Statins and fruits

[lantana]

In my case, it seems genetics trumps a healthy diet, good exercise, and all the other good behaviors I can muster. My LDL and total cholesterol are...let's just say...unacceptable on any scale. Yes, they are fluffy LDLs, but there are still too many of them. It hasn't always been this way, but it is now. Aging, oh well.

So, if I am recommended a statin, here is my concern. I love grapefruit when it is in season in the fall/winter. I eat it everyday for a month or two and then go on to something else. Many statins are a no-no with grapefruit and one doesn't work with pomegranate. Is anyone taking a statin that does work with grapefruit? And pomegranate?

And, to totally be a pest, are you taking Coenzyme Q10 in conjunction with the statin to protect the muscle function?

Thanks.

[wallycat]

There's a website that lists drugs and their interactions.
Alternatively, you can google and see if anything pops up.
You could also contact a pharmacist who specializes in drugs.

I thought tamoxifen interacted with pomegranate but after much research (I used pubmed.gov) it seems it is fine.

Each drug can use a different pathway for metabolizing it so that is the crux of what you need to find out.
Tamoxifen (estrogen blocker) uses the Cyp2d6. I am an intermediate metabolizer (genetic testing for alleles) and so didn't want to risk decreased effects.

Sometimes grapefruit actually makes the drug stronger. In that case, you might be able to cut the dose during grapefruit season---but that is tricky.

Good luck.

[HejazSunKat]

I'm on Lovastatin and there's always a warning about grapefruit on the side of my prescription bottle that I've been curious about but have never taken the time until now to investigate because I like grapefruit but don't love it so not eating it wasn't a big deal to me. I just googled statins and grapefruit and found the below which explains it pretty well:

http://cholesterol.about.com/od/stat...efruitstat.htm

Apparently timing of when you comsume the fruit vs. when you take the med is key though a related article I looked at about Zocor and grapefruit (my DH is on that) would seem to contradict that:

The time that you take one of these medications and the time that you eat grapefruit or drink grapefruit juice does not reduce your risk of drug-related side effects –- an interaction can happen up to three days after consuming grapefruit. This means that you cannot drink grapefruit juice in the morning and take your medication later in the day.

Why don't you just run your question by your doc? It seems some statins are not as effected by the interaction as others so if you're on one of the drugs that are listed as having a high likelihood of interaction then maybe he/she can switch you to another drug that would be just as effective and you can still get your grapefruit fix. I'm glad you asked this because it forced me to find out.