Question: Should grapefruit be avoided by all people who take statins?

Dr. Hibberd's Answer:

Yes. Both grapefruit and grapefruit juice should be avoided by all users of statin medications and those who use drug combinations containing statins. Remember to check the side of canned and bottled soft drinks for added grapefruit juice.

Grapefruit and grapefruit juice will prolong the half life of statins and other medications that are metabolized by the liver. This delayed metabolism will permit toxic accumulation of statins and other drugs. Major side effects and even death may occur in some patients.

The list of drugs affected by grapefruit is long. It includes a number of antihistamines (astemizole, terfenadine), all statins (Lipitor, Mevacor, Zocor, Pravachol, Lescol, and Crestor), and all all statin combo drugs (Vytorin, Caduet, and Advicor).

In addition, immune suppressants (cyclosporin), dextromethorphan, methadone, OxyContin, midazolam, caffeine, and even sildenafil (Viagra), as well as many chemotherapy agents, should be avoided.