It is not advisable to consume any grapefruit or grapefruit juice with the statin simvastatin. Whether it is safe to consume grapefruit or grapefruit juice while taking statins depends on the statin and the person’s specific condition.īefore consuming any grapefruit products, people taking statins should discuss with a healthcare provider whether it is safe for them.

In rare cases, this condition can lead to death. However, if healthcare providers can treat rhabdomyolysis, it is possible for them to prevent or reverse complications in the body. She experienced rhabdomyolysis after eating grapefruit daily for 10 days. One case report involved a 40-year-old female who was taking the statin simvastatin. In addition, some people who are experiencing an interaction between grapefruit and statins may experience mild muscle damage that may appear as myalgia. However, people with this condition may not experience all three. There are three main symptoms a person with rhabdomyolysis may experience: This can cause muscle cells to leak their contents into the bloodstream, leading to elevated levels of protein in the blood.

It can occur when statin levels become too high in the blood.Ĭharacteristics of rhabdomyolysis involve damage to the body’s skeletal muscle tissue. This condition affects less than 0.1% of people taking statins. However, some varieties of citrus do not contain these interacting compounds, including navel oranges.Ī person taking statins can ask a healthcare provider what citrus fruits to avoid.Ĭonsuming grapefruit or grapefruit juice when taking statins comes with a rare but serious risk of rhabdomyolysis. In addition, other citrus fruits may contain compounds with similar interactions. Therefore, the body absorbs more statins than normal from the gut into the bloodstream.Īccording to one review by the research team that discovered the grapefruit-statin interaction, more than 85 drugs may interact with these compounds in grapefruit - not just statins. However, furanocoumarins, compounds that occur naturally in grapefruit, deactivate this enzyme, preventing it from breaking down statins.

This process normally lowers the amount of statins reaching the bloodstream. Normally, when a person consumes statins without grapefruit juice, the enzyme CYP3A breaks them down within the intestines and liver. Grapefruit and grapefruit juice can interact with some statins, leading to potentially dangerous results.Įssentially, compounds in grapefruit prevent the body from metabolizing statins normally, which increases their concentration in a person’s blood. Share on Pinterest Valentyn Irin/Shutterstock

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