Welcome! This site can be easily viewed with a PDA or a mobile phone. If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Both nutritious and delicious grapefruit has become more popular, and is no longer just an option for breakfast. Low in calories and high in vitamin C. and potassium, grapefruit contains bioflavonoids and other plant chemicals which can help protect against heart disease and cancer.

Most people purchase the white grapefruit (which strangely enough has a yellow skin). However pink or red grapefruits are a better purchase because they are high in beta-carotene and lycopene which is an antioxidant that can help reduce risks of cancer.

Half a grapefruit provides 70% of the adult recommended daily nutrient intake of vitamin C. Again higher levels of the vitamin C. can be found in the red and pink grapefruit varieties. Lately some fad diets have claimed that grapefruit possess a unique ability to burn fat. This is untrue. Grapefruit has no such ability. However a grapefruit is also high in pectin which is a soluble fibre that may help reduce blood cholesterol.

Phenolic acid can also be found in grapefruit and this is a substance which also stimulates the production of enzymes that may help to prevent cancer. It has also been noted that people who suffer from rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory disorders who eat grapefruit on a daily basis experience a relief of their symptoms.

Challenges with grapefruit.

There are however drawbacks with grapefruit. Compounds in the grapefruit can enhance the effects of some drugs which may lead to some undesirable side effects, so grapefruit should not be eaten if you are prescribed certain medications. Always check with your doctor first.

Medications that cause concern are medications which lower blood pressure, and medications prescribed for elevated lipids, depression and anxiety.

Tags: grapefruit, cancer, heart disease, side effects



Add to Onlywire