Grapefruit and prescription drugs make a deadly equation

Grapefruit and prescription drugs make a deadly equation

(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

Source:-
http://www.naturalnews.com/038394_grapefruit_prescription_drugs_interaction.html