Consuming grapefruit can help you meet your recommended intake of at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Grapefruit provides a number of essential nutrients, including fiber and vitamin C, without a lot of calories. If you take certain medications, however, you cannot safely consume grapefruit as there is a potential for interactions.
Effect of Grapefruit
Grapefruit contains chemicals that increase the amount of time it takes for your body to break down certain medications. This means the medication stays in your body longer, which can allow it to build up to unsafe levels or cause an increased risk for dangerous side effects from your medication.
Medications Involved
Types of medications that may interact with grapefruit include include statins, calcium channel blockers, high blood pressure medications, antidepressants, anti-anxiety medications, anti-seizure medications, antihistamines, immunosuppressants, anti-retroviral medications and heart arrhythmia medications. Not all medications in these categories interact with grapefruit, so check with your doctor to see if it is safe to consume grapefruit with your medication.
Amount
Even small amounts of grapefruit or grapefruit juice can cause an interaction, and these interactions can take place up to three days after you eat grapefruit. If you are taking a medication that interacts with grapefruit, you should avoid all foods containing grapefruit, as well as foods containing pomelo or Seville oranges, according to FamilyDoctor.org, because these fruits can cause similar interactions.
Considerations
Unlike some interactions with medications, simply consuming grapefruit earlier in the day than your medication will not prevent the interaction. If you really want to be able to consume grapefruit, you can ask your doctor to switch you to a medication that doesn't interact with grapefruit. Not all medications that treat a given condition will interact with grapefruit.
References
- "American Family Physician"; Medicine Interactions with Grapefruit: What You Should Know; August 2006
- MayoClinic.com; Grapefruit Juice: Beware of Dangerous Medication Interactions; Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D.; November 2010
- FamilyDoctor.org; Drug-Food Interactions: How Grapefruit Interacts with Certain Drugs; January 2011
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