“Dear Pharmacist,
My medication label suddenly warns not to eat grapefruit, but is this a serious interaction? Reason I ask is because I love to eat it, and nothing has happened to me so far.”
–K.A., Tulsa, Oklahoma
Answer: Then stay consistent with your eating habits because consistency allows your doctor to adjust medication dose based on eating habits. Momentarily, I’ll tell how this incredible fruit can help you lower cholesterol, burn fat and reduce cancer risk, but first I must warn you that grapefruit prevents proper break down of some medications, causing blood levels to spike. This may happen even if you separate the administration of the drug from the fruit or the juice by days. Soon enough, I will give you a list of drugs to avoid if you won’t give up the grapefruit. I wouldn’t blame you either, I love grapefruit myself. The seeds are the primary source of naringenin, which is the bitter chemical that causes the pucker. It’s also a strong antioxidant that not only neutralizes free-radicals (which promote cancer) but also seems to prevent hardening of the arteries.
Grapefruit may boost metabolism, at least in rodents. Thin rats don’t necessarily translate to thin thighs, although I still think grapefruit is a fine addition to most diet plans, especially those that include ways to help you improve progesterone to estrogen ratio, and increase thyroid hormone. Grapefruit may help people with diabetes or metabolic syndrome (high cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar).
Naringenin is not an appetite suppressant, or a fat blocker so if you take those dietary supplements, it’s also fine to take this bioflavonoid supplement. It can be combined with protein supplements too, which are often recommended during weight loss.
You’ll see it listed in various ways, including naringenin, grapefruit seed extract, GSE, or part of a comprehensive bioflavonoid formula that also contains hesperidin, rutin, or quercetin. These types of products are widely available at health food stores.
Before you get too excited and buy supplements or fresh fruit at the grocery store, I need you to promise me that you’ll get both your physician and pharmacist’s approval (and it wouldn’t hurt to research yourself) to find out if grapefruit, or grapefruit-containing supplements are right for you.
The approval from both your doctor and pharmacist is important because I don’t have the space to list all of the drugs that might potentially interact. The following drugs (and possibly related drugs that are not listed here) may have a potentially dangerous interaction with grapefruit, so never combine it with these: Sildenafil (Viagra), buspirone (Buspar), sertraline (Zoloft), triazolam (Halcion), diazepam (Valium), carbamazepine (Tegretol), cyclosporine, tacrolimus, felodipine, nifedipine, HIV medications, statins cholesterol drugs (simvastatin, atorvastatin, lovastatin), amiodarone, methadone, digoxin and losartan (Cozaar).
Did You Know?
Zyclara cream is now FDA approved and available to people who suffer with pre-cancerous spots on their face or scalp called actinic keratoses.
Suzy Cohen, has been a licensed pharmacist for over 30 years and believes the best approach to chronic illness is a combination of natural medicine and conventional. She founded her own dietary supplement company specializing in custom-formulas, some of which have patents. With a special focus on functional medicine, thyroid health and drug nutrient depletion, Suzy is the author of several related books including Thyroid Healthy, Drug Muggers, Diabetes Without Drugs, and a nationally syndicated column.
