C • Farm les... COPLEY PHOTO BY JAM ES C. SVEHLA m. helping families. Yad Ezra provides kosher food packages to 1,000 families every month. The families helped by Yad Ezra include: ■ the elderly ■ working poor ■ disabled ■ single parents ■ new Americas ■ those in emergency situations. With your help, all families in our community can enjoy a nutritious and satisfying meal. V ti • $ 18.00 A weekday meal for 3 small families A Holiday meal for 4 small families $ 36.00 $ 50.00 A Shabbat meal for 5 small families A Holiday meal for 4 large families $ 72.00 A year of Holiday meals for 1 family $ 100.00 A year of Holiday meals for 2 families $ 200.00 A year of Shabbat meals for 1 small family $ 500.00 Enclosed is my check in the amount of as a tax deductable contribution to Yad Ezra to help feed the Jewish hungry. Your contribution is eligible for a 50% Pilichigan Tax Credit (subject to certain limitations). Name Address City Zip Phone State Make checks payable to Yad Ezra or charge your contribution to your VISA/Mastercard or Discover. (Minimum suggested donation - $18.00) Card No. Exp.Date Signature Name Mail to: 26641 Harding ■ Oak Park, MI 48237 Tributes and Memorials available. YAD EZRA feeding tire Jew/gb Horn For more information call 810-548-3663 Is Your Financial House In Order?? Call PHASE FOUR for a complimentary consultation (810) 559-6980 JOEL LEVI, CFP TRISH WELLMAN, CFP Phase Four Advisory, Registered Investment Advisor 17117 West 9 Mile Road, Southfield, MI 48075 Securities offered through Vestax Securities Corporation, Member, NASD & S1PC 1931 Georgetown, Hudson, OH 44236 (216) 650-1660 Advertise in our new Entertainment Section! Call The Sales Department (810) 354-7123 Ext. 209 THE JEWISH NEWS Food Fight Specific foods can significantly alter the effectiveness of certain medicines. LISA LELAND SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS I f your diet includes everything from bananas and brussels sprouts to sour cream and sausage, indigestion might not be your only worry. All of these foods can become problem foods in combination with certain medications. Medi- cine, like food, must be broken down by the body before its nu- trients can go to work. What can throw a monkey wrench into the mission is a com- petition between certain foods and drugs to be absorbed or me- tabolized by the body, sometimes diminishing the drug's effective- ness and/or causing an adverse reaction. Finding out which foods are potential culprits to which drugs is the basis for many medical studies, including recent ones fo- cused specifically on the interac- tions found between grapefruit juice and various medications. Studies have shown that tak- ing medicine with grapefruit juice can cause drugs to stay in the body longer and at a higher lev- el than normal, according to an article in the Medical Letter on Drugs and Therapeutics, a New York publication issued to phar- macists. While grapefruit juice seems to have a beneficial reaction in the absorption of the anti-rejec- tion drug cyclosporine, reducing the need for higher dosages, it is shown to compete with some an- tibiotics like erythromycin, some sedatives and antianxiety agents, such as the sleeping medication Halcion, as well as the calcium Lisa Leland writes for Copley News Service. channel-blocker felodipine, a heart medicine under the com- mercial name Plendil. Anyone taking any of these drugs should avoid grapefruit juice altogether. `There's a lot of literature out there on what effects grapefruit might have, but I really haven't seen it all sorted out yet," said John Donnici, a doctor of phar- macy and clinical coordinator of pharmacy services at Central Du- Page Hospital in Winfield, Ill. "It's a matter of increased ab- sorption or decreased absorption and the potential for problems." The idea is moderation and limiting the servings. As a rule of thumb, said Don- nici, the optimum drink for swal- lowing medicine is water, and it is recommended that at least a half to a full glass of water be con- sumed to aid medicine in reach- ing its destination. The key to knowing which beverages or foods should be avoided or moderated for each prescription drug is a matter of asking the pharmacist. By law, pharmacists in every state are required to offer pa- tients medical counseling with the dispensation of each pre- scription drug. A plan aimed to end patients' errors in use of medication and provide better information about their prescription drugs was ap- proved recently by Health Sec- retary Donna Shalala. Under the voluntary plan, pharmacists are encouraged to distribute a stan- dardized pamphlet to everyone who receives a new prescription, outlining the drug's uses as well as issuing warnings about side effects and food interactions. "If people really understand why they must watch certain foods and what will happen if they don't, they will comply," said Pat Traver, a licensed dietician at Central DuPage Hospital who provides patients with guidance in regard to their medications. "With 10,000 new drugs avail- able in the last 10 years, it can be so confusing, especially when you're taking prescription drugs in combination with other pre- scription drugs. (Interactions) is a very difficult subject to keep track of for the pharmacist, let alone the physician or the pa- tient." One drug where it is critical patients follow food interaction guidelines is the anticoagulant Coumadin, Green leafy vegetables, as- paragus, broccoli, spinach and Brussels sprouts, all containing Vitamin K, decrease the effec- tiveness of the drug when eaten in significant amounts. Howev- er, this does not mean patients must completely outlaw the nu- trient-packed vegetables from their diets. `The American public tends to be black and white when it comes to instructions from the doctor, and I think people are almost too extreme," said Traver. `The idea is moderation and limiting the number of servings, but not giv-