BBC News
A woman who went on an intense grapefruit-based diet developed a blood clot in her leg and risked losing the limb, US doctors have reported.
The unusual case, written up in the Lancet medical journal, occurred in Washington state in November last year.
Medics concluded grapefruit had affected the way the 42-year-old's body processed her contraceptive pill.
A UK expert stressed this was an unusual case, but said extreme diets may have "unpredictable consequences".
 |  Three days of grapefruit for breakfast may well have tipped the balance  Dr Lucinda Grande, Providence St Peter Hospital |
In November 2008, the woman came to the casualty department of the Providence St Peter Hospital in Olympia, Washington state.
The day before, she had gone on a long car journey, after which she felt pain radiating from her lower back down to her left ankle.
When she arrived at the hospital she was experiencing difficulty walking, shortness of breath, and light-headedness.
By the next day her left leg had turned purple.
The woman was generally in good health but was slightly overweight and had decided to diet.
Three days before falling ill, she had begun a crash diet which included eating 225g of grapefruit each morning, after rarely eating the fruit in the past.
When doctors examined her, an ultrasound scan confirmed the woman had a large blood clot within the veins of her left leg, which stretched from her hip down to her calf and she was deemed to be at risk of losing her leg because of gangrene. Read more....
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