Citrus: Juicy and Affordable Power Foods

Interaction Between Grapefruit and Medications 

While we love citrus, there can be some challenges to eating or drinking these sweet-tart fruits. Grapefruit juice can interfere with some people's ability to break down some medications, including
. Statins (for cholesterol)
. Certain antiarrhythmic drugs
. Some calcium-channel blockers (for blood pressure)

This may increase the drugs' side effects, such as more muscle pain with certain statins, says Kathy Zaiken, PharmD, RPh, at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in Boston. Grapefruit can interact even if you ingest it several hours apart from medications. An occasional grapefruit or 8 ounces of juice may not be a problem, but some people are more sensitive to it.