Grapefruit-Natural wonder fruit

Grapefruit is a nutritious member of the citrus family. Grapefruits are large, tart and tangy fruits known primarily for their vitamin C content. In India, Grapefruits are know as Chakotara and eaten for their sweet and sour taste with delicacy. The fruit, often mistaken for a Pomelo, can be found with either whitish pink, pinkish red, or red pulps – all with different levels of sweetness. While all offer similar benefits, reddish pink ones have high content of lycopene - a natural essential nutrient for cells. While grapefruits are normally in season from winter through early spring, we can experience the health benefits of grapefruit all year round. Here is what the fruit has to offer.

Nutritional Profile

Grapefruits are well-known for their high vitamin C content, but the fruit certainly has more to offer. In addition to being rich in vitamin C, grapefruits are also rich in Vitamin A, fibre, potassium and lycopene - a reddish coloured micro nutrient. The nutrition profile is as follows

• Vitamin C – 38.4 milligrams. 64% RDA.
• Vitamin A – 1415 IU. 28% RDA.
• Thiamin – 0.1 milligrams. 4% RDA.
• Folate – 16 micrograms. 4% RDA.
• Potassium – 166 milligrams. 5% RDA.
• Fiber – 2 grams. 8% RDA.
• Vitamin B6 – 0.1 milligrams. 3% RDA.
• Magnesium – 11.1 milligrams. 3% RDA.

Health Benefits

Grapefruits are rich in essential vitamins and minerals. There is no doubt that the fruit can provide numerous health benefits to common public and specially to Diabetics and Heart patients. It acts as anti-diabetic agent and reduces blood glucose level due to its cleansing and metabolism promoting activities. Other benefits include

• Weight loss
• Promoting heart health
• Boosting the immune system, preventing cold or sickness
• Helps prevent arthritis
• Helps cleanse the liver
• Cancer prevention
• Macular degeneration, preserving eye health as it contains vitamin A in natural form
• Reducing blood pressure
• Skin health (prevents acne, psoriasis, wrinkles)

Besides its health benefits, one could also use grapefruits for cleaning. Dip the extra pulp left over from juicing the grapefruit in some sea salt and run it over fixtures in your bathroom or kitchen while squeezing out leftover juice. Citric acid works to eliminate dirt while salt disinfects. Rinse after scrubbing.

Warning

Many Medications don’t mix with Grapefruits

If a person is on medication, s/he needs to be sure to check with the doctor before eating grapefruit or drinking grapefruit juice, as many medications mix badly with the fruit. Grapefruits contain compounds known as Furanocoumarins, which are known to spark a negative outcome when combined with many medications. What’s worse, some of these medications could lead to sudden death. Some common medications in this mix are cholesterol drugs like Lovastatin, Lipitor, and a heart disease medication called Amlodipine used to lower blood pressure.

Source: Dr Vikram Sharma, Email-drvsharma99@gmail.com