(19-02-13) Grapefruit and prescription drugs make a deadly equation

by Ben Meredith

(NaturalNews) For many people, a glass of grapefruit juice at breakfast is as
cemented into their daily routine as the steaming mug of morning coffee.
Unfortunately; however, research from a Canadian institute has been recently
released, and for some grapefruit lovers, the new information could cause a
change in their fruit choices.

The Lawson Health Research Institute in London, Canada has studied the effects
of mixing grapefruit juice with prescription drugs for decades. As recently as
2008, they had a list totaling 17 medications that shouldn't be taken with the
juice. Their current findings have now upped that number to 44 drugs.

Experts explain that certain medications react adversely to grapefruit juice
by processing in your body at a faster rate. While this may sound harmless,
researchers say it actually creates a significant increase in the drug's
potency. In some cases, the strength of certain medicines can be raised to a
point equivalent to the patient getting double the dose with each pill.

Furthermore, the researchers noted that the effects of the juice and
particular drugs vary in severity from patient to patient. Some drugs increased
in potency, as expected, but other drugs were actually weakened - a response
that could possibly render the medication useless to the person. Other symptoms
found in study participants were skin rashes, dizziness, headaches, breathing
troubles, and other symptoms as extreme as death.

One of the most alarming things is that a lot of the drugs on the "danger"
list are common prescriptions, such as everyday cholesterol medicines like
lovastatin and beta blockers like amlodipine (a heart medication). And, despite
these warnings from Lawson, the general health community still hasn't given the
matter due concern, thus leaving many patients in the dark about the possible
dangers.

Grapefruits aren't the only citric fruit with these dangerous possibilities.
Limes, Seville oranges, Minneolas, pummels, and sweeties are also chalked up to
the list because they contain the natural chemical called furanocoumarins. As
long as the juice is still in your stomach, the chemical stays alive in your
body, making it possible to mix your prescriptions with it for a while after
consuming the juice.

The research team plans to continue researching this topic, especially given
the striking increase of drugs that are developed and have these serious side
effects. Scarier still is that of the 27 drugs added to their list since 2008,
13 of them can potentially cause sudden death.

For a full list of the drugs found to be a dangerous mix with grapefruit, see:
http://www.consumeraffairs.com

Sources for this article include:

http://www.woai.com

http://www.kplctv.com

http://www.consumeraffairs.com

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In evidenza

"L'informazione presente nel sito serve a migliorare, e non a sostituire, il rapporto medico-paziente."

Per coloro che hanno problemi di salute si consiglia di consultare sempre il proprio medico curante.