Before and after
A publication in 1991 of a chance discovery by Dr David G Bailey from Ontario, proved that the “interaction and interference” of grapefruit could alter and increase the levels of a blood pressure drug called felodipine.1
Many labels on our pills and potions give specific instruction to take the medication before or after or with food or water, but how obedient are we to these words of wisdom when we know that the food or the drink is good and healthy for us too?
In today’s secular world, which is less dependent on God’s word and has more faith on the pills and potions that industry churns out and Doctors hand out to those seeking eternal life, there is still a need to be obedient.
Alcohol part
Since 1991 researchers “have learned that grapefruit juice interferes with the natural breakdown of many other medications, so that their levels in blood can increase – sometimes to a dangerous extent.
“These include some blood pressure drugs, antihistamines, hormones, antivirals, statins (for cholesterol), opiates, sedatives and even viagra. And we have found other fruits (limes, Seville oranges and even sometimes apples) that can increase drug levels in your body,” writes Dr Kruszelnicki in Good Weekend.2
In August 2008 a month before the Kruszelnicki article Dr Bailey announced that the “above-mentioned fruits, can paradoxically, decrease the blood levels of certain other medications.”3
Connected
The time lapse of 17 years between Dr Bailey’s 1991 and 2008 research findings on the interaction of natural foods and manufactured drugs show that this research is just the tip of the iceberg.
It would be foolish to suddenly stop eating healthy food or to stop taking medication but it is important to read and obey the instructions on your medication.
It is also wise to rely on your own intuition if your health is not improving and seek your doctor or pharmacist advice on possible interactions between medications or food that could aggravate illness.4
END
Footnotes and Resources
1 Kruszelnicki. Dr Karl S., “Myth Conceptions”, Good Weekend. September 20, 2008. p. 11:
“This interaction first came to medical attention in 1991 with the publication of a paper in The Lancet by Dr David G. Bailey, from Ontario. The paper opens with three dry words, “A chance finding”, and goes on to describe, in very academic language, that grapefruit juice can increase the levels of a blood pressure drug. For example, instead of there being five micrograms of drug X per cubic centimetre of blood, there may