Grapefruit juice can
increase the blood levels of atorvastatin
. This can increase the risk of side effects such as liver damage and a rare but serious condition called rhabdomyolysis that involves the breakdown of skeletal muscle tissue.
What happens if you eat grapefruit while taking atorvastatin?
Grapefruit contains a chemical that can interfere with your body’s ability to break down or metabolize certain statin medications. When statin takers eat large amounts of grapefruit,
the level of statins in their blood can increase
, raising the possibility of side effects.
What foods should be avoided when taking atorvastatin?
While taking atorvastatin (Lipitor), avoid high-fat and high-cholesterol foods as part of your overall treatment. You should avoid
large quantities of grapefruit or grapefruit juice
, which can increase the risk of serious side effects. Also, avoid excess alcohol use, as this may cause serious liver problems.
Which fruit juice should be avoided while on treatment with statins?
If you have been prescribed a statin drug to treat high cholesterol, your healthcare provider or pharmacist may have advised you to avoid
grapefruit or grapefruit juice
while on treatment.
Why Does grapefruit juice affect statins?
Why? A: Certain classes of drugs — most notably statins — are
metabolized (broken down) in your intestines by an enzyme called CYP3A
, which normally reduces the amount of drug that enters your bloodstream. Grapefruit juice contains compounds called furanocoumarins that stop CYP3A from doing its job.
How much grapefruit is safe with atorvastatin?
The exact amount of grapefruit it takes to have a negative reaction when taking lovastatin, atorvastatin, or simvastatin is unknown. Just
one grapefruit or one glass of grapefruit juice
could be enough to cause an interaction in some people. Others may need to consume more of the fruit or juice to have an interaction.
Can you eat oranges while taking atorvastatin?
Seville oranges
, limes, and pomelos also contain this chemical and should be avoided if you’re taking statins.
Can I drink coffee with atorvastatin?
In this elegant study, they showed that a 3-day treatment with atorvastatin reduced infarct size, which was completely abolished by concomitant administration of caffeinated coffee, but not decaffeinated coffee, in the drinking bottle [7].
Can you take vitamin D with atorvastatin?
Interactions between your drugs
No interactions
were found between atorvastatin and Vitamin D3. This does not necessarily mean no interactions exist.
Who should not take atorvastatin?
Atorvastatin can cause the breakdown of muscle tissue, which can lead to kidney failure. This happens more often in women, in older adults, or people who have kidney disease or poorly controlled hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid). Atorvastatin is
not approved for use by anyone younger than 10 years old
.
Why you should never take statins?
Very rarely, statins
can cause life-threatening muscle damage
called rhabdomyolysis (rab-doe-my-OL-ih-sis). Rhabdomyolysis can cause severe muscle pain, liver damage, kidney failure and death. The risk of very serious side effects is extremely low, and calculated in a few cases per million people taking statins.
Do statins make you age faster?
Statins do have side effects
, all medication does to some extent. And some of those side effects reported could also be deemed to be signs of premature aging. Memory loss and weakness or fatigue are both listed under ‘uncommon side effects’ on the NHS website.
How much will 10 mg of atorvastatin lower cholesterol?
A 10 mg dose of atorvastatin and a 20 mg dose of simvastatin lower LDL cholesterol by about the same degree. This means that even though both are available in 80 mg tablets, your provider might decide that atorvastatin is better for you if your cholesterol is especially high.
What meds should not be taken with grapefruit?
Examples of common medications that interact with grapefruit juice include certain
statin cholesterol
drugs such as atorvastatin (Lipitor), lovastatin, simvastatin (Zocor), felodipine (Plendil) and other calcium channel blockers, clarithromycin (Biaxin), and loratadine (Claritin).
Can you drink grapefruit juice while taking a statin?
Statins are medicines that lower your cholesterol. Grapefruit or grapefruit juice affects some statins.
Do not drink grapefruit juice if you’re taking simvastatin
. Grapefruit juice increases the level of simvastatin in your blood and makes side effects more likely.
Why is grapefruit bad for high blood pressure?
Grapefruit
contains compounds that may interfere with how your body absorbs some drugs
, including some blood pressure medicines. It can leave too much or too little of the drug in your bloodstream, which may be dangerous.
