Good News for Grapefruit Fans

By Sally Finder-Koziol

For almost a decade, doctors have warned that grapefruit juice and medications used to control high blood pressure and cholesterol might be a dangerous mix. That’s because something in grapefruit juice prevents an enzyme in the body from properly filtering the drugs, resulting in too much medication entering the bloodstream.

Flavonoids, which give grapefruit juice its bitter taste, have been taking the blame for the potentially dangerous juice-drug interaction. But a new study shows that a group of chemicals called furanocoumarins are the likely culprit.

Pinpointing the problem could open the door for med-safe sippers. “It should now be possible to market furanocoumarin-free grapefruit juice to patients who would otherwise need to avoid grapefruit,” says study author Paul Watkins, a professor at the University of North Carolina.

Source: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine