Nutritional Value of Grapefruit

The end of winter and beginning of Spring can be a difficult time to plan healthy or farm fresh meals for you and your family. But, have you ever considered adding a little grapefruit to your table? Grapefruit is not just a fruit for breakfast, rather you can enjoy grapefruit throughout the day and reap huge health benefits. I like to put grapefruit in a salad or use grapefruit in sauces to add extra flavor. Grapefruit juice is delicious throughout the day and is especially beneficial before a meal. Grapefruit can be combined with other citrus fruits in stuffing, chutney, cakes and more. The skies the limit when cooking with this healthy and nutritious citrus fruit.

Grapefruit's Winning Nutritional Ways

Grapefruit is not only a tasty addition to the family meal, but it's actually good for you. Grapefruit is loaded with phytonutrients like Vitamin A, lycopene and beta carotene, making it a popular choice for overall health and wellness. Grapefruit is low in calories but high in dietary insoluble fiber, essential to colon health. Grapefruit contains pectin which has been reported to reduce blood cholesterol levels.

Grapefruit also contains Vitamin C, a powerful antioxidant that helps the body resist colds and infection, and potassium which helps control heart rate and blood pressure over time. Grapefruit also contains important minerals, like folate, calcium, iron and more. What more could you ask of a delicious citrus fruit?

Grapefruit Promotes Weight Loss

Grapefruit has long been considered a wonderful dietary choice for weight loss. The legendary Grapefruit Diet was developed on the premise that there's something special about grapefruit that lends itself to weight reduction over time. For a long time, experts believed it could be attributed to grapefruit's low calorie count. In 2004, the Nutrition and Metabolic Research Centre at Scripps Clinic in San Diego reported that adding grapefruit, grapefruit juice or grapefruit products would result in weight loss. This study, and others like it, have confirmed that grapefruit impacts metabolism and its addition to your daily diet and fitness routine could result in weight reduction.

Grapefruit and Drug Interactions

You need to exercise caution when considering adding grapefruit to your diet. Experts warn that grapefruit juice and other products can interfere with prescription medication. Some of these interactions can be dangerous. Experts at the Mayo Clinic warn that timing your medication and grapefruit consumption at different intervals will do little to prevent these serious drug interactions. The chemicals in grapefruit interfere with metabolism and cause medication to build up in your body, possibly to toxic levels. As such, it's always important to check with your doctor or pharmacist before adding grapefruit to your diet.

RESOURCES

Mayo Clinic
www.mayoclinic.com

National Institutes of Health
www.nih.gov

Medline
National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health
www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/antioxidants.html

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