6-ounce glass of juice hardly a sugar overload
Q: I’m a 76-year-old woman who enjoys a 6-ounce glass of rubyred grapefruit juice every morning before my breakfast of cereal, half a banana and coffee. My husband has been trying to convince me I should stop having my morning juice, calling it a “sugar bomb.” Is he correct?
A: A 6-ounce glass of grapefruit juice is a perfectly reasonable serving size. Six ounces would contain about 16 grams of sugar. That is less than half of what is in a can of a soft drink. Your husband should lighten up. I see people drinking 64 ounces of juice or soda. Those are sugar bombs.
Q: I just found out I have lipedema, a rare disease. What can I do about it? Should I find relatives who have it? My mom and dad don’t have it, nor do other family members. Should I try to find which relatives have it? I am told that it is an inherited disease.
A: Lipedema is indeed a rare disease, although it might be underdiagnosed. It is almost always found in women and is suspected with marked fat deposition symmetrically between the waist and the ankles. The areas affected are often tender or painful to the touch. It isn’t the same as lymphedema, a fluid increase caused by poorly functioning or damaged lymph vessels, although people with lipedema can develop lymphedema.
Treatment includes compression garments or manual lymph drainage, often combined with surgical treatments such as liposuction.
Only about 15 percent of people with lipedema have a family history. It isn’t surprising that you can’t find relatives who have it.
More information is available from several support groups and at www.curelipedema.org/ lipedema.
Q: Please address the possible health risks of decaffeinated coffee. Is the process used harmful? I try to avoid caffeine and consume a lot of decaf coffee each day, hence exposing myself to greater amounts of what is reported to be residue from the decaffeination process.
A: Of the four ways to decaffeinate coffee, two use organic chemical solvents (methylene chloride and ethyl acetate); the others are carbon dioxide and water. Your question is about the amount of the organic solvents left in the first two methods.
(Incidentally, organic has two meanings. To a chemist, it means “carbon- and hydrogencontaining,” so both methylene chloride and ethyl acetate are organic compounds. The common use of organic means foods grown without synthetic chemicals. These terms are often in direct conflict with each other.)
The amount of residual solvent in decaffeinated coffee doesn’t pose a threat to health, the Food & Drug Administration has found.
If you are still concerned, you can purchase coffee that has been decaffeinated by the water process (sometimes called Swiss water process) or carbon dioxide, neither of which leaves chemical residues.
Dr. Roach answers letters only in his North America Syndicate column but provides an order form of available health newsletters. Write him at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475; or ToYourGoodHealth @med.cornell.edu.