The delicious grapefruit got its name from the way it grows – in clusters, like grapes. Grapefruit belongs to the member of the citrus family and is known for its tart and tangy flavour with a subtle sweetness. Along with its distinct taste, grapefruit is now known as the powerhouse of micronutrients. Apart from vitamin C, the fruit is a source of dietary fibers, vitamin A, vitamin B5, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, etc.
Health Benefits of Grapefruit
Listed below are some of the health benefits of grapefruit:
- Grapefruit Helps in Weight Loss: Experts suggest that the presence of less sodium, high water content and rich amount of fat-burning enzymes can hasten the process of metabolism. This may help in getting rid of extra bulge from the body, thereby resulting in weight loss.
- Grapefruit Promotes Heart Health: It is suggested that the presence of powerful antioxidants, particularly in the red variety, may reduce the level of triglycerides and overall cholesterol. This may help in treating heart attack, stroke, etc, and in promoting overall heart health.
- Grapefruit Treats Inflammatory diseases: The antioxidant property of grapefruit can help in treating free-radical damage caused to the cells. This may help in checking the severity of inflammation such as in asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, etc.
- Grapefruit Treats Certain Cancer: It is assumed that the presence of Naringenin (flavonoid) in grapefruit may help in checking DNA damage in prostrate cells. This may greatly reduce prostrate cancer in male.
- Grapefruit Controls Diabetes: It is believed that the presence of enzymes in grapefruit can reduce the level of insulin in the blood, thereby checking diabetes. Moreover, grapefruit is a rich source of dietary fibers. This may help in regulating the absorption of carbohydrates that could otherwise cause rise in blood sugar.
Before taking grapefruit juice, you may want to consult with your doctor if you are currently on medications such as calcium channel blockers (blood pressure drugs), statins (cholesterol drugs), etc. This is because grapefruit can interact with a number of medications directly or indirectly and can cause side effects.
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April 17th, 2009 at 6:04 pm
I love red grapefruit, If I take 5MG of statin in the evenings and
one grapefruit in the day I should be OKay , right!
based upon:
Grapefruit
We all heard some time ago that grapefruit affects how the body absorbs some drugs. Now, an article in the May 2006 issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition tells us how: an intestinal enzyme, CYP3A, normally partially destroys the drugs before they are absorbed, but a substance in grapefruit juice, furanocoumarin, interferes with CYP3A, so a body can absorb more of certain drugs. (For another item about grapefruit, see our news from July 2007.)