Why is grapefruit the ultimate supervillain to prescription medications?
In: 7
Grapefruits (and their juices) contain chemicals called furanocoumarins. These chemicals happen to block an enzyme in our bodies that process a lot of foreign chemicals that entire our bodies, like the kind of chemicals make up many medications. The result is that this enzyme isn’t available to process the medication, so depending on exactly how the medication works, you can end up with either too much in your body, which can be toxic, or not enough, and it won’t do what it’s supposed to.
Basically, our stomach says, “Grapefruit too spicy!” And then, certain medications bum rush the gates.
Additional question: In the abescence of medication, does furanocoumarins blocking the enzyme have any beneficial, or negative, effect?
Simplistically are grapefruits good for you, bad for you, or neutral?
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