Kylie Minogue is a fan of the grapefruit diet
The grapefruit diet is a favourite with celebs and us mere mortals, stars including Kylie Minogue and Brooke Shields are fans of the diet but it now comes with a warning that it could kill you.
The Sun reports that chemicals in the fruit can interact with common medicines, such as the pill, causing blood clots that could trigger heart attacks, strokes or gangrene.
The warning in medical journal The Lancet came after a woman almost lost a leg to gangrene.
The slimming technique involves swapping meals for the fruit which is known for its fat burning properties. It has now been found though that it can block production of an enzyme that breaks down drugs. With no release for the medication blood clots can form.
The woman who nearly lost her leg was on the pill and had started the diet three days earlier, she rarely ate the fruit previous to this.
In Britain, consultant haematologist Trevor Baglin, of the Addenbrooke’s NHS Trust in Cambridgeshire, told The Sun: "From this case it appears as if the grapefruit enhanced the thrombotic effect of the contraceptive Pill. Any extreme diets should be avoided because they can sometimes have unpredictable consequences."
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