Grapefruit with Lipitor

[Andrew07]

I was just browsing thru the "favorite snacks" thread from several days ago, and came across the information regarding complications with Lipitor and grapefruit. My mother had a heart attack over the holidays, and among her dozens of new medications, she's been prescribed Lipitor. She does not eat grapefruit, but our family's favorite soda, Diet Squirt does contain grapefruit extract. Also, they've been eating a lot of Cuties (not sure if this is available across the U.S., but i believe they're tangellos, an orange/grapefruit hybrid) that she'll need to cut from her diet as well... So I just wanted to say thank you MacRumors community!

 

[xboxer75010]

I was able to find this hope it helps:

http://www.healthcentral.com/cholesterol/c/question/26662/28959

Grapefruit juice blocks the enzyme that the body uses to metabolize Lipitor. If a patient who is taking Lipitor drinks grapefruit juice, the level of lipitor in the blood can increase. If too high, this could lead to muscle problems and possibly kidney failure. One study demonstrated that drinking grapefruit juice four times a day increased the lipitor as much as 83 per cent!

Squirt soda has grapefruit juice - about 1 per cent, which means you would have to consume 100 ounces of Squirt to get 1 ounce of grapefruit juice, which is not a great quantity, but none the less, may have some contribution to lipitor metabolism.

This is something you need to discuss with your doctor. If Squirt is a mainstay of your daily intake, other statin medication could be considered. Your doctor will help you decide what is best for you.

I hope this information has been helpful.

Martin Cane, M.D.

 

[benflick]

Someone else drinks Squirt?

 

[Andrew07]

Thank you for the link, xboxer75010

Both of my parents are Type I juvenile diabetics, so we've always had diet soda in the house. I don't think I've introduced Diet Squirt to anyone who hasn't instantly fallen in love with it. I think they put something in it to make you crave it fort nightly

 

[benflick]

Thank you for the link, xboxer75010

Both of my parents are Type I juvenile diabetics, so we've always had diet soda in the house. I don't think I've introduced Diet Squirt to anyone who hasn't instantly fallen in love with it. I think they put something in it to make you crave it fort nightly

I've been drinking Squirt since I was little, it's too hard to find these days