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Issue date: Oct. 23-25, 1998
Choose your juice wisely: The latest juice research
 Cranberry juice vs. cholesterol. Cranberry juice does more than
fight urinary tract infections. It's also good for your heart, say investigators at
the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. They found diluted cranberry extract reduced
the oxidation of bad LDL cholesterol. This makes such cholesterol less likely to
invade artery walls. Grapefruit juice amplifies drugs. If you take the
cholesterol-lowering drug lovastatin, better known as Mevacor, don't wash it down
with grapefruit juice. New research at the University of Helsinki has found taking 6
ounces of grapefruit juice with 80 milligrams of lovastatin dramatically boosted
blood concentration of the drug. Avoid taking grapefruit juice and the drug together,
or have your doctor lower the dose to compensate.
Grapefruit juice raises the risk of kidney stones. A Harvard
study has linked beverage intake with new kidney stones in 81,093
women. Women with the highest total fluid intake had a 40 percent
lower risk than women who drank the least. Here's how 8 daily ounces
of various beverages cut kidney stone risk: Caffeinated coffee decreased
risk 10 percent; decaf coffee, 9 percent; tea, 8 percent; wine,
59 percent! Grapefruit juice raised the risk of kidney stones 44
percent.
Next week: The best breakfast cereals.
SCIENTIFIC SOURCES FOR THIS COLUMN (10/25/98)
Cranberries Fight Cholesterol
Wilson, T., Life Sci 1998;62 (24): PL381-6
Grapefruit Juice's Drug-Kick.
Kantola, T., Clin Pharmacol Ther 1998 Mar; 63 (4): 397-402
Kidney Stone Antidotes
Curhan, GC, Ann Intern Med 1998 Apr 1;128(7): 534-40
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