Have A Fruitful Day- Grapefruit

The grapefruit (Citrus × paradisi) is a subtropical citrus tree known for its sour to semi-sweet fruit, an 18th-century hybrid first bred in Barbados.When found, it was named the "forbidden fruit"; and it has also been misidentified with the pomelo or shaddock (C. maxima), one of the parents of this hybrid, the other being sweet orange. Grapefruit doesn’t only contain vitamin C, which is commonly known to be protective against cold or flu. It is not just one nutrient that helps prevent a certain disease, but rather the combination of several ingredients in it that does the trick. This is the kind of nutritional power that we can find only in the way God makes our natural food. This juicy fruit contains citric acid, natural sugars, essential oils like limonene, pinene and citral. It has high amounts of vitamin C, and smaller amounts of vitamin A, B complex, E and K. In the mineral department, larger amounts of calcium, folate, phosphorus, and potassium are found. The nutritive phytonutrients of this voluptuous fruit—liminoids, flavonoids, lycopene and glucarates—help fight cancer and various diseases.

Health Benefits

When eating or juicing grapefruit, peel off the skin but leave as much of the albedo intact as

possible as it contains the highest amount of valuable bioflavonoids and other anti-cancer agents.

Acidity:  Although grapefruit has a sub-acid taste, its juice actually has an alkaline reaction after digestion. This has a profound effect in the treatment of acidity in the digestive system that causes a host of other health problems.

Diabetes:  A diabetic can safely eat a grapefruit. In fact, more consumption of this fruit will help reduce the starches and sweets in the system. If you have a tendency towards diabetes, consume more grapefruit juice to prevent it.

Digestive disorder:  This juice helps to promote digestion by increasing the flow of gastric juices. Eat the fruit together with its albedo and pith for their extra fiber that aids bowel movements.

Fatigue:  At the end of a long and tiring day, drink a glass of grapefruit juice with lemon juice in equal parts with a little honey, to dispel all fatigue and tiredness.

Fever:  Besides drinking plenty of fluids, also drink grapefruit juice to reduce fever.

Insomnia:  A drink of grapefruit juice before bedtime, helps to promote sleep and alleviates insomnia.

Pregnant woman:  The bioflavonoids and vitamin C help to reduce water retention and swelling of the legs during pregnancy.

Sore throat:  Drinking a freshly-squeezed grapefruit juice helps relieve sore throats and soothes coughs.

Weight-loss:  This fruit has a fat-burning enzyme and can help to absorb and reduce the starch and sugar in the body. It is widely consumed by people who are trying to lose weight. If you don’t fall under the category of people mentioned below (look at “Caution” colum), then take a glass of grapefruit juice twice a day and eat normally.