Food and medication
Grapefruit and medication
Grapefruit and a few close relatives block an enzyme in the gut that breaks some medicines down, so more of the medicine reaches your blood. The effect can last more than a day.
28 medicines on our checker are affected, and for 23 the advice is to avoid it. Tap a medicine for every food and drink that matters with it.
Avoid grapefruit with these medicines
- Acrivastine · Benadryl Allergy Relief
Grapefruit juice makes side effects more likely with acrivastine.
Where this comes from
“Do not drink grapefruit juice when you're taking acrivastine. It might make you more likely to have side effects.”
Information from the NHS website - Amlodipine · amlodipine, amlodipine besylate, Istin
Grapefruit raises amlodipine levels and the chance of side effects such as dizziness and swollen ankles.
- Carbamazepine · Tegretol
Grapefruit juice increases plasma carbamazepine levels and your chance of side effects.
Where this comes from
“Drugs that have been shown, or would be expected, to increase plasma carbamazepine levels include aprepitant, cimetidine, ciprofloxacin, danazol, diltiazem, macrolides (e.g., erythromycin, clarithromycin), fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, trazodone, omeprazole, oxybutynin, isoniazid, niacinamide (nicotinamide), azoles (e.g., ketaconazole, itraconazole, fluconazole, voriconazole), acetazolamide, verapamil, ticlopidine, grapefruit juice, and protease inhibitors.”
US FDA drug label - Clopidogrel · Grepid, Plavix
Grapefruit juice decreases how well clopidogrel works to prevent blood clots.
Where this comes from
“Do not drink grapefruit juice while taking clopidogrel. Grapefruit juice decreases the effects of your medicine, so that it may not work as well to prevent blood clots.”
Information from the NHS website - Colchicine
Grapefruit juice can increase the amount of colchicine in your blood, which can be dangerous.
Where this comes from
“Do not drink grapefruit juice while taking colchicine because it can increase the amount of the medicine in your blood, which can be dangerous.”
Information from the NHS website - Corticosteroids · prednisolone, prednisone, dexamethasone
The NHS says not to have grapefruit with hydrocortisone tablets. Ask about your steroid.
- Diazepam
Grapefruit juice increases the risk of side effects with diazepam.
Where this comes from
“Do not drink alcohol or grapefruit juice while taking diazepam as it can increase the risk of side effects.”
Information from the NHS website - Felodipine
Grapefruit juice more than doubles the amount of felodipine in your blood.
Where this comes from
“Co-administration of felodipine with grapefruit juice resulted in more than 2-fold increase in the AUC and C max”
US FDA drug label - Fexofenadine · Allevia, Almerg, Histallay
Grapefruit juice reduces how well fexofenadine works. Do not drink it while taking this medicine.
Where this comes from
“Do not drink grapefruit juice, orange juice or apple juice while taking fexofenadine as these can reduce how well the medicine works.”
Information from the NHS website - Hydrocortisone tablets · Plenadren, Efmody, Hydrocortone
Grapefruit can change how hydrocortisone works and raise the risk of side effects, so avoid it.
Where this comes from
“Grapefruit can change the way hydrocortisone works and increases the risk of side effects.”
Information from the NHS website - Lercanidipine
Grapefruit changes how lercanidipine works in your body.
Where this comes from
“Do not eat grapefruit or drink grapefruit juice while taking lercanidipine.”
Information from the NHS website - Losartan
Grapefruit juice can stop losartan working properly.
Where this comes from
“avoid drinking grapefruit juice because it can stop your medicine working properly”
Information from the NHS website - Methadone · Physeptone
Grapefruit can make methadone side effects worse.
Where this comes from
“Eating grapefruit and drinking grapefruit juice can affect how your methadone works. It can make side effects worse.”
Information from the NHS website - Nifedipine
Grapefruit juice roughly doubles nifedipine levels in your blood, increasing side effects.
Where this comes from
“Coadministration of nifedipine with grapefruit juice resulted in approximately a doubling in nifedipine AUC and C max with no change in half-life.”
US FDA drug label - Oxycodone
Do not drink grapefruit juice while taking oxycodone.
Where this comes from
“Do not drink grapefruit juice while taking oxycodone.”
Information from the NHS website - Quetiapine
Do not drink grapefruit juice while taking quetiapine.
Where this comes from
“Do not drink grapefruit juice while taking quetiapine.”
Information from the NHS website - Sertraline
Grapefruit juice should be avoided entirely while you take sertraline.
Where this comes from
“Do not drink grapefruit juice while taking sertraline.”
Information from the NHS website - Sildenafil · Viagra
Grapefruit juice makes side effects more likely with sildenafil.
Where this comes from
“do not eat grapefruit or drink grapefruit juice because it can make it more likely you'll get side effects.”
Information from the NHS website - Simvastatin
Grapefruit juice can stop simvastatin working properly, so leave it out.
Where this comes from
“You can eat as normal while taking simvastatin, but avoid drinking grapefruit juice as it can stop the medicine working properly.”
Information from the NHS website - Statins · simvastatin, atorvastatin, lipitor
Grapefruit raises the levels of some statins (simvastatin, atorvastatin) and the risk of muscle side effects.
- Tadalafil
Grapefruit juice would likely increase tadalafil exposure in your body.
Where this comes from
“Although specific interactions have not been studied, other CYP3A4 inhibitors, such as erythromycin, itraconazole, and grapefruit juice, would likely increase tadalafil exposure.”
US FDA drug label - Verapamil · Securon, Verapress, Vera-Til
Grapefruit increases the levels of verapamil in your body and makes side effects worse.
Where this comes from
“Do not eat grapefruit or drink grapefruit juice while taking verapamil. This is because grapefruit can increase the levels of verapamil in the body and make the side effects of verapamil worse.”
Information from the NHS website - Warfarin · coumarin, vitamin k antagonist
The NHS says not to drink grapefruit juice while taking warfarin.
Take care grapefruit with these medicines
- Atorvastatin
Grapefruit juice can raise atorvastatin levels in your blood, so keep to 1 or 2 small glasses a day at most.
Where this comes from
“but avoid having too much grapefruit juice as it can increase the chance of side effects.”
Information from the NHS website - DOACs · apixaban, eliquis, rivaroxaban
Large regular amounts can raise DOAC levels a little. Occasional is fine.
- Eplerenone · Inspra
Grapefruit juice increases how much eplerenone reaches your blood.
- Lorazepam
It's best to avoid grapefruit juice with lorazepam as it can affect how the medicine works.
Where this comes from
“It's also best to avoid grapefruit juice or drinks containing caffeine, as these can affect the way the medicine works.”
Information from the NHS website - SSRIs · sertraline, fluoxetine, citalopram
Grapefruit can raise the levels of some SSRIs, such as sertraline. Keep it occasional.
Foods and drinks that count as grapefruit
- Grapefruit
- Grapefruit juice
- Pink grapefruit
- Pomelo
- Seville orange
- Marmalade
- Bitter orange
- Tangelo
- Minneola
- Ugli fruit
- Sweetie fruit
- Grapefruit soda
Similar foods that are fine
- Sweet orange: Ordinary sweet oranges do not contain the grapefruit compounds, so they are fine.
- Orange juice: Ordinary orange juice is made from sweet oranges and does not have the grapefruit effect.
- Satsuma: Satsumas do not have the grapefruit effect.
- Clementine: Clementines do not have the grapefruit effect.
- Tangerine: Tangerines and mandarins do not have the grapefruit effect.
- Lemon: Lemons do not have the grapefruit effect.
- Lime: Limes are not known to have the grapefruit effect in normal amounts.
Common questions
- Which medicines does grapefruit affect?
- 28 medicines on our checker: Acrivastine (avoid), Amlodipine (avoid), Carbamazepine (avoid), Clopidogrel (avoid), Colchicine (avoid), Corticosteroids (avoid), Diazepam (avoid), Felodipine (avoid), Fexofenadine (avoid), Hydrocortisone tablets (avoid), Lercanidipine (avoid), Losartan (avoid), Methadone (avoid), Nifedipine (avoid), Oxycodone (avoid), Quetiapine (avoid), Sertraline (avoid), Sildenafil (avoid), Simvastatin (avoid), Statins (avoid), Tadalafil (avoid), Verapamil (avoid), Warfarin (avoid), Atorvastatin (take care), DOACs (take care), Eplerenone (take care), Lorazepam (take care), SSRIs (take care).
- Which foods count as grapefruit?
- Grapefruit, Grapefruit juice, Pink grapefruit, Pomelo, Seville orange, Marmalade, Bitter orange, Tangelo, Minneola, Ugli fruit, Sweetie fruit, Grapefruit soda.
- Which similar foods are fine?
- Sweet orange: Ordinary sweet oranges do not contain the grapefruit compounds, so they are fine. Orange juice: Ordinary orange juice is made from sweet oranges and does not have the grapefruit effect. Satsuma: Satsumas do not have the grapefruit effect. Clementine: Clementines do not have the grapefruit effect. Tangerine: Tangerines and mandarins do not have the grapefruit effect. Lemon: Lemons do not have the grapefruit effect. Lime: Limes are not known to have the grapefruit effect in normal amounts.
General information from NHS medicine pages and drug labels, not medical advice. Always follow your prescriber, pharmacist or the leaflet with your medicine. How we check.