I take cholesterol lowering drugs. I know grapefruits reduce its effect. Now I hear that also mineolas should not be combined. Is that right?
Joris Bartstra, journalist with a medical degree.
New. Medicines are broken down by enzymes that are mainly made in the liver. Grapefruit contains furanocoumarins: substances that inhibit the action of an enzyme that breaks down many medicines. Combining grapefruit with a statin (cholesterol inhibitor) therefore leads to a stronger effect of the drug. With simvastatin it is questionable whether that is a bad thing, because the lower your cholesterol the better, unless you get side effects such as muscle pain. It is recommended that you do not drink more than one glass of grapefruit juice per day while taking simvastatin. It is something to keep in mind with other, more risky medicines, but the pharmacist always puts this on the box. Because mineolas are related to the grapefruit, it has been investigated whether they contain many of those furanocoumarins. That turned out not to be the case.
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