![]() ![]() Treat not being able to get or keep an erection, called erectile dysfunction.Prevent the body from rejecting a donated organ.Often-prescribed medicines that can interact with grapefruit include medicines that: Food and Drug Administration requires that some medicines include warnings about eating grapefruit or drinking grapefruit juice while taking the medicine. A medicine that breaks down too quickly won't have time to work. Medicine that stays in the body too long can build up to risky levels and cause more side effects. More often, the problem is medicine staying in the body too long. As a result, the medicine can stay in the body for too long or too short a time. The problem is that chemicals in the fruit can get in the way of the medicine breaking down, called metabolizing, in the digestive system. ![]() But you can ask your health care professional if there's another medicine you can take that works with grapefruit. In most cases, you can't just take your medicine at a different time from when you eat grapefruit. "Information about any interactions would always be included in the patient information leaflet that comes with the medicine.You may need to cut grapefruit products from your diet. "Pharmacists are the best port of call for anyone concerned about how their diet may affect their medication," he said. For example, milk can stop the absorption of some antibiotics if taken simultaneously. Neal Patel, from the Head of Corporate Communications Royal Pharmaceutical Society, said to the BBC that this study should make people aware of more negative interactions that some food items can have with their medication. People 45 and older are most at risk because they are also the most likely to buy grapefruit juice and also the most likely to take these kind of prescription drugs. Thus, we contend that there remains a lack of knowledge about this interaction in the general healthcare community." "In addition, the patient may not volunteer this information. "Unless health care professionals are aware of the possibility that the adverse event they are seeing might have an origin in the recent addition of grapefruit to the patient's diet, it is very unlikely that they will investigate it," the authors wrote. Patients and doctors can see whether or not the medication has these interaction risks on the package inserts included with the medication, but the study authors fear that no one actually reads them. Other medications that can't be combined include some anti-infective, anti-cancer, cardiovascular and urinary tract infection medications. Usually only a small fraction of the active drug enters the bloodstream, a process known as very low to intermediate bioavailability.ĭrugs that carry an interaction risk include Zocor and Lipitor, which are used to lower cholesterol Nifediac and Afditab, which lower blood pressure and some opioid pain relievers like oxycodone. Medications that are affected by the citrus juice are all taken orally and combine in the gastrointestinal tract with an enzyme called CYP3A4. So it's not surprising that these levels go from what we call therapeutic to toxic." ![]() He discovered the negative reactions that occur when grapefruit juice is combined with certain medications about two decades ago. "Taking one tablet with a glass of grapefruit juice is like taking 20 tablets with a glass of water," author David Bailey, a clinical pharmacologist at the Lawson Health Research Institute in London, Canada, said to the CBC. For example, a statin used to lower cholesterol called simvastatin created a 330 percent higher systemic concentration of the drug when the patient drank a 200-mL glass of grapefruit juice once a day for three days compared to when they just drank water. For people who drink grapefruit juice daily, it could magnify the adverse reaction. The negative interactions can even occur if grapefruit juice or similar substances are consumed hours before taking the pill, meaning even eating one grapefruit while taking a once-daily medication can have a negative effect. High concentrations of certain drugs can cause kidney damage, GI tract bleeding, respiratory failure, bone-marrow suppression in people with compromised systems and death. As a result, more of the active medication enters the bloodstream. Grapefruits - as well as Seville oranges used to make marmalade, limes and pomelos (but not typical oranges) - contain a chemical called furanocoumarins, which affects the way some medications are absorbed and metabolized in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. What's more, there are more than 85 drugs in total that cause some kind of reaction when taken with grapefruit juice, according to the study. ![]()
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