# Med interaction with grapefruit? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 23, 2009, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/med-interaction-with-grapefruit/522262 "2009-12-23T01:05:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/med-interaction-with-grapefruit/522262/1 "2009-12-23T01:05:27Z")
Not sure if this is for here or cafe … please move it if it needs to be in cafe. We just got a little notice about getting gifted with [honeybell.com](http://honeybell.com) citrus hybrid fruits that are a combo of grapefruit and tangerine… Is it likely to affect mrAru like plain grapefruits? He is on lipitor and is not allowed grapefruit because of the interaction. I am hesitant to let him eat any of them unless there isnt enough of the chemical in a hybrid to tweak the meds. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/med-interaction-with-grapefruit/522262/2 "2009-12-23T01:26:30Z")
I found [this article](http://www.ars.usda.gov/research/publications/Publications.htm?seq_no_115=175058) suggesting that certain grapefruit hybrids cause no problems. This is not medical advice. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/med-interaction-with-grapefruit/522262/3 "2009-12-23T01:29:45Z")
Check with your doctor. I had read not to drink grapefruit juice with prozac, but Dr. Shrink said that it was okay for me to do so. You never know. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/med-interaction-with-grapefruit/522262/4 "2009-12-23T01:44:09Z")
I think we will play it safe and give them to someone else that will enjoy them … much as I would like to snarf them down myself, it wouldn’t be nice to not be able to share them with him. ---
**Author:** ![Serenata67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/serenata67/32/10646_2.png) [@Serenata67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Serenata67)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/med-interaction-with-grapefruit/522262/5 "2009-12-23T03:41:11Z")
I like grapefruit! I’ll take it! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Hirka\_T\_Bawa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/db5fbb/32.png) [@Hirka\_T\_Bawa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hirka_T_Bawa)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/med-interaction-with-grapefruit/522262/6 "2009-12-23T04:57:10Z")
I do not know how much grapefruit is in that product. However, I can help you on the interactions with Lipitor (Atorvastatin). Here is what Clinical Pharmacology says about the interaction: > [@](#): > > Food-drug interactions with atorvastatin include grapefruit juice. Grapefruit juice contains a compound that inhibits the CYP3A4 isozyme in the gut wall. Studies have reported that coadministration with grapefruit juice increases the peak serum concentrations and the AUC of lovastatin, and may have a similar effect on the serum concentrations of simvastatin, atorvastatin, and cerivastatin, all of which are CYP3A4 substrates. Grapefruit juice should be avoided in patients taking agents to avoid the potential for drug accumulation and toxicity (i.e., myopathy and rhabdomyolysis). To better understand what CYP3A4 means, read the 3rd post on this [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=544694). This thread also has more info on CYP3A4 interactions. The interaction between Grapefruit Juice and Liptor is concentration dependent. So, what really matters is how much grapefruit juice is in your product, and what strength Lipitor he is taking. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/med-interaction-with-grapefruit/522262/7 "2009-12-23T10:42:14Z")
> [@Hirka\_T\_Bawa](#): > > I do not know how much grapefruit is in that product. However, I can help you on the interactions with Lipitor (Atorvastatin). > > Here is what Clinical Pharmacology says about the interaction: > To better understand what CYP3A4 means, read the 3rd post on this [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=544694). This thread also has more info on CYP3A4 interactions. > > The interaction between Grapefruit Juice and Liptor is concentration dependent. So, what really matters is how much grapefruit juice is in your product, and what strength Lipitor he is taking. We already know the possible reaction, mrAru’s father made the mistake of continuing to eat grapefruit while on lipitor … he almost wiped out his kidneys :eek: which is why we are very careful! I sort of want to keep mrAru around for a while, I am sort of attached to him:D . Our roomie has already volunteered to throw herself on the b\o\m\b\honeybells and whisk them off to her studio and eat them to keep mrAru’s organs safe … =)