Grapefruit has been advertised to women as a get-thin food since the 1930s. Women have been told that if they eat grapefruit with every meal, they will lose weight. The grapefruit diet has even been studied -- on mice, not women -- and a flavonoid in grapefruit is supposed to be responsible for weight loss. What may be less advertised, however, is that if you are a woman on birth control, consuming grapefruit could be life threatening.
Estrogen and Clotting
The contraceptive birth control pill has been one of the top two birth control methods used by women in the United States since 1982. The contraceptive pill has estrogen in it. The estrogen in the contraceptive pill combined with the estrogen in a woman's body marginally increases her risk of clots in her blood. However, if a woman has the extra estrogen in her bloodstream from birth control pills and is consuming grapefruit, her risk for clotting increases dramatically.
Gangrene
The Lancet medical journal published an article in April 2009 detailing just how dangerous combining grapefruit with birth control pills can be. A woman who had heard about the possible weight-loss properties of grapefruit had been on the grapefruit diet for three days. On the third day, she developed a dangerous clot in her leg that turned gangrenous. Her leg very nearly had to be removed. The fact that the woman had only been consuming grapefruit for three days while on the pill shows how dramatically dire combining the pill with grapefruit can be.
Heart Attacks, Strokes and Drug-Metabolizing Inhibition
Besides causing clots and gangrene, consuming grapefruit while you are taking the birth control pill could also lead to heart attacks and strokes. Grapefruit also can highly increase the level of medication in your body. This is because grapefruit inhibits your CYP34A enzyme from properly metabolizing your medication, which means you will have a much larger quantity than you are supposed to in your bloodstream. So besides creating a high level of estrogen in your body that can lead to clots, it goes to reason that the higher-than-prescribed amount of medication in your system can also make the plethora of side effects from the pill much more likely.
Other Medication Interactions
The New York Times cautions against grapefruit consumption while on the birth control pill as well as numerous medications, including: Halcion, Norvir, Ethinyl estradiol (Ortho-Cept), Buspar, Seldane, Hismanal, Loratadine (Claritin), Cordarone, Viagra, Propulsid, Invirase, Viracept, Agenerase, Zaleplon (Sonata), Cyclosporine (Sandimmune), Lipitor, Baycol, Carbamazepine (Tegretol), Desyrel, Serzone, Plendil, Nicardipine (Cardene), Nefedipine (Procardia), Rapamune, Diazepam (Valium),Methylprednisolone (Depo-Medrol), Sular, DynaCirc, Plendil, Versed, Prograf, Nimotop and Nicardipine (Cardene). It is crucial to do research and consult a reputable medical professional before consuming grapefruit while on any medications. It is greatly important not to consume grapefruit if you are taking the birth control pill. The potential shedding of pounds is not worth the possibility of dying from a heart attack or losing a leg to gangrene.
References
- "St. Petersburg Times"; State Study to Explore Grapefruit as Diet Aid; Julie Hauserman; March 4 2003
- "The Express"; Grapefruit Loses It's A-Peel Yet Again; (NO BYLINE); July 21 2007
- "The Toronto Star"; Grapefruit Glory; Joseph Hall; July 15 2009
- The New York Times; Experts Reveal the Secret Powers of Grapefruit Juice; Nicholas Bakalar; March 21 2006
- The Sun; Killer Grapefruit Alert To Slimmers; Emma Morton; April 3 2009
- The Western Mail; Grapefruit Linked To Blood Clot Risk For Women; (NO BYLINE); April 3 2009
