Grapefruit contains chemicals that interact with certain prescription drugs, causing them to be more potent. This has lead to adverse effects which include acute kidney failure, respiratory failure, internal bleeding and sudden death. While the risks of grapefruit have been known for years, it was previously believed that risks were only associated with a small number of prescription drugs. In 2008 the number of medications known to have adverse reactions when mixed with grapefruit was 17. That number has now grown to 43. Dr. David Bailey from Lawson Health Research Institute in London, Ontario, and his colleagues conducted research for the Canadian Medical Association Journal, finding that over 85 drugs can interact with grapefruit, and of these 43 can have serious side effects. These drugs include treatments for anxiety, depression, allergy, HIV infection, seizures, heart rhythm abnormalities and high cholesterol.

Dr. David Bailey and his team described the trend as “disturbing.” They added, “Unless healthcare professionals are aware of the possibility that the adverse event they are seeing might have an origin in the recent addition of grapefruit to the patient’s diet, it is very unlikely that they will investigate it. In addition, the patient may not volunteer this information. Thus, we contend that there remains a lack of knowledge about this interaction in the general healthcare community.”

[Via The Guardian]

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Claudia McNeilly writes for the Toronto Standard. You can follow her on twitter at @claudiamcneilly

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