Grapefruit raises your estrogen levels if you are taking birth control pills. This is important for women to know, as birth control pills have been among the top two methods for birth control used by United States women since 1982. Too much estrogen causes health problems. Grapefruit and birth control pills should not be mixed.
Blood Clots
Too much estrogen can create blood clots. The small amount of estrogen contained in birth control pills marginally increases your risk for developing blood clots. The risk increases if you have grapefruit in your system because a chemical in grapefruit prevents your body from properly metabolizing estrogen. Grapefruit stops your CYP 34A enzyme from properly metabolizing medications that enter your body. If grapefruit prevents your body from metabolizing estrogen and you continue to take your birth control medication as prescribed, your body ends up with an overload of estrogen.
Gangrene
Blood clots may lead to gangrene. The "Lancet Medical Journal" reported in April 2009 that a woman who combined birth control pills and grapefruit juice developed blood clots in her leg and nearly lost her limb to gangrene. The woman developed the clot after following a weight loss grapefruit diet for three days. Birth control pills combined with grapefruit can also cause heart attacks and strokes.
Other Medication Levels Raised
Besides raising your estrogen levels and the concentration of birth control medication in your body, grapefruit raises the levels of other medications in your body. Cholesterol statin medications, blood-thinning medications, antidepressants, antihistamines and sedatives are among the drugs in a long list of medications that react adversely when combined with grapefruit. If you are taking any medications, ask your doctor before adding grapefruit to your diet.
Considerations
Grapefruit contains vitamin C and potassium -- a healthy addition to your diet; however, although the grapefruit diet has been around since the 1930s, the fruit's weight loss benefits are unsubstantiated. If you take birth control or other medications, the risks of eating grapefruit may greatly outweigh its benefits.
References
- "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; April 3 2009
- Guttmacher Institute: Facts on Contraceptive Use in the United States; June 2010
- "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; July 21, 2007
