Health Benefits of Grapefruit

Move over oranges, apples and berries, grapefruits are ready to take their rightful place among the elite fruits to eat for optimum health. Cocked full of vitamins and minerals, you would be hard pressed to find another citrus fruit that health professionals are calling the best fruit to help prevent a wide range of illnesses. Containing many nutritional benefits, the grapefruit has been eaten since it first came on the scene in 1750 and now you too can enjoy a delicious and inexpensive way to add a boost of fruit in your diet.

Grapefruit has many micronutrients that are beneficial to one's health. Grapefruit contains vitamin C, vitamin A, calcium, iron, manganese, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, folate and many B-vitamins.

One of the many health benefits of grapefruit is that it aids in weight loss. Grapefruit is low in sodium, high in fat burning enzymes and has high water content. All these things combined speed up the metabolism. Therefore, grapefruit is a powerful fruit to eat for people trying to get rid of that fatty bulge. In fact, people trying to lose weight after holiday seasons should consider eating more grapefruit.Detoxing the body by eating more vegetables, proteins, smaller portions and fruits like grapefruit that speed up the metabolism is a good way to eat to lose weight after the holidays.

Another health benefit of grapefruit is that it is a powerful antioxidant. Grapefruit contains vitamin C, vitamin A and lycopene. These antioxidants are potent scavenger hunters that get rid of free radicals and excessive oxidation that can cause cancers. Lycopene, especially, helps to prevent the occurrence of tumors and cancers in the body. Lycopene is a carotenoid found in the red/pink hues of the grapefruit.

Grapefruit also has the health benefit of helping to prevent and lessen the symptoms of arthritis. Salicylic acid found in grapefruit helps to dissolve inorganic calcium found in the body. Inorganic calcium will build up in the joints in the body and lead to severe joint discomfort associated with arthritis. Drinking grapefruit juice in excess as well as drinking apple cider vinegar, which also has acids capable of dissolving inorganic calcium, is a great way to treat arthritis.

Also, the salicylic acid found in grapefruit gives the fruit another health benefit. The salicylic acid in grapefruit is a powerful antiseptic. So much so, that salicylic acid is actually used as an antiseptic in toothpaste. Grapefruit seed extract is also used as an antiseptic in many antiseptic sprays. You can add a few drops (about 10) of grapefruit seed extract to some water and apply it to the affected area three times a day to get rid of fungus and wounds.

Grapefruit also has the health benefit of lowering cholesterol. A study done in Israeland published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found that the antioxidants in grapefruit, especially red grapefruit may help lower cholesterol.

It is important to note, however, that grapefruit and grapefruit juice reacts negatively with many prescription drugs, even cholesterol-lowering drugs. So if you have high cholesterol and are taking medication for it, consult your doctor before you consume grapefruit on a regular basis. Even if you don't have high cholesterol, but are taking some form of medication regularly, you should talk to your doctor before permanently adding grapefruit to your diet. Grapefruit reacts negatively with a range of drugs used to treat allergies, depression, anxiety, HIV, blood pressure, impotence, seizures and heart palpitations.

In folk medicine grapefruit is believed to have the health benefits of improving one's complexion, treating colds, fever and pneumonia, boosting the liver, breaking up gallstones and promoting a better digestion and immunity.

Grapefruit has many health benefits that improve overall health. There are two types of grapefruit; pink and yellow. The yellow grapefruit which resembles a very large lemon is the more common of the two and it is also the sweeter of the two. Pink grapefruit is slightly more acidic than the yellow one, but most point to the high acidity of pink grapefruit to be why it is more healthful.