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November 29, 2012 By Karen Stewartson
Answer: grapefruit juice
Grapefruit might be the new forbidden fruit. It turns out that when mixed with certain prescription and nonprescription drugs, the bittersweet pulpy potassium-loaded fruit can result in liver and kidney damage and even death. In July, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration posted a warning on its website about the adverse effects of grapefruit juice when mixed with medications, but grapefruit juice recently became a trending topic in Google's health section. But how is it dangerous? "The juice increases the absorption of the drug into the bloodstream,” said Shiew Mei Huang, acting director of the FDA’s Office of Clinical Pharmacology. “When there is a higher concentration of a drug, you tend to have more adverse events.”
Although the sweet tart citrus has many health benefits, it seems like it might be leaving an even sourer taste in consumers' mouths.
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I knew the answer, but didn't know why. So now I know what happens, but still no answer as to what in grapefruit is the culprit. The article states that they are rich in potassium, but is that the real cause or is there currently no known reason?
Scotty: It's the absorption of the drugs into the bloodstream that Dr. Huang describes. There's a compound in the fruit called furanocoumarins, which you can learn more about here http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/43420.php