Can You Drink Orange Juice on Ritalin? Yes, Here's Why
The Big Picture
Consuming orange juice significantly impacts the effectiveness of Adderall and Vyvanse - making them less effective but OJ has no effect on Ritalin and Concerta. It comes down to how each medication works once in your body.
In Depth
Vitamin C (found in orange juice) is particularly good at turning the urine acidic. Once urine is acidic, the kidneys filter out amphetamine-based medications, like Adderall and Vyvanse; they get trapped in the urine and cannot be reabsorbed, ending your dose prematurely. Whereas Ritalin and Concerta (methylphenidate) can be filtered and reabsorbed by the kidneys many times, only finally being removed once the liver breaks them down—staying in the blood and crossing into the brain many times before the liver breaks them down.
The Science
Acidifying agents such as Vitamin C act as double interactions that impacts both absorption and metabolism. Greatly reducing efficacy.
Ritalin and Concerta have a different mechanism of delivery; unlike Adderall, they do not rely on being recycled in the kidneys. Instead, liver enzymes convert the drug into ritalinic acid immediately. Because ritalinic acid is inactive - its eventual removal by the kidneys has no impact on the medication's effects.
