Hi,lovely ladies ,just a quick question,I’ve just been reading about letrozole on the Macmillan website and it says avoid grapefruit and grapefruit juice! My onc never mentioned this to me or anything I should avoid . Has anyone heard of this? Are all citrus fruits to be avoided ?
Hugs to you all,Helen xx
Hi Helen, interesting q as I was just wondering the same… I’m on letrozole for the 2nd time having had 4 different chemos and several other treatments at various times.
As always, the mantra is, “ask your onc / BCN” but I hope it may be helpful to make some general comments (I worked on a food-science database before I retired).
There is a compound found in grapefruit, also in smaller amounts in Seville oranges (the bitter oranges used for making marmalade) which can interfere with the body’s ability to process many drugs. This compound is NOT found in other types of orange / citrus, and I don’t think it occurs in lemons or limes either. Citrus fruits in general have health benefits.
Hope this helps… and that you do well on letrozole. I tolerate it well, though I do have “letrozole-legs” - that heavy feeling on getting out of bed. A scan and blood tests are booked for later this month - see whether letrozole is still working for me.
Helen,
I’ve read this too but no one has mentioned it to me. I am not a fan of grapefruit so it’s not a problem. I love satsumas though!
I should imagine that as the specialist who wrote that on the Macmillan site is so specific. it just applies to grapefruit. Ask your Onc if you are worried. Or maybe a pharmacist.
I have a question is ruby red grapefruit ok to eat while on Letrozole . They don’t eat grapefruit but didn’t specify which one as I really don’t like the white. But I do however eat lots of oranges 1 every night. In October I also eat pomegranate.