A study of 57 patients, men and women, with high blood cholesterol who had recently undergone coronary bypass surgery and whose high lipid levels failed to respond significantly to statin drugs were recruited for a novel trial by Shela Gorinstein and colleagues at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
The patients were divided into three treatment groups. Each ate a single serving of fresh red grapefruit, white (blond) grapefruit, or no grapefruit at all for 30 consecutive days.
The patients who received either red or white grapefruit showed significant decreases in blood lipid levels after 30 days while those who missed out on the sour citrus showed no changes in lipid levels, the researchers report.
Red grapefruit was more effective than white in lowering lipids, particularly blood triglycerides, which may be due to the higher levels of antioxidants in red grapefruit or an unknown compound, says Gorinstein.
Adapted from an ACS press release.