Grapefruit juice can kill you

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Grapefruit juice is a healthy drink that contains a large amount of vitamins and minerals. However, if mixed with the wrong medication, the fruit can be potentially deadly.

A growing body of research has shown that grapefruit contains high concentrations of so-called furancoumarins, which can reduce or, conversely, increase the absorption of certain medications. This leads to dangerously low – or, more often, dangerously high – levels of medications in the human body.

“Grapefruit juice helps more drugs enter the bloodstream. When the levels of the drug in your blood are too high, you may experience side effects,” said pharmacologist Shiu Mei Huang of the China Food and Drug Administration.

Here’s how it works
Your body produces an enzyme called cytochrome P450 3A4 (or CYP3A4), mainly in your liver and small intestine. This enzyme helps your body break down and eliminate small foreign molecules, such as toxins or medications. It plays a crucial role in the metabolism of many drugs.

However, a glass of grapefruit juice reduces the production of the CYP3A4 enzyme, which in turn prevents the body from metabolizing certain oral medications. More of the drug enters the bloodstream and stays in the body longer, causing an overdose effect even if you take the correct dosage. And the list of medications is quite long, from cholesterol and blood pressure medications to cancer drugs and antidepressants.

The consequences can be quite dramatic. Rapid heartbeat, muscle breakdown, bone marrow toxicity, shortness of breath, gastrointestinal bleeding, and kidney failure are all complications of some drugs that are affected by furancoumarins. And in extreme cases, these interactions can be fatal.

If you take certain medications, you don't have to cut grapefruit juice or the fruit itself out of your diet like you're a vampire and grapefruit is holy water. But it is worth consulting with a doctor about potential side effects.

Or you can simply wash down the medication with water.