To me it’s interesting that grapefruit juice is listed as a “no no” while taking antidepressants/anti-anxiety medication.
I’ve looked into it and I still don’t understand. Can someone explain why you aren’t supposed to mix them? I’m only asking because I like a good Ruby Grapefruit White Claw once and a while…
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When I was prescribed Lipitor to help with my cholesterol levels I was told by my Dr to specifically avoid grapefruit juice.
I asked why and the response was it could trigger a higher than normal experience with the side effects of the drug.
That was enough for me. I missed my once in a while grapefruit but was happy to minimise any potential side effect risks.
Chemicals in the grapefruit inactivate enzymes in the liver that process drug molecules. This can mean that too much of a drug enters your system in the first place or that it’s broken down more slowly than expecting, allowing a toxic dose to build up, or (the strangest case) some drugs are given in a form that require those liver enzymes to turn it into the active drug, meaning you’d get *too low a dose* of such medicines as a result.
I made a video about this! [Three ways grapefruit can kill you](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJdU5VXo85M). 🙂
It’s not just mental health medication. It’s tons of medications and not because the juice interacts directly with the drug, it inactivates enzymes that metabolize many things which can alter the duration or the dosage you are taking.
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