grapefruit

I had brought a sliced grapefruit to class, but only partially finished it. On the way back to our apartments, one of my classmates kept glancing at the plastic bag with half-eaten slices in it. As we got on the elevator, he kept staring at it, in the grip of what seemed like utter fascination. Feeling embarrassed, I finally said, "It's not all peels, you know. I don't just carry grapefruit peels around - I just wanted to save it because I haven't finished it."

He laughed. "Actually," he told me, "my parents are obessed with grapefruit - they are on this grapefruit diet. But I can't eat it. It's a P450 activator* or something." (P450 is part of the system involved in detoxification and metabolism of drugs and other substances.)

As it turned out, my classmate had a condition that required medication, and grapefruit was prohibited.

Happy to have learned something utterly random and new- not only about grapefruit, but about a classmate I didn't really know, I danced back into our apartment. "Roomie!" I called out. "Guess what! Your grapefruit is a P450 activator*..."



* As it turns out, it actually appears to inhibit metabolism of drugs and other substances - at least according to Wikipedia.