Within the small intestines, colon, and liver there are enzymes involved in processing pharmaceutical drugs.
💊These enzymes belong to a family called cytochrome P450. Grapefruit contains chemicals called furanocoumarins which can alter how the cytochrome enzymes function and increase the amount of the drug that remains in the body. 🧬
This may lead to greater risk of side effects of medication and can be very dangerous.☠️
🥤1 whole grapefruit or 1 glass of grapefruit juice is sufficient to cause a drug interaction with specific medications.
🧡Grapefruit is rich in vitamin C which has many of its own benefits but it’s still important to take precaution in consuming this fruit if you are unaware of its interaction with your prescriptions.💡
Bailey DG, Dresser G, Arnold JM. Grapefruit-medication interactions: forbidden fruit or avoidable consequences?. CMAJ. 2013;185(4):309–316. doi:10.1503/cmaj.120951
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