Grapefruit Juice And Metformin

[maverickuk]

Hi,

Can anyone tell me if it's OK to drink grapefruit juice shortly after taking Metformin. I have been doing this occasionally and found that my blood sugar goes up to higher than normal 2 hours later when doing glucose test. This was the only reason I could think of as to why my blood sugar was higher than normal after breakfast.

I Googled this and low and behold I have just read that you should not combine the two and I have also read that it does not matter. Suffice to say, I won't be combining them any more!

I would also like to take apple cider vinegar every day. Does anyone know if this affects Metformin?

Cheers!

 

[Totto]

I don't know about the combination of metformin and grapefruit juice but have never heard it could be a problem.

Carbs in general will raise your bg. There is a lot of sugar in grapefruit juice and possible in other of the food items you have for breakfast like bread or milk so a rise in BG is to be expected.
I usually have eggs and such for breakfast and it doesn't move my BG at all.

 

[dannyw]

Pretty sure it's fine. I think you may be getting confused with grapefruit juice and statins.

 

[Robbity]

The leaflets that come with my metformin tablets (and I've had several different brands!) don't have any warnings about not taking them with grapefruit. As dannyw says, if you take statins then you definitely must not eat grapefruit - and the information leaflet do warn against doing so.

Your pharmacist or doctor should be able to give you a definitive answer, so check with them.

Robbity

 

[rowan]

All fruit juice is high in sugar and will raise blood glucose. It's a big myth that fruit juice is healthy, it's worse than the actual fruit because it's more highly concentrated and doesn't have the benefit of the fibre in the fruit.

 

[millysue]

I drink Asda sparkling water with a small squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Black coffee or red wine.

 

[Daibell]

Yes, I think you are confusing stains with Metformin. The blood suagr rise is the sugar in the fruit jiuce. As iaibetics we need to avoid fruit juice oher than in small quantities

 

[millysue]

One of husbands heart tablet says not to have grapefruit. You need to read the slip of paper that comes with tablets. Or ask the pharmacy

 

[maverickuk]

Hi, thanks for your replies. I know about grapefruit juice and statins. Thankfully I don't have to take statins. Grapefruit juice is often touted as an alternative to metformin, which may be one of the reasons why they should not be taken together. I had breakfast an hour ago and so far feel fine. Yesterday I had stomach ache all day, but my blood sugar did decline to usual levels after my nutriblast lunch. Sadly I cannot face eggs for breakfast and far prefer my usual oats, with some nuts, a few cacao nibs, pumpkin seeds, maca, kefir and a good sprinkle of cinnamon. In case anyone is interested this is one of the places where I found out about the grapefruit/metformin issue: http://drmicozzi.com/insiders-cures-subscribers/truth-about-metformin

Is anyone finding any benefit from apple cider vinegar?

Cheers!

 

[rowan]

Grapefruit juice is often touted as an alternative to metformin

Often? I've not heard this in 10 years of being diabetic. How can drinking a juice high in sugar be a help to us?

 

[equipoise]

It says in your link:
'eating grapefruit may interfere with the effectiveness of metformin. So it’s best to avoid grapefruit (which you should be doing now, to help reverse the disease in the first place)'.
The bit in the brackets is the crucial bit -- as a diabetic you should be avoiding grapefruit juice anyway, regardless of any alleged (and unevidenced) interference with metformin

 

[CollieBoy]

The problem with grapefruit juice is that it competes with many drugs in the liver to be metabolized, hence varying the effective doses.

An example http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1873672/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1873672/
http://www.medicinenet.com/grapefruit_juice_and_medication_interactions/views.htm

 

[maverickuk]

#CollieBoy, well that explains it then. Today, I have had no stomach ache and my BS is down to normal 2 hours after breakfast. Yesterday, after grapefruit juice and breakfast and metformin, my BS was 3.5 mmol higher then at same time today. Grapefruit juice does seem to be something of an enigma. Apparently fresh orange juice is not so bad - and lemon juice with water is supposed to be excellent for you, first thing in the morning.

 

[alannon]

Hi, I have just started taking a grapefruit concoction in preference to statin usage. Using one entire grapefruit (all but the skin) a day. liquidised with cinammon, honey, ginger, and drinking 1/3 at each mealtime. As far as I am aware there is no contradiction with metformin and I would rather use natural to synthetic. As for the comments about sugar and carbs. Yes and yes. However, it is important to eat a balanced diet and swallowing sugar that is formed in fruit as opposed the processed you would eat in biscuits, sweets, chocolate and cake is by far superior and acceptable, within limits. Juicing a fruit does make it carb loaded, but by removing carbs from my lunch and supper meals, eg no bread at lunch and no potatoes at supper (I use cauliflower). It is about balance. It may be more time consuming to go "natural" where possible, but for me, that is what I prefer to do while can, at present.

http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/2474.aspx?CategoryID=73 Those who are worried about grapefruit can check this list.

 

[alannon]

Hi, thanks for your replies. I know about grapefruit juice and statins. Thankfully I don't have to take statins. Grapefruit juice is often touted as an alternative to metformin, which may be one of the reasons why they should not be taken together. I had breakfast an hour ago and so far feel fine. Yesterday I had stomach ache all day, but my blood sugar did decline to usual levels after my nutriblast lunch. Sadly I cannot face eggs for breakfast and far prefer my usual oats, with some nuts, a few cacao nibs, pumpkin seeds, maca, kefir and a good sprinkle of cinnamon. In case anyone is interested this is one of the places where I found out about the grapefruit/metformin issue: http://drmicozzi.com/insiders-cures-subscribers/truth-about-metformin

Is anyone finding any benefit from apple cider vinegar?

Cheers!

Hi, Some years ago I took 1tbsp Braggs cider vinegar...with the mother, (obtained via Amazon), and a teaspoon of honey with warm water before meals. The benefits were amazing. The arthritis I had became less inflammed, my immunity became stronger and I no longer had colds during the winter, it also helped me control my diabetes, removing the necessity for metformin, then, with good diet control, I could eat "normally" because my blood sugars got too low. Sadly, I was unable to swallow the stuff after a few years and got off track with everything. I am now back on Metformin and put on a horrible amount of weight. Have tried it again since. The colds and arthritis benefitted, but the diabetes did not, probably because I was not being focussed on that area at the time. If yu are going to use the vinegar please consider going for Braggs or an alternative, which has not be processed to deaden it.

 

[Oldvatr]

Hi, thanks for your replies. I know about grapefruit juice and statins. Thankfully I don't have to take statins. Grapefruit juice is often touted as an alternative to metformin, which may be one of the reasons why they should not be taken together. I had breakfast an hour ago and so far feel fine. Yesterday I had stomach ache all day, but my blood sugar did decline to usual levels after my nutriblast lunch. Sadly I cannot face eggs for breakfast and far prefer my usual oats, with some nuts, a few cacao nibs, pumpkin seeds, maca, kefir and a good sprinkle of cinnamon. In case anyone is interested this is one of the places where I found out about the grapefruit/metformin issue: http://drmicozzi.com/insiders-cures-subscribers/truth-about-metformin

Is anyone finding any benefit from apple cider vinegar?

Cheers!

I have not used this site before, so cannot vouch for its veracity,

http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/grapefruit-metformin-6250.html

See also related article on this
http://chs.ukzn.ac.za/News/09-10-22/LACTIC_ACIDOSIS_LINK_THREAT_FOR_DIABETES_PATIENTS.aspx

 

[LittleGreyCat]

Reading through this it is all very non specific.

Grapefruit can increase the uptake of Metformin in the liver. Metformin can increase lactic acid. Too much lactic acid is bad.

So how much do you need to cause a problem? No indication.

Another way of reading this is that grapefruit increases the effectiveness of Metformin so combining the two could reduce the amount of Metformin you need.

If you are on the maximum safe dose of Metformin then grapefruit does sound potentially risky if it causes you to effectively overdose. However I didn't see any information about how much grapefruit you needed to consume to have a significant effect.

The study was also on rats, not people.

 

[Oldvatr]

Reading through this it is all very non specific.

Grapefruit can increase the uptake of Metformin in the liver. Metformin can increase lactic acid. Too much lactic acid is bad.

So how much do you need to cause a problem? No indication.

Another way of reading this is that grapefruit increases the effectiveness of Metformin so combining the two could reduce the amount of Metformin you need.

If you are on the maximum safe dose of Metformin then grapefruit does sound potentially risky if it causes you to effectively overdose. However I didn't see any information about how much grapefruit you needed to consume to have a significant effect.

The study was also on rats, not people.

http://www.nhs.uk/news/2012/11November/Pages/Prescription-pills-and-grapefruit-a-deadly-mix.aspx
Maybe this link posted by @Struma in a parallel thread will at least show that this subject is now being taken seriously, It is early days, so proper research is not yet under way, but IMO it should follow soon.