Grapefruit juice

Grapefruit juice
Sliced pink grapefruit

Grapefruit juice is the juice from grapefruits.

It is rich in Vitamin C and ranges from sweet-tart to very sour. Variations include white grapefruit, pink grapefruit and ruby red grapefruit juice.[1][2]

Grapefruit juice is important in medicine because of its interactions with many common drugs including caffeine and medications, which can alter how they behave in the body.

Drug interactions

Grapefruit and grapefruit juice have been found to interact with numerous drugs in many cases resulting in adverse effects.[3]

This happens in two ways. One is that grapefruit can block an enzyme which metabolizes medication.[4] If the drug is not metabolized, then the level of the drug in the blood can become too high leading to an adverse effect.[4] The other effect is that grapefruit can block the absorption of drugs in the intestine.[4] If the drug is not absorbed, then not enough of it is in the blood to have a therapeutic effect.[4]

One whole grapefruit, or a glass of 200 mL (6.8 US fl oz) of grapefruit juice can cause drug overdose toxicity.[5] Drugs which are incompatible with grapefruit are typically labeled on the container or package insert.[4] People taking drugs can ask their health care provider or pharmacist questions about grapefruit / drug interactions.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ The World's Healthiest Foods; Grapefruit. The George Mateljan Foundation. Article
  2. ↑ Fellers PJ, Nikdel S, Lee HS (August 1990). "Nutrient content and nutrition labeling of several processed Florida citrus juice products". Journal of the American Dietetic Association 90 (8): 1079–84. PMID 2380455.
  3. ↑ Bailey DG, Dresser G, Arnold JM (March 2013). "Grapefruit-medication interactions: forbidden fruit or avoidable consequences?". CMAJ 185 (4): 309–16. doi:10.1503/cmaj.120951. PMC 3589309. PMID 23184849.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Mitchell, Steve (19 February 2016). "Why Grapefruit and Medication Can Be a Dangerous Mix". Consumer Reports. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  5. ↑ Bailey, D. G.; Dresser, G.; Arnold, J. M. O. (2012). "Grapefruit-medication interactions: Forbidden fruit or avoidable consequences?". Canadian Medical Association Journal 185 (4): 309–316. doi:10.1503/cmaj.120951. ISSN 0820-3946.

External links

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