain drugs used to treat infections, such as:
The product labels do not list grapefruit as an interaction. However, grapefruit might raise these anti-infective drug levels by blocking the CYP3A4 liver protein that breaks down these medications.
In general, high drug levels might be linked to more side effects, such as a severe heart rhythm problem with erythromycin and rilpivirine or dangerously low blood pressure with maraviroc.
As for Paxlovid, bictegravir, and doravirine, some of the common side effects are related to the digestive system.
Grapefruit can interact with some pain medications, including opioids like oral oxycodone, fentanyl, and methadone. Grapefruit might raise levels of these medications in the blood. In some cases, this can increase the risk of a dangerously slow breathing rate, which is a side effect of an opioid overdose.
Grapefruit juice may interact with the following medications:
The product labels may not specifically list grapefruit as an interaction. However, grapefruit can lead to high drug levels by blocking the CYP3A4 liver protein. This could result in increased side effects, such as low blood pressure.
Grapefruit is a citrus fruit that is a source of various nutrients. However, grapefruit can also be dangerous due to numerous drug interactions. Therefore, grapefruit should be avoided with certain medications.
While this article provided several examples of grapefruit medication interactions, it is not a complete list. Before including grapefruit as part of your routine or making any medication changes, reach out to a healthcare provider.
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