8/8/2023 0 Comments Grapefruit good for you![]() Unusually it doesn’t become more potent with grapefruit, but can stop working completely. It is commonly prescribed after heart attacks, strokes or angina. The blood-thinning drug clopidogrel is also on the list. And, crucially, too much erythromycin in the blood interferes with the way other drugs work. The drug is not particularly toxic, but an overdose can cause nasty symptoms including stomach upsets. It is used, among other things, to treat skin and urinary infections. The antibiotic erythromycin is another common medicine made more potent when taken with grapefruit. One of the most common groups are the statins - simvastatin, lovastatin and atorvastatin - taken by some seven million Britons to lower cholesterol. The range of drugs affected by grapefruit is vast and covers virtually every type of medicine, from painkillers and sedatives to drugs that fight cancer and lower blood pressure. So you can unintentionally go from a therapeutic level to a toxic level just by consuming grapefruit juice.’ Researchers have shown that taking the cholesterol-lowering drug simvastatin with a 200ml glass of grapefruit juice every day for three days increased the drug’s concentration in the blood three-fold.ĭr David Bailey, a researcher at the Lawson Health Research Institute in London, Ontario, who published this week’s study, said in summary: ‘One tablet with a glass of grapefruit juice can be like taking five or ten tablets with a glass of water. Unintentionally toxic: Dr David Bailey said one tablet with a glass of grapefruit juice was like taking five or ten tablets with water Drug companies have to increase the dosage of some tablets to compensate for the action of the enzyme. This enzyme sits in the lining of the intestines and is involved in the metabolism of some drugs, controlling the amount that enters the bloodstream. The concentrations in grapefruit are not toxic, but they interfere with a chemical naturally produced in our intestines called cytochrome P450 3A4. These are produced by plants often as a defence mechanism against predators. The problem lies in chemicals in the fruit called furanocoumarins. Scientists have only recently worked out how grapefruit makes drugs more potent. Some patients suffer low blood pressure and immune system collapse. Disturbing side-effects: The concentrations in grapefruit can interfere with a naturally produced chemical in our intestines and is involved in the metabolism of some drugs, controlling the amount that enters the bloodstreamĪnd the side-effects of grapefruit-related overdoses can be horrendous.
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