Top 10 Health Benefits of Grapefruit

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A Grapefruit is a large round citrus fruit which has a rich pink color on the inside.

With a sweet/tart flavor, they are one of the best citrus fruits you can eat for a healthy diet.

If you are a health nut like me then you like to eat clean and choose foods or snacks that will keep your body functioning at its best.

So what does grapefruit have to offer that keeps our body going strong? For starters it’s:

1. Low In Calories

Grapefruit, if not already, should be on the average persons’ diet. The top reason being is they are low in calories. Whether you eat them to enjoy the flavor or are watching your diet, grapefruit is the best choice you can make with only 52 calories in one half.

2. Low In Carbs

Each half contains 13 grams which is mostly fructose.

3. It Has Multiple Nutrients Your Body Needs

Each medium-sized grapefruit half contains these nutrients: (1)

• Protein: 1 gram
  
• Fiber: 2 grams
  
• Vitamin C: 64% of the RDI
  
• Vitamin A: 28% of the RDI
  
• Potassium: 5% of the RDI
  
• Thiamine: 4% of the RDI
  
• Folate: 4% of the RDI
  
• Magnesium: 3% of the RDI

In addition to the vitamins and minerals, grapefruit is an excellent source of fiber and antioxidants.

4. Grapefruit Helps You to Lose Weight

Grapefruit, like eggs, is my go-to when I need to lose a few unwanted pounds. With a five-month-old baby, I was in need of losing some extra weight while keeping the nutrients that I needed for my baby. This yummy fruit is perfect for that. Grapefruit doesn’t make you bloat either which is an added bonus.

5. Helps Control Your Appetite

When you get all the nutrients you need, your body doesn’t crave nasty foods. Its tank is filled and so is your appetite. With the amount of fiber just one-half grapefruit provides, your body gets a full sensation that will hold you over until the next meal.

6. Reduces the Risk of Kidney Stones

Kidney stones are a result of compiled waste materials in your kidneys.

These waste materials are products of metabolism that are normally filtered through the kidneys and removed from the body in urine.

However, when they crystallize in the kidneys, they become stones. Larger kidney stones may cause a blockage in the urinary system, which can be incredibly painful.

The most common type of kidney stones is calcium oxalate stones. Citric acid, an organic acid found in grapefruit, may be effective at preventing them by binding with calcium in the kidneys and flushing it out of the body.

Also, citric acid has the ability to increase the volume and pH of your urine, producing an environment that is less favorable to the formation of kidney stones

Written by Brianna Elliott, RD

7. Improves the Resilience of Your Immune System

We know that a half a grapefruit has 64% of the RDI of vitamin C. This is huge. Vitamin C has been proven time and time again to improve, boost, and aid your immune system and fight against nasty diseases and viruses. It also has antioxidant properties.

Vitamin C, also known as L-ascorbic acid, is a water-soluble vitamin that is naturally present in some foods, added to others, and available as a dietary supplement. Humans, unlike most animals, are unable to synthesize vitamin C endogenously, so it is an essential dietary component.
Vitamin C is required for the biosynthesis of collagen, L-carnitine, and certain neurotransmitters; vitamin C is also involved in protein metabolism.

In addition to its biosynthetic and antioxidant functions, vitamin C plays an important role in immune function and improves the absorption of nonheme iron, the form of iron present in plant-based foods. 

-National Institutes of Health

8. Helps to Maintain a Healthy Heart

Having a healthy heart is a short term and long-term goal for every person. Diet and exercise are the way to achieve that. Who thought a grapefruit would be considered such an important part of your heart’s health? I certainly wouldn’t have at first.

The powerful nutrient combination of fiber, potassium, lycopene, vitamin C, and choline in grapefruit all help to maintain a healthy heart.
In one study, those who consumed 4069 milligrams (mg) of potassium per day had a 49 percent lower risk of death from ischemic heart disease compared with those who consumed less potassium.

-Medical News Today

9. Aids in the Prevention of Cancer

Getting cancer can be reduced by the intake of dietary fiber.

Weight control is a prime example of this. When we are fit, our bodies function all together more efficiently and the cancer cells in each of our bodies don’t have elements to feed off of or start from. Note: I am not saying you won’t get cancer if you are fit, I’m saying a fit body helps prevent and reduce your chances and having a dietary fiber is one way of doing that.

Did you know having excess body fat can increases the risk of 12 cancer types? With a dietary fiber, you can increase the feeling of fullness which decreases your chances of overeating.

”Grapefruit’s vitamin C and unique phytochemicals offer potential for acting through several paths to reduce cancer risk.”

– Karen Collins, MS, RDN, CDN

10. Offers Hydration

91 percent of a grapefruit is water. This means, next to watermelon, it is one of the most hydrating fruits available. Water helps with dehydration making this fruit a great snack, especially since it is also full of electrolytes.

We haven’t discussed everything this colorful fruit can do for your health, but you don’t need a list of the top 20 to see that it’s good for you.

Try one out if you haven’t already and add a little salt or just eat it plain. No matter how you like it the point is to eat one on a regular basis. Every day would be great and if you can’t manage that then try for three times a week.

Drinking grapefruit juice is also a great alternative, just be very careful to read the ingredients. Nothing should be added, especially sugar!

It’s okay to have one item and one ingredient, in fact, there should be more of that. My advice, if you don’t understand the ingredients then don’t buy the product. More on that topic later ;). For now, enjoy your week and eat clean.

Cheers– Heather Earles

History

Grapefruits have a rather recent history, having been discovered in Barbados in the 18th century. Many botanists think the grapefruit was actually the result of a natural cross breeding which occurred between the orange and the pomelo, a citrus fruit that was brought from Indonesia to Barbados in the 17th century.

The resulting fruit was given the name “grapefruit” in 1814 in Jamaica, a name which reflects the way it’s arranged when it grows—hanging in clusters just like grapes.

Grapefruit trees were planted in Florida in the early 19th century, although they did not become a viable commercial crop until later that century. Florida is still a major producer of grapefruits, as is California, Arizona, and Texas. Other countries that produce grapefruits commercially include Israel, South Africa, and Brazil.

-The World’s Healthiest Foods