What is the role played by fruits and vegetables to control cholesterol?

Fruits and vegetables have no cholesterol. They have many antioxidants which could lower the bad LDL-cholesterol.

Avocados, olive oil and almonds reduce the bad LDL-cholesterol. These are fatty foods but the monounsaturated fatty acids present in them are good.

Vitamin C protects HDL, which cleans the arteries and with vitamin E it acts as antioxidant so that the oxidation of LDL-cholesterol will not take place and without oxidised LDL-cholesterol the arteries are clean. Two oranges will give you the enough vitamin C every day.

The apples are healthy, even a child knows it today, and it has a soluble fibre, pectin, which is responsible for the decrease of cholesterol. There are also other substances present which helps pectin. This effect is much higher in women than in men; women loose cholesterol almost 3 times more than men. Two apples can do well for a day.

Grapefruit is also a good food, it has a unique property of decreasing LDL-cholesterol but it can also reverse plaque which is already clogging your arteries. The soluble fibre found in grapefruit is galacturonic acid, but the juice does not have this fibre and so no effect on cholesterol.

But, if you take medicines you must be careful; grapefruit and juice can interfere with drug metabolism.

Carrots are good to decrease LDL-cholesterol and increase the good HDL-cholesterol. Pectin is one of the many soluble fibres present in carrots. Two average size carrots are enough per day to get the good effect. At the same time whether it is cooked or fried the effect of the fibre is there. Beta-carotene from carrots also increases the HDL cholesterol.

Onion is the best food to increase the HDL-cholesterol, but it must be raw. Cooked onions help in other ways to protect the heart. Half a raw onion per day is good.

Three raw or cooked garlic cloves a day can lower cholesterol. The substances in garlic reduce the production of cholesterol in the liver.

Can grapefruit juice interact with medicines in our body?

Grapefruit is rich in nutrients such as vitamin C and lycopene and other flavonoids. But, some chemicals from it interfere with the enzymes which metabolize certain drugs and thus large amount of the drug is accumulated in our body.

This increases the side effects of the medicines dramatically and bad for your health.

This interaction can happen if you eat the fruit or drink the juice. You should also avoid diet supplements where grapefruit bioflavonoids are present.

Tangelo is a hybrid grapefruit and Seville oranges, a bitter orange must also be avoided because these may have also the same side effects like grapefruit.

The drugs which have problems with grapefruit, Seville orange or tangelo include:

• Simavastin
• Buspirone
• Clomipramine
• Diazepam
• Triazolam
• Nifedipine
• Verapamil
• Saquinavir
• Indinavir
• Cyclosporine
• Tacrolimus
• Sirolimus
• Methadone
• Carbamazepine
• Sildenafil

The list is long. For further information consult your doctor or druggist.

Does grapefruit interfere with medicines which I take?

Grapefruit and its juice are rich in nutrients including vitamin C, lycopene and minerals. But phytochemicals present in the grapefruit or its juice could interfere with the metabolism of many drugs.

Grapefruit juice as well as its pulp could cause problems with several drugs because the phytochemicals present are also metabolized by the same enzyme in the liver like many drugs. If the body gets lot of grapefruit juice or pulp, the enzyme system is completely blocked; the liver is so busy with the metabolism of these phytochemicals that it cannot metabolize the drugs. The result can be very high levels of these drugs in the blood. It is a risk which could increase the serious side effects and this is bad for our health.

The list of drugs which have problems with grapefruit juice or pulp is long, more than 50 drugs from the following groups, drugs to treat depression, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, cancer, pain, allergies and impotence.

Avoid grapefruit juice or pulp when you take these drugs.

Pomelos and Seville oranges often used to make marmalade and compotes can also have the similar effect of interferring with drugs.

Take the advice of your doctor here and he can inform you clearly.