…and so do some citrus in marmelade, etc…
http://www.krem.com/news/health/181116451.html
Serious heads-up: grapefruit, of all things, interacts very dangerously with some drugs…
by CJ | Dec 6, 2012 | Journal | 21 comments
21 Comments
Submit a Comment Cancel reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
I love grapefruit but being on progesterone now bans me from it, which makes me sad.
But I didn’t know about it being deadly with some drugs. Yikes!
I knew this from some drug my sister took. Fortunately she didn’t like grapefruit. Have to learn more about citrus.
Is it still snowing?
I’ve seen the grapefruit warning periodically. I’m thankful not to have trouble with it. But I rarely eat it, and hah, when I do think of it, I find myself wanting some at breakfast time.
Anyone on any medication does need to find out if they can have grapefruit at all, or they should simply avoid it when on any meds, as a precaution.
Other citrus, though? I must read the article. I’d hate for someone to have to avoid all citrus when on meds.
From the CMAJ article: This interaction can occur even if grapefruit is consumed many hours before taking the medication. Thus, a modest solitary quantity of grapefruit can affect interacting drugs that are taken once a day at any time during the dosing interval. Frequent daily consumption of a regular amount can further augment the effect. For example, simvastatin, a commonly used statin, combined with a 200-mL glass of grapefruit juice once a day for 3 days, produced a 330% systemic concentration of the drug compared with water.
This is the bit I wasn’t sure about: just how long the grapefruit effect would last… A pharmacist had told me that moderate amounts weren’t harmful, but this article disagrees. And I’m on simvastatin 🙁 I haven’t seen the new full list published, I wonder if my current pharmacist has the new list… But I guess grapefruit is out for me.
The linked article didn’t mention other citrus fruits as risks. Are they?
BTW, I picked up paperwork so I can get a shingles vaccine shot next week. I had chicken pox twice, once as a little guy and once somewhere around “tween” age, so I’m getting the shingles vaccine, preventive maintenance.
Chickenpox *twice*? Oh, dear Ghu. I thought *once* was bad. (Had shingles. I recommend NOT getting it, even as mildly as I did.)
Here is the CMAJ article: http://www.cmaj.ca/site/misc/pr/26nov12_pr.xhtml
It mentions three others: Other citrus fruits such as Seville oranges, often used in marmalade, limes and pomelos also contain the active ingredients (furanocoumarins). I think Seville oranges are also called bitter oranges.
The Toronto Star article has a bit more detail: http://www.thestar.com/living/health/article/1293243–grapefruit-leads-to-overdose-when-combined-common-drugs-study-finds
Hmm, I also take Plavix, so I guess I’d better give up my love of grapefruit 🙁
Thanks, Pholy, I read the article. The word, furanocoumarin reminds me of the drug, coumaden, which is a blood thinner, if I’ve spelled the latter correctly from memory.
It sounds like it’s whatever makes them bitter.
(I don’t mind grapefruit, but it has never been very high on my list of fruits. Fresh ripe mandarins, yes!)
Here is a quite good link to the “grapefruit effect”, good ole Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grapefruit_drug_interactions
That article does not mention Seville Oranges, so read this–there are other bio-active agents:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seville_oranges
Not just marmalade, how about Bergamot oil in Earl Grey Tea?
OK, most people probably don’t drink enough Earl Grey, but undoubtedly there’s someone somewhere that abuses it, remember the colloidal silver “Blue Man”?
Alright, I confess!
I’m one of those people for whom “looking something up” can be extremely distracting! I can’t help following this or that “red-herring”. The grapefruit effect led me to “Carminative”, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carminative
And that brought to mind the blend of herb seeds (fennel, caraway, etc.) that is usually available in Indian Restaurants. I can’t remember the name of that recipe. Any help out there?
Garam masala?
I don’t think so. Thought that was for cooking. The thing I’m thinking about is usually found by the cash register for patrons as they leave, in a bowl w/ spoon. Spoon 1/8-1/4t into your hand, pop it into your mouth and chew. Also a breath freshener I suppose.
No-o-o-o, I don’t think so. Garam masala is a spice blend primarily for flavoring; I use it in butter chicken. It’s like Chinese 5-spice powder. Maybe the term you’re looking for is digestif? The German version is called Underberg, it comes in tiny bottles and is an herbal liqueur you take when you’ve overindulged. A good thing to have around during the holidays!
I think digestif is the purpose. But, I checked the term, brandy could be taken as a digestif. That’s a class noun.
I don’t do Indian cooking, except curry; it’s quite time-consuming to go from scratch, the kind of cuisine that keeps you busy for hours and has quite a lot of futz-factor.
OTOH, I love eating it!
Apropos of dangerous things…
I’ve got about 1/2A of UCUT Xmas trees by the house. As one of them was cut, a couple of Amanita mushrooms were exposed. Looks like a BK Whopper bun with sesame seeds, if not a little larger. Very impressive! (Went through four pages of Google Images looking for one comparable, and nothing matches.)
Aha! Thank you Google — the term is MUKHWAS, lit. breath freshener. They come in a number of formulations.
Note: do NOT fry those babies up with your eggs and bacon!
Thanks!
People have experimented with their hallucinagenic powers for centuries! There’s another little patch of white ones on thin stalks that looks a bit like Destroying Angel! “Midsommer Murders” was it?
Simvastatin or Zocor isn’t the only interaction with grapefruit — fruit or juice. Quite a few blood pressure meds do to, particularly beta blockers. Be very, very sure to read the pamphlets when you get your meds!
@Paul: AFAIK pan masala, but I’d advise against taking it. I know it as being offered losely, mostly near the exit. Usually it contains lots of sugar, and I can imagine that a lot of e. coli are waiting there for me (just think of the people not washing their hands …)
BTW, indian cooking is much easier to do than most other cuisines, you just have to have the spices (transfered back about three centuries I’d probably be able to buy a castle with my spice collection), and it’s quite healthy, especially in ayurvedan style.