Thanks for the info regarding grapefruit and breast cancer.
Now, can you do the research necessary to clear up another fact/rumor/urban legend?
The story is that people who take Lipitor must not eat grapefruit. Consequently, most seniors who live in Sun City, AZ do not eat this wonderful fruit that grows in their back yard.
It is my belief that if you eat the grapefruit in the morning, and then take the Lipitor at night, there should be no conflict.
What do you think?
A: Dr. Gourmet Says....
The interaction between grapefruit and some medications is not an urban myth. It is a fact.
This has been known for some time and it wasn't until about 2 years ago that scientists identified the exact substance in grapefruit that causes the problem. We knew that furanocoumarins (a naturally-occurring substance found in grapefruit juice) had been found in laboratory tests to enhance the absorption of some medications, but lab tests are not the same as tests in human subjects.
A group of scientists created a furanocoumarin-free grapefruit juice to test against regular grapefruit juice and orange juice. Eighteen healthy subjects were recruited and given a medication that is known to be affected by grapefruit juice, along with a glass of either grapefruit juice, orange juice, or furanocoumarin-free grapefruit juice. Their blood was then drawn and analyzed for appropriate levels of the medication.
As they had suspected, it was indeed the grapefruit juice that contained furanocoumarin that had the most effect on medication levels. Sadly, furanocoumarin-free grapefruit juice is not available on the market, even though researchers noted that the furanocoumarin-free grapefruit juice tasted sweeter and less bitter than the regular grapefruit juice.
There's no research right now to confirm your theory that having the grapefruit in the morning and taking the medication later won't cause an interaction. While it is a good theory it's not proven and since these chemicals enhance absorption the grapefruit could very much change how much drug actually ends up in your body.
If you’re on any medications, you need to be sure to tell your doctor what other medications or supplements you’re using, as you can never be sure what might cause an interaction. Here's a partial list of the drugs that interact with grapefruit. The Center for Food-Drug Interaction Research and Education has a complete listing at http://www.druginteractioncenter.org
Thanks for writing,
Eat well, eat healthy, enjoy life!
Timothy S. Harlan, M.D.
Dr. Gourmet
PS: Here's more information about grapefruit and medications.
| Type of medication | Name (Brand name in parenthesis) |
| Anticoagulant | Warfarin (Coumadin) |
| Antibiotics | Clarithromycin (Biaxin) |
| Heart rhythm | Amiodarone (Cordarone) |
| High blood pressure (calcium channel blockers) |
Felodipine (Plendil) |
| High blood pressure Congestive heart failure (CHF) (beta blockers) |
Carvedilol (Coreg) |
Emphysema / Asthma |
Theophylline (Theo-dur) |
| Cholesterol lowering agent (Statins) |
Atorvastatin (Lipitor) Lovastatin (Mevacor) Simvastatin (Zocor) Simvastatin-ezetimibe (Vytorin) |
| Immunosuppressants | Cyclosporine (Neoral, Sandimmune) Tacrolimus (Prograf) Sirolimus (Rapamune) |
| Anti-HIV | Saquinavir (Fortovase, Invirase) Indinavir (Crixivan) |
| Anti-seizure | Carbamazepine (Carbatrol, Tegretol) |
| Antidepressants | Buspirone (BuSpar) Clomipramine (Anafranil) Sertraline (Zoloft) |
| Anti-anxiety | Diazepam (Valium) Triazolam (Halcion) |
| Cough | Dextromethorphan (in many cough syrups and lozenges) |
| Pain | Methadone |
| Impotence | Sildenafil (Viagra) Tadalafil (Cialis) |
How Much Vitamin K is in....?
There's an easy way to find out about the nutrition content of any food. Just use the USDA National Nutrient Database.
By entering an ingredient and following the steps this website will report the complete nutritional values of any ingredient and many prepared foods. The Vitamin K content is the last listing at the bottom of the Vitamins section. If it is not there, the food or ingredient that you searched on doesn't contain enough Vitamin K to be reported.