Eating grapefruit with medicines 'can be deadly'

Although it was already known that some drugs are affected by grapefruit, the number has doubled in the last four years.

Grapefruit juice can interact with more than 85 oral medications, with about half of them potentially leading to severe even deadly consequences, finds a comprehensive research by the Western University in London, Ontario.

"Many of the drugs that interact with grapefruit are highly prescribed and are essential for the treatment of important or common medical conditions," researchers said in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Lead researcher David Bailey said that in the last four years, the number of medications with the potential to interact with grapefruit and cause severe adverse effects has increased from 17 to at least 43.

"Half of these drugs actually can cause sudden death," Bailey said, noting that interactions can result in acute kidney or respiratory failure, gastrointestinal bleeding or other serious effects.

Medications altered by grapefruit include highly prescribed cholesterol-lowering statins, some key heart drugs, and certain anti-psychotic and pain medicines.

That's because grapefruit contains a chemical that interferes with an enzyme that controls how drugs are absorbed through the intestines, resulting in a potentially toxic dose of medication.

"We know it boosts drug levels in blood. Now you're seeing so many drugs where the levels get boosted that the consequences are really quite dire," Bailey said.

Other citrus fruits that contain the chemical, at least to some degree, include limes, pomelos and Seville oranges, an

... contd.