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Fact check: Grapefruit is heart-healthy, but it can't clear all plaque from arteries

Daniel Funke
USA TODAY

The claim: Eating grapefruit daily for nine months can clear all plaque from arteries

A grapefruit a day keeps the heart doctor away, according to a popular post on Facebook.

The post, published Dec. 9 by a page called Daily Natural Medicine, includes graphics of grapefruits and the cross-section of an artery.

"Did you know? Eating 1 Graperfruit (sic)... A day for 9 months can clear all plaque in one's arteries," reads text in the post, which acquired more than 2,000 shares in five days.

There are a number of health benefits associated with eating grapefruit. But this isn't one of them.

"This is not at all true," Dr. Chris Cannon, a senior physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and a professor at Harvard Medical School, said in an email. "There is not a way to clear out plaque from arteries."

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USA TODAY reached out to Daily Natural Medicine for comment.

No way to clear plaque from arteries

Plaque buildup is the primary cause of coronary artery disease – the most common kind of heart disease in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Eating a healthier diet and staying physically active can help prevent it.

But grapefruit is not the miracle cure the Facebook post makes it out to be.

"Nothing has ever been demonstrated to 'clear all the plaque in one’s arteries,'" Christopher Gardner, director of nutrition studies at the Stanford Prevention Research Center, said in an email. "If anything were able to do that, it would be written up and published in medical journals."

Doctors can install stents or surgically remove some types of plaque buildup to widen narrowed arteries. While making plaque disappear completely isn't possible, it is possible to "shrink and stabilize" it, according to Cannon.

If someone reduces their LDL ("bad") cholesterol, he said it's possible to also reduce how much cholesterol is in their plaque. If that happens, research shows the size of the plaque could shrink by 1%-2%, allowing more blood to pass through arteries.

Still, that won't get rid of plaque buildup completely – and neither can eating grapefruit.

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"I can assure you that grapefruit does not 'clear all the plaque,'" Dr. Mary Norine Walsh, medical director of the heart failure and cardiac transplantation programs at Ascension St. Vincent Heart Center in Indianapolis, said in an email. "It may, however, be part of a heart-healthy diet that can reduce the risk of coronary artery disease."

Research has shown that regularly eating grapefruit can reduce some of the risk factors associated with heart disease, such as high blood pressure and cholesterol. But Walsh advised people to check with their doctor before eating grapefruit because it could interact with some medications – "including those used to lower cholesterol levels." 

Our rating: False

Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that eating grapefruit daily for nine months can clear all plaque from arteries. Grapefruit can reduce some of the risk factors associated with heart disease, but it cannot clear all the plaque from someone's arteries. Experts say that, while it's possible to manage and prevent plaque buildup, it's impossible to get rid of it completely.

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