Q: I’ve heard I shouldn’t eat grapefruit, which I love, since I’m taking blood pressure medicine. Is this true? — Pat, via e-mail
A: As healthy as they are, grapefruit and its juice don’t play well with others. The chemical behind its tart taste — naringin, for you chem majors — throws some blood pressure meds (especially beta blockers) for such a loop that they just don’t work. Another chemical, furanocoumarins (try saying that fast three times) is found in grapefruit and also in tangelos, pomelos and Seville oranges, and boosts the effect of many drugs, including some blood pressure and antianxiety meds, statins like Lipitor and Crestor, and erection-enhancing drugs like Viagra, potentially leading to an overdose.
Ironically, one solution to the so- called grapefruit effect may be mushrooms. Scientists have found a mushroomlike fungus that neutralizes furanocoumarins; they just haven’t found a way to make it palatable yet. For now, tell your doc about your passion for grapefruit. You might be able to switch to a blood-pressure drug that will allow you to indulge it. The fruit does play well with some meds. And if you get healthy enough to not need the meds (or for other readers who do not), grapefruit is a wonderful fruit choice.
Q: My tap water is so hard that my faucets become clogged by calcium deposits. Am I endangering my family’s health by cooking with this water or by letting them drink it? — Agnes, Castro Valley, Calif.
A: When you see those hard rocks of calcium clinging to your faucets, it’s hard not to wonder, “Hey, are those building up inside me?” While the deposits are bad for exterior plumbing, those minerals — there’s likely magnesium there, too — actually do your internal plumbing good. If you drink about 2 quarts of hard water a day, you may get anywhere from 50 mg to 290 mg of calcium, or about 5 percent to 10 percent of your daily requirement. Other than plumbing bills, the only risk is if you’re taking a bisphosphonate drug for osteoporosis. Calcium can limit its absorption.
Your body uses that calcium and magnesium to build healthy bones and teeth, and to keep your blood pressure low.
Q: Are there any new ways to detect ovarian cancer? Each year I ask for an internal pelvic exam and a CA-125 test. My mom died from breast cancer and my sister from ovarian cancer. Do you have any additional information I can use at my next doctor visit? — Melody, Dover, Del.
A: New tests to detect ovarian cancer at an early, treatable stage are in the research pipeline but, as of now, these are your two best options: the CA-125 blood test, which you’re smart to be getting, and a transvaginal ultrasound exam, which you may want to have.
Even though the CA-125 test — which measures a protein that’s elevated in people who have ovarian cancer — is more accurate than once thought, both false-negative and false-positive results can occur. The TVU is the most promising routine screening exam; in fact, a large study of average-risk women who had annual TVUs found 11 of 17 cancers at their earliest stage. The ultrasound can spot growths on the ovaries, though it can’t tell whether they’re benign or malignant.
Most important, ask your doc for a referral to a genetic counselor, who can help you decide if you want to be tested for the cancer genes. We’re suggesting this because women at high risk are now being separated into two groups, depending on whether or not they have inherited genetic mutations associated with breast and/or ovarian cancers. Some experts advise women who have them to get regular TVU and CA-125 testing beginning in their 30s, or to do more radical things to get rid of potentially cancerous organs if they have a BRCA1 or 2 gene mutation and a strong family history. Perhaps the best series on this dilemma, “The Inheritance,” by Cleveland Plain Dealer columnist Regina Brett, is posted at .
The You Docs, Mehmet Oz and Mike Roizen, are authors of “YOU: On a Diet.” To submit questions, go to .
