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- NEW YORK, Feb 14 (Reuters
Health) -- A type of fruit juice sold in health food stores can be a hidden
source of potassium and thus could be hazardous for patients with kidney
disease, a recent report warns.
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- Noni juice is sold as an herbal remedy and its users
claim (on numerous websites) that it can help reduce high blood pressure,
menstrual cramps, arthritis, ulcers, sprains, depression, sexual dysfunction,
senility, heart disease and chronic fatigue syndrome, among other ailments.
The juice is derived from the fruit of the noni tree (Morinda citrifolia).
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- However, the juice also contains potassium, but does
not include this information on the label, according to a report in the
February issue of the American Journal of Kidney Diseases. While potassium
alone is not hazardous (and is found in many fruit juices), it can be harmful
for patients with kidney disease who cannot excrete the substance. If blood
levels of potassium are too high, patients can suffer irregular heart rhythms
and heart attack.
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- ``Patients with kidney disease and unexplained hyperkalemia
(high potassium levels) should be queried about their ingestion of herbal
remedies and alternative medicine products because they may be a hidden
source of potassium,'' report Dr. Bruce A. Mueller, of Purdue University
in Indianapolis, Indiana, and colleagues.
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- The researchers report the case of a man with kidney
disease who visited his doctor for a routine checkup. Blood tests indicated
that potassium and other markers of kidney disease were dangerously high.
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- The patient denied consuming any potassium-rich foods
such as bananas and orange juice but admitted that he had begun to drink
a shot of noni juice before each meal. The juice, he claimed, had cured
a relative of cancer.
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- The patient continued to drink the juice despite warnings
that it may contain potassium and at his next visit, potassium remained
elevated. The patient insisted that he would never stop drinking the juice
and said the doctors ``did not understand the power of noni juice,'' according
to the report. The patient never returned to the clinic.
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- The doctors purchased a bottle of noni juice from a health
food store and had it analyzed in a lab. The potassium content of the juice
was found to be similar to that of orange juice and tomato juice, which
are generally restricted in the diets of patients with kidney disease.
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- According to the researchers, the case illustrates the
potential dangers of herbal products, which, despite a lack of federal
oversight, are becoming increasingly popular in the US.
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- ``The use of herbal products by patients continues to
grow, and (patients) often do not tell their healthcare providers about
the use of these alternative therapies,'' Mueller and colleagues write.
The researchers tested noni juice manufactured by Body Systems Technology,
Inc. of Casselberry, Florida. SOURCE: American Journal of Kidney Diseases
2000;35:310-312.
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