Grapefruit is a common food on many diets, but if you are on Lipitor for cholesterol or are taking oxycodone for pain, you should think twice before digging in. Canadian researchers have now discovered that the number of drugs with the potential to be deadly when combined with grapefruit has soured from 17 to 43 in just four years. The reason? New drug formulations and chemicals added over the last decade to improve drug effectiveness.
Although scientists don’t know how common adverse reactions actually are, the toxic drug rush that can result from adverse grapefruit interaction can be severe: kidney damage, liver failure, or death. And it can take just one whole grapefruit or 6 ounces of grapefruit juice to cause a reaction.
Source: Men’s Journal, March 2013
