Some statins (cholesterol-lowering drugs): lovastatin (Mevacor), atorvastatin (Lipitor), simvastatin (Zocor). (Other statins such as fluvastatin (Lescol), pravastatin (Pravachol), and rosuvastatin (Crestor) have little or no interaction with grapefruit juice .)
How much grapefruit is safe with statins?
How much grapefruit is ok while on certain statins? 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.
Can I eat grapefruit with pravastatin?
So, it’s safe to continue enjoying your grapefruit with pravastatin (Pravachol), rosuvastatin (Crestor), fluvastatin (Lescol), and pitavastatin (Livalo). If you love grapefruit or grapefruit juice and your provider recommends that you start taking a statin, one of these may be a good option for you.
Why can’t you eat grapefruit with pravastatin?
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 should you not take with pravastatin?
Do not take any red yeast rice products while you are taking pravastatin because some red yeast rice products may also contain a statin called lovastatin. Taking pravastatin and red yeast rice products together can increase your risk of serious muscle and liver problems.
Can I eat grapefruit in the morning and take Lipitor at night?
How much grapefruit is okay when taking statins like Lipitor? To be on the safe side, many researchers suggest you avoid consuming grapefruit entirely when taking statins such as Lipitor .
Can you eat oranges on statins?
Limit your consumption of grapefruit or switch to “ safe ” citrus fruits, such as blood oranges, clementines, lemons, limes, mandarins, navel oranges, and tangerines. Bitter oranges, pomelos, tangelos, and Seville oranges contain high levels of furanocoumarin and should also be avoided.
Can eating grapefruit clear arteries?
In one study, animals fed a high-cholesterol diet plus grapefruit pectin had 24 percent narrowing of their arteries, versus the control with 45 percent narrowing. In other words, the pectin binds to cholesterol and helps to remove arterial buildup. ... Pain: Grapefruit can help reduce pain .
What are the side effects of eating grapefruit?
It showed that grapefruit can increase these drugs’ effects, resulting in excessive drowsiness ( 12 ). Eating grapefruit while taking the mood-related medications above can result in heart rhythm changes, excessive sleepiness, and other drug-specific effects.
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.
What are the long term side effects of pravastatin?
- Arm, back, or jaw pain.
- chest pain, discomfort, or tightness.
- dark-colored urine.
- difficult or labored breathing.
- ear congestion.
- fast or irregular heartbeat.
- general feeling of discomfort or illness.
- muscle cramps, spasms, tenderness, wasting, or weakness.
Does pravastatin affect sleep?
The studies looked at three different statins: pravastatin, lovastatin and simvastatin. However, many doctors do hear complaints of insomnia and sleep disturbance from patients taking statins. The best explanation is the ‘nocebo’ effect – the opposite of the placebo effect.
Can pravastatin make you gain weight?
Some people may experience weight gain or weight loss while taking Pravachol. Both of these side effects were reported in clinical trials of the drug. If you’re concerned about your weight while taking Pravachol, talk with your doctor.
What fruit should be avoided if an individual is taking a statin medication?
Grapefruit and statins: Eating grapefruit, either the fruit itself or as juice, can slow the body’s ability to metabolize statin cholesterol-lowering drugs, which include Lipitor, Crestor and Zocor.
Why is grapefruit bad for heart patients?
Grapefruit juice may enhance drug toxicity for antiarrhythmic agents such as amiodarone, quinidine, disopyramide, or propafenone, and for the congestive heart failure drug, carvediol. Some drugs for the treatment of peripheral or central vascular disease also have the potential to interact with grapefruit juice.
Does grapefruit affect cholesterol medication?
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.
