Grapefruit is a citrus fruit known as a strong source of vitamin C, fiber, potassium, and other vital nutrients.
It's also been a main ingredient in some weight loss diets, though more scientific evidence is necessary to back those claims. Though grapefruit is a healthy fruit choice for many, others should consume it cautiously because it interacts with various drugs and can impact certain health conditions.
This article discusses the health benefits of grapefruit, with tips for incorporating it into your meals.
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What Are the Benefits of Grapefruit?
Grapefruit contains vitamins, antioxidants, and fiber that contribute to many health benefits. There has been much research on how this tart citrus helps support your health.
Research shows grapefruit helps promote:
- Wound healing: Likely thanks to vitamin C
- Eye health: Due to vitamin A
- Inflammation reduction: Via the fruit's anti-inflammatory flavonoids
- Heart health: Stemming from its solid potassium levels
- Potential cancer prevention: Due to its antioxidant lycopene content
- Stress relief: Lowers cortisol levels, specifically when it's in essential oil form
How Nutritious Is Grapefruit?
Grapefruit is a high-nutrient superfood worth incorporating into your diet if it's safe for you. Like other citrus fruits, grapefruits are a solid source of vitamins C and A. Additionally, grapefruit contains nearly zero fat, with substantial amounts of essential minerals like magnesium, potassium, fiber, and calcium.
Grapefruit is also among the fruits with the highest water content, containing up to 91% water, which equals about 7.4 ounces per cup of grapefruit.
If you are concerned about elevated blood sugar levels, it is pretty low on the glycemic index. Eating grapefruit or drinking its juice regularly may help with cholesterol levels and body weight.
There are many different types of grapefruit. The most common grapefruit varieties include white, pink, and red. Grapefruit in the form of juice is another popular option for many people.
Beyond the Benefits: Grapefruit Risks
Though consuming grapefruit daily is safe for many people, there are some risks to be aware of, mainly if you take medications and have certain health conditions or allergies.
Fruits for Weight Loss: Which Ones Are Best?
Medication Interactions
There are more than 50 known prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs with which grapefruit can interfere. This is partly due to its increased metabolization, which can strongly interact with medication dosing.
Discuss this with a healthcare provider before adding grapefruit to your diet if you are currently taking prescription medication.
It's important to know that if you are taking medications to help regulate cholesterol or blood pressure, antiplatelets, and anticoagulants, you should not eat grapefruit or drink grapefruit juice (unless otherwise directed by a healthcare provider). Grapefruit has the potential to alter these specific medication levels in your bloodstream and increase the risk of serious side effects.
Other drug classes have known strong interactions with grapefruit and grapefruit juice, including:
- Antihistamines
- Thyroid replacement drugs
- Birth control
- Acid-blocking drugs
- Certain cough suppressants
- Some anti-anxiety medications
- Estrogens
- Viagra
Always check medication levels because these should highlight whether they're not to be taken with grapefruit. Even a cup of juice or a few slices of grapefruit can impact the effectiveness of your medication. The citrus fruit pomelo has similar drug interactions.
Medical Conditions
You should also consume grapefruit with caution if you have certain medical conditions, which may include:
- Pregnancy or breastfeeding: There's not enough evidence to show how grapefruit might impact a developing or growing baby.
- Cardiomyopathy (a heart muscle disorder) or an irregular heartbeat: There may be an increased risk of an abnormal heart rhythm if grapefruit juice is consumed.
- Hormone-sensitive cancers (such as breast cancer): These might be prone to increased hormone levels with the consumption of grapefruit products.
- Postmenopause: Large amounts of grapefruit juice may lead to an increased breast cancer risk.
Allergies
Though citrus allergies aren't common, they may be possible with grapefruit consumption or exposure.
Signs of a grapefruit allergy can include a skin rash, inflammation, nausea, vomiting, and more. Though there's no specific cure for this type of food allergy, a healthcare provider can offer guidance on avoiding hidden citrus in your daily diet and utilizing an EpiPen if necessary.
Before incorporating grapefruit into your diet, check with a healthcare provider to ensure that the fruit won't affect any medications you may be taking, health conditions you may be experiencing, or allergies that may arise.
A Couple of Ways to Eat Grapefruit
If it's safe for you to consume, you can incorporate the tart flavor of grapefruit into your diet in several different ways, such as:
- Though many people enjoy splitting a grapefruit in half and eating it with a spoon, there's also the option of peeling it (just like you would peel an orange) to get more fiber and antioxidants.
- Try a grapefruit salsa combined with avocado, tomatoes, and other flavors.
- Adding salt and sugar to grapefruit pieces isn't necessary, but a tiny sprinkle of either may be OK if desired for flavor purposes.
Grapefruit may be better stored at room temperature, even though it can also last in the refrigerator.
What's the Point of the Grapefruit Diet?
Decades after its surge in popularity over the 1970s and 1980s, research suggested that drinking grapefruit juice could help boost weight loss in people withinsulin resistance.
The study's results spotlight grapefruit because it was incorporated into prominent weight loss diet plans. The grapefruit diet fad involves eating a hearty serving of grapefruit with or before every meal based on the thinking that grapefruit contains enzymes that burn fat, speeding up the metabolism.
Though more research is still necessary to support these claims, grapefruit's high water content and filling fiber might help stretch your time between meals.
Summary
Grapefruit is rich in vitamins and nutrients, including vitamin C, potassium, and fiber. Research shows that the fruit's health benefits range from faster wound healing to supporting heart health and reducing inflammation.
Grapefruit has strong and potentially serious interactions with many different prescription and OTC medications due to its interaction with the body's metabolism. Pay special attention to medication warning labels and listed side effects before incorporating grapefruit into your diet, mainly if you take cholesterol- or blood pressure-lowering drugs.
