The first two medications in this list are known as calcium channel blockers. However, the following four blood pressure medications should be used cautiously: Most types of blood pressure medicine are not affected by grapefruit. With that in mind, here is detailed information about 32 common medications that may interact with grapefruit, categorized by use. It’s significant: For a small number of drugs, grapefruit’s effects can be serious.Taking your medication a few hours apart from consuming it isn’t long enough. It lasts several days: Grapefruit’s ability to affect medication lasts for 1–3 days.It doesn’t take much: One whole grapefruit or one glass of grapefruit juice is enough to alter how these medications affect you.There are three things to know in order to understand if and how you can safely consume grapefruit with these medications. In fact, studies show that they increase the blood levels of over 85 medications ( 1).īy slowing down the way in which CYPs normally break down medications in your gut and liver, grapefruit can increase the side effects of these drugs ( 1). Grapefruit and a few of its close relatives, such as Seville oranges, tangelos, pomelos and Minneolas, contain a class of chemicals called furanocoumarins.įuranocoumarins disrupt the normal function of CYPs. Medications are processed in your liver and small intestine by a specialized group of proteins called cytochrome P450 (CYPs).ĬYPs break down medications, reducing the blood levels of many of them.

Grapefruit and medications