[Sca-cooks] Bergamont (was: here's a challenge I'm taking on)

[Terri Morgan]

>Oil of bergamot is used to flavor Earl Grey.  Bergamot is a hybrid citrus.
> Both grapefruit and bergamot produce chemical compounds that alter
>  how the liver metabolizes various drugs.  Being on statins, I avoid
> indulging in grapefruit.  Fortunately, I don't drink Earl Grey, but I have
> a friend who does and is on statins.
> 
> I hadn't connected the two.  Thanks.
> Bear

You are most welcome. When I wrote about my chemo on LiveJournal a friend
who was a pharmacist warned me about it and listed a few other foods that I
should avoid (for the most part that would be "things likely to have Seville
oranges in them). About a year later the man on my GIST-support group who
had been one of the most supportive when I joined announced that his liver
was failing and that he was looking at probably starting dialysis in the
next month or so - and then he mentioned how much he was going to miss his
"two 36-oz servings of Earl Grey tea with breakfast" when he was going to be
hospitalized for the necessary prep work. It electrified me. I sent him the
info about the Earl Grey, he stopped drinking it, and four days later during
the hospital tests his liver functions were back down to nearly normal as
was his kidneys. Crisis diverted.

We lost him about a year ago when his GIST was just too advanced to stop. I
will always honour his kindness to a terrified newbie and his raw Southern
humor. One cool thing about him - he organised a new shoe giveaway in his
hometown every year for children in need. He had a very large heart.


Hrothny