Table of contents:
- What is a grapefruit?
- The content of furanocoumarin in grapefruit is a dangerous active substance
- List of drugs that are dangerous if taken with grapefruit
- What about other types of citrus fruit? Is it safe?
There are some drinks or foods that should not be consumed together with medicine. This is because the chemical interactions between drugs and food can make the drug ineffective, or it can trigger dangerous side effects that turn into a weapon for your health. Grapefruit is one of the foods that you should avoid if you are taking medications.
What is a grapefruit?
Literally, grapefruit means grapes. But grapefruit isn't grapes. Even the appearance is much different from the sweet purple fruit. The grapefruit is a large orange-skinned citrus fruit with red-purple flesh, which has a sour-sour taste that is slightly sweet but also slightly bitter. This fruit from Barbados is the result of accidental crossbreeding of the sweet orange and grapefruit species.
Grapefruit is a good source of vitamin C, and contains sufficient levels of potassium which the body needs to work properly. But why shouldn't you take grapefruit with your medicine?
The content of furanocoumarin in grapefruit is a dangerous active substance
For drugs to work effectively, they must be able to circulate smoothly in the bloodstream. This is assisted by the presence of proteins in the body that break down and transport drugs to facilitate drug absorption.
Well, grapefruit contains furanocoumarin, which blocks this enzyme. As a result, drug substances may be absorbed too much or even very little into your bloodstream. The medicine may stay in your body too quickly or for too long. Medicines that are broken down too quickly will not have time to work. On the other hand, drugs that stay too long in the body can turn into toxins causing dangerous complications.
In addition, furanocoumarin also causes blood levels to rise faster and higher than normal, and in some cases, abnormally high blood pressure can be dangerous. And it's worth noting that the furanocoumarin found in grapefruit juice is a natural chemical. This way, it will always be present in all versions of fruit dishes, including fresh juices, frozen concentrates, and whole fruit. All of these forms of grapefruit juice have the potential to cause interactions when taken with certain medications.
"Taking 1 tablet of medicine plus a glass of grapefruit juice is the same as taking 20 tablets of medicine with a glass of water. This is an accidental overdose. So, it is not surprising why this can be toxic to your body, "said David Bailey, clinical pharmacologist at the Lawson Health Research Institute in London, quoted by Detik Health. High concentrations of drugs in the blood can cause kidney damage, gastrointestinal bleeding, respiratory failure, bone marrow suppression, and death.
Dangerous interactions can also occur if you consume grapefruit juice or other forms several hours before and after taking the medicine. Take the drug simvastatin, for example. When taken together with a glass of grapefruit juice once a day for three days can double the concentration of the drug by 330% more than drinking it with plain water. This can cause life-threatening muscle damage, called rhabdomyolysis.
The risk of interaction can even occur up to 3 days after eating or drinking grapefruit juice. So you should avoid or limit your consumption of grapefruit in any form while taking certain medications.
List of drugs that are dangerous if taken with grapefruit
Drug and food interactions can occur with both prescription and over-the-counter oral medications, including antacids, vitamins, and iron supplements. In total, there are more than 85 drugs that can trigger dangerous reactions when taken with grapefruit.
Examples of several types of drugs that can interact with grapefruit are:
- Some statin drugs to lower cholesterol, such as Zocor (simvastatin), Lipitor (atorvastatin), lovastatin, and Pravachol (pravastatin)
- Some blood pressure-lowering drugs, such as Nifediac and Afeditab (both of which belong to the nifedipine class); felodipine, nimodipine, and nisoldipine
- Some organ transplant rejection drugs, such as Sandimmune and Neoral (both of which belong to the cyclosporine class)
- Some anti-anxiety and anti-depressants, such as BuSpar (buspirone) or benzodiazepines, diazepam (Valium), alprazolam (Xanax)
- Some anti-arrhythmic drugs, such as Cordarone and Nexterone (both of which belong to the amiodarone class)
- Some amphetamines, such as dextroamphetamine and levoamphetamine (Dexedrine, Adderall)
- Some antihistamines, such as fexofenadine
- Medicines to treat erectile dysfunction, such as Viagra (sildenafil)
- Painkillers, such as oxycodone and acetaminophen (paracetamol)
- Other drugs are anti-infective drugs, anti-cancer drugs, heart drugs and urinary tract infection drugs
What about other types of citrus fruit? Is it safe?
Grapefruit is widely bred in the United States and may not be common enough in Indonesia. However, several other citrus families can have similar effects, such as Pomelo (pomelo), lime, and sweet orange (seville); Although these fruits have not been studied in detail, the guidelines for grapefruit should also be applied to them. One medical review advises patients to avoid all oranges. Another potential problem is that some finished food / beverage products contain grapefruit extracts but do not get their names on the ingredient list.
Therefore, you should always play it safe while taking medication. If you don't know if a drug you are using interacts with grapefruit, check with your doctor or pharmacist. Doctors will usually prescribe other drugs that do not interact with this fruit.
