Grapefruit Juice Mixed With Prescription Drugs Can Be Deadly

Many prescription drugs have severe side effects when they are mixed with grapefruit juice, and the number of these medications is rapidly growing, however, doctors are often unaware of the side effects, according to a new study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ).

Serious side effects of mixing grapefruit juice with certain prescription drugs include:

• respiratory failure
• gastrointestinal bleeding
• bone marrow suppression in patients with weak immune systems
• renal toxicity
• acute kidney failure
• sudden death
• According to the new findings, over 85 different medications may have interactions with grapefruit, and 43 can have harmful effects. Seville oranges, which is found in marmalade, as well as limes and pomelos have the active ingredients, or furanocoumarins - substances which naturally occur in grapefruit. They irreversibly inhibit the drug metabolizing CYP3A4 enzyme that inactivates the effects of approximately half of all medications.
  
  Medications that mix with these substances have three traits:
  • They are given as oral drugs.
  • They possess very low to middle bioavailability (the percentage of the oral dose of the medication which is soaked into the blood circulation unaltered).
  • They go through drug metabolism in the gastrointestinal tract by CYP3A4.
  For low bioavailability drugs, consuming just one grapefruit can multiply the dosage effect of that medication several times, and this interaction can take place regardless of whether the grapefruit was eaten hours before the drug was taken. Therefore, a moderate amount of grapefruit can impact interacting medications which are taken only once a day at any hour during when the dose is taken.
  
  Taking regular amounts of medications on a daily basis can increase side effects. For example, when Simvastin, a popular statin, is mixed with one 200-mL glass of grapefruit juice for 3 days, it results in a 330% systematic concentration of the medication in comparison with water.
  
  Adults over the age of 45 are the most common buyers of grapefruit and also tend to be prescribed the most medications. The population of adults over 45 is extremely large, therefore, many of these interactions are likely to occur. The report notes that older adults are more likely to have decreased capability to endure extreme systematic drug concentrations, making them more likely to experience these adverse effects. 

The "Dirty Dozen" and The "Clean Fifteen"

This list just out from the Environmental Working Group. Foods with the highest and lowest pesticide residues...the worst offender..Apples.


Conventional farmers use an arsenal of pesticides to protect their crops from insects, bacteria, rodents, molds, and fungi. These substances can end up in the food supply. Washing and peeling fruit and vegetables can lower pesticide residues, but not necessarily. When the USDA tests for pesticides, they wash and peel fruit the same way a typical consumer would.


Can't afford Organics? Try looking for locally grown but do not despair. The EWG made this statement: if families simply select the daily recommended five servings of fruit and vegetables from the "Clean Fifteen" list over five from the Dirty Dozen, they would reduce the amount of pesticides ingested by 92% - without having to shell out extra money for organics.


Buy the produce on the Dirty Dozen organically grown if possible...


The Dirty Dozen 2011

1. Apples
2. Celery
3. Strawberries
4. Peaches
5. Spinach
6. Nectarines (imported)
7. Grapes (imported)
8. Sweet bell peppers
9. Potatoes
10. Blueberries (domestic)
11. Lettuce
12. Kale/collard greens

And the Clean Fifteen 2011

1. Onions
2. Sweet corn
3. Pineapples
4. Avocado
5. Asparagus
6. Sweet peas
7. Mangoes
8. Eggplants
9. Cantaloupe (domestic)
10. Kiwi
11. Cabbage
12. Watermelon
13. Sweet potatoes
14. Grapefruit
15. Mushrooms

Tangerines, Grapefruits, Diabetes and Healthy Blood Vessels.

What's the connection? Well in an animal study in Ontario a substance found in tangerines guards against obesity and offers some protection against diabetes and blood vessel disease. The substance is called nobiletin and it protected against insulin resistance and  blocked arteries in animals fed a high fat high sugar diet.


Two groups of mice were fed the Western diet but one group also got supplemental nobiletin. The mice without the tangerine compound became obese and developed signs of metabolic syndrome—high insulin and glucose levels, elevated cholesterol and triglycerides, and a fatty liver—all of which increase the risk of developing diabetes and heart problems such as cardiovascular disease (CVD). The second group of mice whose diet included nobiletin didn’t experience an increase in insulin, glucose, triglycerides nor cholesterol, and gained weight normally. Researchers said nobiletin protected the mice from obesity and prevented fat buildup in the liver. 

Another citrus favorite, the grapefruit, has shown promise in weight management and diabetes; although, the research on nobiletin in tangerines is showing it’s more potent than naringenin from grapefruit. 

Read the abstract from the journal "Diabetes" here.

A salad that can help stabilize your blood sugar.

Grapefruit and Cranberry Salad

Grapefruits are loaded with vitamin C but they also have an antioxidant, naringenin that appears to cut the risk of developing insulin resistance.

Spinach is a great source of magnesium which helps to stabilize blood sugar levels and relaxes your muscles.

Ingredients

• 2 red grapefruit
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons minced scallions
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 8 cups torn butter lettuce
• 6 cups baby spinach
• 1 14 oz can hearts of palm drained and chopped
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries
• 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts*

12 servings

Remove the skin and the pith from the grapefruit with a sharp knife. Cut the segments from their surrounding membranes. Cut the grapefruit segments in half and place them in a large salad bowl.

Squeeze the membranes and the peel over a small glass bowl to collect at least 2 oz grapefruit juice.  Add to that juice the oil, scallions, vinegar and salt and pepper. Whisk them together to form a grapefruit vinaigrette.

Add the lettuce, spinach and hearts of palm to the salad bowl with the grapefuit segments. Just before serving toss the greens with the vinaigrette until evenly coated and garnish with the cranberries and pine nuts.

*toast the pine nuts in a small skillet over low to medium heat until light golden brown...watch them closely they burn rather easily.

** Caution Grapefruit and grapefruit juice can cause elevated levels of certain medications. If you take prescription medications check to see if you can safely have grapefruit. Cholesterol medications and blood pressure medication cannot be taken with grapefruits or grapefruit juice. Also you must be careful mixing grapefruit with some psychiatric drugs.