Does grapefruit affect the drugs you take?
22-01-2020
If you look at the average breakfast table you’ll find many potential health hazards: coffee, breakfast cereals loaded with sugar, greasy bacon and fried eggs. So most of us would think grapefruit is a welcome nutritious addition.
But if you’re taking certain medications then you should steer clear of grapefruit. That’s because grapefruit contains a substance that interacts with a long list of drugs regularly found in medicine cabinets across the country.
Geraldine Moses, a senior pharmacist from the Adverse Medicine Events Information Line, says there is evidence that an average 200 ml glass of normal strength grapefruit juice (straight from the fruit) can cause “a clinically significant interaction with a list of drugs as long as your arm”.
Eating fresh grapefruit can also be a problem, as the compound responsible for the interaction is found in the fruit’s pulp. But Moses says eating grapefruit marmalade on toast is unlikely to cause any problems. Read More >