Relationship of Grapefruit and Statins
Question: Should grapefruit be avoided by all people who take statins?
Dr. Hibberd’s answer to this question is available at the link above from NewsMax Health. In essence, he says “Yes”, both grapefruit and grapefruit juice should be avoided by all users of statin medications and those who use drug combinations containing statins. In addition, he says remember to check the side of canned and bottled soft drinks for added grapefruit juice. Evidently, grapefruit and grapefruit juice prolong the half life of statins and other medications that are metabolized by the liver. This delay will allow toxins to build up and cause major side affects. One side affect may cause death. Dr. Hibberd’s list of drugs affected by grapefruit includes a number of antihistamines (astemizole, terfenadine), all statins (Lipitor, Mevacor, Zocor, Pravachol, Lescol, and Crestor), and all all statin combo drugs (Vytorin, Caduet, and Advicor). In addition, immune suppressants (cyclosporin), dextromethorphan, methadone, OxyContin, midazolam, caffeine, and even sildenafil (Viagra), as well as many chemotherapy agents, should be avoided. |
