Grapefruit Juice and Medication

[Guest guest]

>From another forum(below),....info on grapefruit juice cautions ..of concern

apparently only,...if you are taking certain (medically prescribed) drugs at the

same time...

Although...a Doctor I was seeing some years ago ..advised me too have 2

freshly squeezed lemons first thing each morning ..for the liver.

I recall asking him if it would be ok to substitute grapefruit sometimes

because I liked them more ....his answer was basically something too the effect

...lemons are 1 of the most liver friendly foods you can eat , & the most liver

friendly fruit...he added,..Grapefruits on the other hand are the most liver

unfriendly fruit you can eat...for people with liver issues anyway(he alluded to

this property of inhibition of certain liver enzymes or whatever by grapefruit

as the reason) ...fwiw

PS...I use lemon juice in the liver /GB flush mainly for that reason but I have

no idea as too the accuracy of this view & last time I checked there wasnt much

additional info on this available on the net.

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Grapefruit Juice and Medication

(HealthDayNews) -- A glass of grapefruit juice is an excellent and

delicious way to start the day. But the fruit juice also causes the body

to absorb greater amounts of certain medications, according to Montana

State University-Northern.

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Some drugs that interact this way with grapefruit juice include

calcium-channel blockers such as felodipine (Plendil), nifedipine

(Adalat, Procardia), and verapamil (Calan, Verelan), as well as the

tranquilizers midazolam (Versed) and triazolam (Halcion).

If you take any of these drugs, often drink grapefruit juice, and

haven't noticed any ill effects -- discuss the matter with your doctor,

just in case.

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Grapefruit? How does it affect vitamins or supplements?

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Hi " mrsjoguest "

I have heard that one should check with their pharmacist before mixing

Grapefruit juice with medicine;

But Grapefruit? How does it affect vitamins or supplements?

Regards, Lorenzo

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Lorenzo,

I have been advised that there are supplements with Enzymes that are

dangerous if combined with grapefruit or grapefruit juice.

I believe that the problem lies with all those which contain 'algae' in

the list of nutrients. The company that makes spectrabiotics (Cell Tech)

has issued the warnings with several of their " enzyme " supplements.

Regards, JoAnn

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Why should one avoid grapefruit when taking Valium

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Today's Question

Why should one avoid grapefruit when taking Valium or a

cholesterol-reducing medication?

-- Anonymous

Today's Answer

(Published 03/28/2003)

Actually, grapefruit juice more than grapefruit seems to be the culprit

- it interferes with the absorption and metabolism of a number of drugs

(although there is increasing concern that eating grapefruit might also

lead to this effect).

Something in grapefruit juice - no one knows what - blocks the action of

" specific enzymes " needed to absorb and break down drugs.

These enzymes, found in the intestinal wall and liver, are called

cytochrome P-450 3A4 and 1A2 (CYP3A4 and CYP1A2, for short).

Several constituents of grapefruit juice have been implicated, including

specific flavonoids and other phytochemicals called " furanocoumarins " .

Concentration of these compounds varies from one batch of juice to

another.

By inhibiting the action of these enzymes, grapefruit juice increases

your body's " absorption " of certain drugs, and also slows the process of

breaking them down in the liver.

Thus certain drugs affected by these enzymes stay in the body longer

than normal.

These include the calcium channel blockers used to treat high blood

pressure, non-sedating antihistamines such as Hismanal (astemizole),

certain tranquilizers including Valium (diazepam), Xanax (alprazolam),

Halcion (triazolam), and others, a number of cholesterol-lowering drugs,

including Lipitor (atorvastatin), Mevacor (lovastatin) and other

statins, immunosuppressive drugs used to prevent rejection of

transplanted organs and antiviral agents used to treat HIV/AIDS.

If you take any of these drugs with grapefruit juice, you may feel a

difference.

For example, with calcium channel blockers you might notice flushing,

headache, an increased heart rate, or blood pressure which is lower than

intended.

With the tranquilizers, you may notice increased sedation. More

dangerous side effects including kidney toxicity and increased

susceptibility to infections could develop among those taking

immunosuppressive drugs.

Grapefruit juice can even " enhance " your response to 'caffeine',

resulting in nervousness and over-stimulation.

Interestingly, grapefruit juice seems to be the only citrus juice to

have this effect. If you've always taken your medication with grapefruit

juice and never noticed any of the symptoms I've mentioned, there's

probably no reason to make a change, but it would be a good idea to tell

your physician about your juice consumption.

And if you have any concerns about whether grapefruit juice could be

interfering with any medication you take, ask your physician or

pharmacist about possible interactions.

Dr. Weil

www.drweil.com

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From: marian-@a...

Date: Wed Jul 17, 2002 2:10 am

Subject: Grapefruit

JoAnn, thinks this subject has been covered in the past but agrees that

there may be new people to the group who are not aware of the dangers of

grapefruit - as I wasn't until JoAnn kindly advised me.

Grapefruit juice and drugs don't mix:

Can increase impact of medication

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_8213.html

" Friday, June 21, 2002

TORONTO (CP) - Like grapefruit juice? Taking Viagra?

Bad idea, Health Canada says.

In fact, a variety of medications for a variety of conditions can

interact negatively with grapefruit juice - fresh or frozen - and the

fruit itself, the department warned in an advisory issued Friday.

There are several substances in grapefruit that can interfere with

the way the body metabolizes some drugs, " amplifying " the effect of

many and minimizing the effect of a few.

In some cases, consuming grapefruit while on certain medications can

produce a life-threatening adverse reaction, Health Canada said.

" As little as one glass of grapefruit juice (8 oz./ 250 ml) can cause

this effect, " the release warned.

And it may not just be grapefruit. While sweet oranges and their juice

do not appear to cause the same reaction, sour ones such as-

Seville oranges may have a similar effect, the department warned. "

SOURCE:

Health Canada Advisory- Health Canada is advising Canadians not to take

certain drugs with grapefruit juice

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/protection/warnings/2002/2002_49e.htm

" OTTAWA - Health Canada is advising the public not to take certain

drugs with grapefruit juice.

Although interactions between grapefruit juice and certain drugs are

well documented in the medical and scientific literature, this

information may be unknown

to the public. "

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Joined: 20 Nov 2003

Posts: 8

Location: England

Posted: Sun Oct 17, 2004 12:54 pm

Post subject: Drugs and natural products

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A lot of drugs have the ability to kill you, certain natural products

increase the effectiveness of drugs which means they are more likely to

kill you, the fault of the natural product or the drug?.

Warfarin can kill but eating Broccoli which is rich in bio flavonoids

and vitamin C can increase Warfarin's potential danger.

Bright

http://www.alternative-medicine-message-boards.info

" Health Alerts - Protect Yourself " - Forum

JoAnn Guest

mrsjo-@...

DietaryTi-

http://www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Genes

AIM Barleygreen

" Wisdom of the Past, Food of the Future "

http://www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Diets.html

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