By Anupum Pant
You won’t believe me if I said that a grapefruit can be lethal. It’s true and there’s absolute scientific proof that drinking a glass full of grapefruit with some drugs can cause some serious complications, and even sudden death.
The number of drugs that make a lethal combination with grapefruit was only 17 till a few years back, but the number is rapidly rising. In 2012 the number went up to 43.
Taking in these 43 drugs with a glass full of grapefruit juice can all have some serious side effects – ranging from stomach bleeds, altered heart beat, kidney damage and sudden death. Researchers say that taking a tablet of something with grapefruit juice can be as much as taking ten of them with water. So these drugs can easily reach toxic levels with this fruit’s juice. Also, it isn’t just grapefruit that has these effects. Even milk, orange juice, marmalade and lime can be lethal with drugs. However, not as much. So you definitely do not want to mix tablets with anything other than water.
Chemicals present in these fruits called furanocoumarins will wipe out an enzyme which breaks the drugs down. That means more of the drug goes through the digestive system without getting broken down. Much more than the body can handle.
You should know.
via [BBC]