Interesting comments on Orange Peels within

[Guest guest]

By Kelli A. Miller

WebMD Medical News Reviewed By Brunilda Nazario, MD

on Tuesday, August 24, 2004

 

Aug. 24, 2004 -- Self-proclaimed " miracle " diets claim grapefruit can cause

unwanted pounds to fall right off.

The low-carb conscious say citrus fruits are a no-no when it comes to losing

weight.

Doctors have long warned that grapefruit juice can interact in a dangerous

fashion with certain prescription medications, such as blood pressure drugs.

Are citrus fruits good or bad for you?

The citrus controversy has led to a decline in the consumption of such fruits

as the public is left wondering whether or not they do the body good. Now,

emerging (albeit early) evidence shows that oranges, grapefruits, even

tangerines have the power to fight life-threatening diseases such as cancer,

obesity,

and high cholesterol.

Researchers from around the world presented the findings during a two-day

symposium at the 228th national meeting of the American Chemical Society this

week in Philadelphia.

Among the highlights:

Compound in citrus fruits may prevent colon cancer. Citrus fruits are rich in

cancer-fighting compounds. Nancy D. Turner and colleagues from Texas A & M

University reported that feeding freeze-dried grapefruit pulp (with properties

similar to whole grapefruit) reduced the number of precancerous lesions of the

colon in lab rats made to have colon cancer. Rikako Suzuki of Kyoto University

in Japan extracted the cancer chemopreventative compound nobiletin from citrus

fruit and found it helped prevent colon cancer in animal studies.

 

 

Grapefruit does work for dieters. The grapefruit diet has had its critics,

but there is some science to back up the idea after all (although a diet

consisting only of grapefruit is still considered extreme). Scripps Clinic

scientist

Ken Fujioka presented findings from a 12-week study examining how grapefruit

and grapefruit products affected the weight and metabolism of 100 obese

patients. At the end of 12 weeks he concluded that eating grapefruit does

promote

weight loss. He also says that people with the metabolic syndrome respond to

both

grapefruit juice and grapefruit. They say the weight loss attributed to the

eating or drinking of grapefruit juice may come from a lowering of insulin

level seen in people with the metabolic syndrome. High levels of insulin are

linked to weight gain. Patients who ate a half a grapefruit or drank grapefruit

juice with every meal lost 3.6 and 3.3 pounds, respectively. Some patients lost

more than 10 pounds.

 

 

You can judge a fruit by its cover. Orange and tangerine peels (and not the

fruit inside) interested scientists at the USDA and KGK Synergize, a Canadian

nutraceutical company. They demonstrated that compounds called polymethoxylated

flavones (PMFs) found in the peels of oranges reduced 'bad' LDL cholesterol

levels by 32% to 40% in hamsters that had high levels of blood cholesterol.

Reductions in other blood fats were also seen in the experiment.

 

 

Turning interactions into an advantage: Studies show that grapefruit juice

can interact in a potentially dangerous way with certain medications, especially

heart, blood pressure, antibiotics, and HIV antiviral medications. Grapefruit

juice affects their metabolism, creating increased levels of the drug in the

blood, which can have serious consequences. Texas A & M Citrus Center

researchers identified three compounds in grapefruit juice that can turn off a

key

enzyme (CYP3A4) responsible for metabolizing drugs. The scientists envision

these

enzyme blockers in grapefruit-juice compounds being turned into a " super pill. "

When combined with many medications they can reduce the doses and costs of

these drugs.

 

 

Grapefruit juice helps smokers lower cancer risk: Obviously, the best way for

smokers to reduce their risk of cancer is to stop smoking. However,

researchers at the University of Hawaii say three 6-ounce glasses of grapefruit

juice a

day may help smokers fight off cancer. The small controlled study of 49

smokers showed that a thrice-daily dose of grapefruit juice slowed activity of

CYP1A2, a protein which helps activate the cancer-causing substances found in

tobacco smoke.