Unshelved by Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum
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Wednesday, January 10, 2007

One day not too long ago

it suddenly occured to me that Fresca has grapefruit juice in it. Not a lot, I'm sure, but then I got to wondering, 'doesn't grapefruit juice affect certain drug processes?', and 'aren't I on a slew of drugs?'

So I did a little digging (foregoing Fresca for awhile). Apparently scientists funded by the NIH have found the culprit in grapefruit drug interactions, and it may may help juice produces remove the offending chemicals, called furanocoumarins. These inhibit the CYP3A4 enzyme in the small intestine that helps break down about half of all marketed drugs. As a result, more of the drugs enter the blood stream, resulting in doses that are too high.

Want to know if your drugs interact with grapefruit juice? Try:

Drug Interaction Center, from the University of Florida

Grapefruit-Drug Interactions by Dean Elbe, BScPharm (the site hasn't been updated for awhile, but has a listing of drugs known to be affected and those suspected)

Grapefruit Juice and Drug Interactions from the Mayo Clinic

Facts about potential drug interaction with grapefruit juice, Questions and Answers from Medical News Today

I'm only on one that's listed, but that's in the 'possible--more studies needed' category. I used to be on one with a strong interaction, so that's good to know if I ever have to go on that again. I haven't had any adverse effects with my present course of therapy. The amount of grapefruit juice in the soda is probably negligable, so I don't think it should be a problem for me. (And I don't tend to eat grapefruit of drink the juice, although I like it on occasion). Still, it would be a good question for Dr Nesbitt or a friend who's a pharmacist next time I see them. In the meantime, I thought I'd put up the links just in case someone was looking for information on this topic.

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