News-Warning-Dialysis patients must avoid Star fruit

[Guest guest]

Dangerous Tropical Fruit 3/14/03

On page 31 of the book some tropical fruits not sold in the U.S. are reported

to be dangerous. Recently, upon receiving a call from a local kidney

specialist, I became aware of a potentially deadly tropical fruit that is sold

in

the U.S.! Star fruit (carambola) originated in Southeast Asia and is readily

available in many tropical countries such as Brazil, Thailand, and Taiwan. It

belongs to the oxalidaceae family, species Averrhoa carambola. Star fruit

contains an unknown neurotoxin that has apparently killed patients with renal

disease, particularly patients who are on dialysis. It appears that these

patients cannot clear this toxin in their urine and that it accumulates in the

body, and eventually crosses the blood-brain barrier resulting in irreversible

damage and death. There is presently no known treatment for star fruit

intoxication. If you look star fruit up on the internet, you will find many

enticing

recipes. Beware, it may be a long time before this dangerous food becomes

outlawed in the U.S. or elsewhere.

Chapter 1. Chemicals Lurking in Your Grocery

NATURALLY DANGEROUS: Surprising Facts About Food, Health, and the

Environment.

by P. Collman, Professor of Chemistry, Stanford University

FYI-Barkeepers Friend, a scouring powder used to contain oxalic acid

I haven't seen the ingriendents listed on the label recently.

_http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve & db=PubMed & list_uid

s=12823678 & dopt=Abstract_

(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve & db=PubMed & list_uids=\

12823678 & dopt=Abstract)

B.Olinsky, M.S.

Environmental Specialist