Grapefruit is a nutritious fruit, with half of a grapefruit providing you with 1 g of protein, 1 g of fiber, 70 percent of the daily value for vitamin C and small amounts of vitamin A, calcium, riboflavin, vitamin B-6, magnesium, thiamine, niacin and folate, all for only 40 calories. However, people taking certain types of blood pressure medications may need to avoid consuming grapefruit.
Blood Pressure Medications
Medications used to treat high blood pressure include calcium channel blockers, ACE inhibitors, beta blockers, thiazide diuretics, angiotensin II receptor blockers, renin inhibitors, vasodilators, alpha blockers, central acting agents and alpha-beta blockers. You will also need to make diet and lifestyle changes to help reach your blood pressure goal and avoid interactions with your medication.
Grapefruit Medication Interactions
Grapefruit interacts with a number of medications, including some blood pressure medications, causing these medications to stay in your body longer than normal, potentially building up to dangerous levels and causing side effects. The effect of grapefruit can last for longer than 24 hours, so simply consuming grapefruit at a different time than the problem medications does not solve the problem. Grapefruit interactions are worse when you are taking higher medication doses.
Blood Pressure Medications Affected
Check with your doctor to check if your blood pressure medication interacts with grapefruit juice. The main class of blood pressure medications affected by this interaction is calcium channel blockers, including felodipine and nifedipine. However, other calcium channel blockers, including verapamil, diltiazem and amlodipine, do not have strong interactions with grapefruit, according to Harvard Medical School.
Avoiding Interaction
If you insist on drinking grapefruit juice or consuming grapefruit, ask your doctor if you can change to a blood pressure medication that does not interact with grapefruit juice. If not, consume grapefruit juice only in very small amounts as far apart from the time you take your medication as possible, as this will make large interactions less likely, though it may not eliminate them entirely.
