Tag Archives: grapefruit

Grapefruit may hold key to anti-obesity pill?

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Toronto: A substance found in grapefuit could become a key ingredient in fighting obesity and diabetes, according to a new study.

Naringenin, a flavonoid found in citrus fruit such as grapefruit which gives it its bitter taste , makes the liver burn fat instead of storing it.

But high concentrations, far more than is available in the fruit, would be needed to achieve fat-busting benefits. The chemical also helps balance insulin and glucose levels.

If it could be made into a tablet then it could help treat patients suffering from Type 2 diabetes, a main cause of heart disease.

Successful tests have already been carried out on mice by researchers at the Robarts Research Institute at the University of Western Ontario, in Canada, and published in the journal Diabetes.

Two groups of mice were both fed the equivalent of a Western diet to speed up their ‘metabolic syndrome’ – the process which leads to Type 2 diabetes in humans.

One of the groups ate food that had been treated with naringenin. The non-naringenin mice became obese, their cholesterol levels rose and their bodies became resistant to insulin, a hormone that regulates blood sugar levels.
The mice given the chemical did not suffer from these ailments, despite eating identical diets to the others.

Any rise in cholesterol-was corrected by the naringenin which also ‘reprogrammed’ their livers to burn fat rather than store it.

Lead researcher Professor Murray Huff added: ‘Furthermore, the marked obesity that develops in these mice was completely prevented by naringenin.
‘What was unique about the study was that the effects were independent of calorific intake, meaning the mice ate exactly the same amount of food and the same amount of fat.’ The team will now try to develop the chemical into a treatment for humans.

Note: anyone taking medication should be wary of eating grapefruit as it may interfere with the effect of drugs, such as as statins.

Extreme grapefruit diet may interfere with the pill

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New York: A woman who went on an intense grapefruit-based diet developed a blood clot in her leg and risked losing the limb, US doctors have reported.

The unusual case, written up in the Lancet medical journal, occurred in Washington state in November last year.

Medics concluded grapefruit had affected the way the 42-year-old’s body processed her contraceptive pill.

In November 2008, the woman came to the casualty department of the Providence St Peter Hospital in Olympia, Washington state.

The day before, she had gone on a long car journey, after which she felt pain radiating from her lower back down to her left ankle.

When she arrived at the hospital she was experiencing difficulty walking, shortness of breath, and light-headedness.By the next day her left leg had turned purple.

The woman was generally in good health but was slightly overweight and had decided to diet.

Three days before falling ill, she had begun a crash diet which included eating 225g of grapefruit each morning, after rarely eating the fruit in the past.

When doctors examined her, an ultrasound scan confirmed the woman had a large blood clot within the veins of her left leg, which stretched from her hip down to her calf and she was deemed to be at risk of losing her leg because of gangrene.

The woman was given clot-busting treatment and had a stent, a kind of tube, fitted in order to widen her vein.

The doctors treating her said a number of risk factors had contributed to the woman developing the clot.

She had an inherited disorder which increased her risk, as did being on the combined Pill. Being immobile in a car probably also contributed to the clot forming.

Writing in the Lancet, the authors led by Dr Lucinda Grande, called it a “constellation of potential risk factors”.

But they added: “The increased [oestrogen] serum concentration due to her three days of grapefruit for breakfast may well have tipped the balance.”

They suggest the fruit blocked the action of a key enzyme that normally breaks down the form of oestrogen in her contraceptive.

A spokesman for the Florida Department of Citrus – an executive agency of Florida government which markets, researches and regulates the state’s citrus industry, said: “The Lancet report looks to be inconsistent with published scientific studies which indicate grapefruit does not cause a clinically significant interaction with oral contraceptives.

“We are aware of no validated evidence that grapefruit affects oral contraceptives, and they are generally considered to be safe to consume with grapefruit.”

Grapefruit increases risk of breast cancer in older women

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Los Angeles: Grapefruit raises levels of oestrogen and could increae the risk of breast cancer by nearly a third, says a joint study from the universities of Southern California and Hawaii.

Raised levels of the mainly female hormone oestrogen have been implicated in an increased cancer risk for women.

According to the researchers, eating as little as a quarter of a grapefruit a day raises the danger by 30 per cent among older post-menopausal women.

This is the first report of a commonly consumed food that may increase the risk of breast cancer among post-menopausal women.

The report published in the British Journal of Cancer says: “Whole grapefruit intake was significantly associated with breast cancer in the present study generally a 30 per cent increase among women who consume the equivalent of one quarter of a grapefruit or more per day. There is evidence that grapefruit increases plasma oestrogen concentrations.

“Since it is well established that oestrogen is associated with breast cancer risk, it is plausible that regular intake of grapefruit would increase a woman’s risk of breast cancer.’ The study, carried out by the universities of Southern California and Hawaii, was based on more than 50,000 postmenopausal women from five ethnic groups, including 1,657 with breast cancer.”

A number of lifestyle factors are also linked to breast cancer risk. For example, alcohol. fat and junk food consumption are said to increase the risks.