Erectile Dysfunction

"There are only a few drugs in each of those categories that are affected," said Melinda Martin, a registered dietician at Huntington Hospital.

"So there are plenty of other medications a person could take that would not interact with grapefruit." Martin said that no grapefruit products are served at Huntington Hospital.

Even as little as an 8-ounce glass of grapefruit juice could last from 24 to 72 hours in the body, she said.

The grapefruit stands almost alone in its effect on the body's enzymes.

But researchers have found that the Seville orange, a bitter orange used primarily in marmalade, also can have a similar effect.

Martin also advises patients not to eat tangelos, a hybrid form of grapefruit.

There is ongoing research into the grapefruit effect.

Dr.

David Greenblatt, a clinical pharmacologist at Tufts University School of Medicine, has been involved in grapefruit research with both industry and government funding.

At Tufts, he is looking into a variety of drugs to determine if they may be affected by grapefruit, and researching ways to reduce or eliminate that effect.

Greenblatt said there are a great many variables among the drugs and the people taking them.

He said most clinical studies refer to grapefruit juice rather than pulp, because it is difficult to standardize the injestion of pulp.

Some media reports have exaggerated the danger, he said, adding that doctors and pharmacists regularly disp...

Read more...