Orange, grapefruit juice for breakfast builds bon...( the results of that research has not b...)

He said the team will now examine the rats' bones at the cellular level "to see what caused that improvement in the bone." "A reduction in bone density is caused when there is an increase in oxidants. In these studies, both grapefruit juice and orange juice increased antioxidants in the rats' systems," Patil said. "So that is the benefit since oxidants damage bone cells.

"There are about 400 compounds in citrus," he said. "So we need to find out which compound in citrus caused this."

Patil suspects "limonoid,"a natural citrus compound, which has been increasingly studied for its potential to prevent various human diseases. Limonoids will be the next phase of the study, but there are at least 40 different ones, Patil cautioned.

"This study backs up our thoughts about the value of citrus," Patil said, noting that until researchers completely understand the interaction of grapefruit juice and certain medications, a person should ask a doctor.

"In general, people should eat a variety of all the colors (in food) to get all of the beneficial compounds," Patil added. "And eat fresh."

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Contact: Kathleen Phillips
ka-phillips@tamu.edu
979-845-2872
Texas A&M University - Agricultural Communications
6-Jun-2006