Grapefruit and grapefruit juice are popular breakfast treats, but you might want to skip them if you are taking medications.

Grapefruit interferes with many types of drugs, including heart medications, allergy pills, and cholesterol treatments.

Mixing medication with grapefruit can trigger overdoses in some cases, and in other instances, grapefruit causes patients to end up getting lower doses of the drugs they need.

If you are taking a prescription drug, you should read the safety information very carefully for any mention of grapefruit.

One woman in Washington State learned this lesson the hard way when she went on a grapefruit diet and nearly lost her leg due to a blood clot.

Doctors say the grapefruit led to a buildup of estrogen from her birth control pills, which resulted in the dangerous clot.

MANY types of drugs are affected by grapefruit.

The cholesterol-lowering medications called statins may trigger muscle disease when mixed with grapefruit.

Grapefruit can also cause problems with certain antidepressants, heart rhythm pills, allergy medications, and blood thinners.

Trouble arises because grapefruit and these medications share a common pathway in the body - when grapefruit is present, the drugs either can't do their job or they may build up to potentially toxic levels.

If you are unsure whether your medications mix with grapefruit, talk to your doctor. Even small amounts - if eaten every day - can cause big trouble when combined with the wrong drugs.

Source: published in the Lancet