In patients with high cholesterol, the consumption of 2 grapefruits per day would have the property of lowering cholesterol and blood triglyceride levels and increasing the antioxidant capacity in the blood. They could reduce the proliferation of cancer cells of breast, stomach, lung, mouth and the colon.īlood lipids. Antioxidant compounds contained in citrus fruits (limonoids) have shown anticancer effects in vitro and on animals. In addition, researchers observed the incidence of lung cancer was lower among people who consumed white grapefruit.Ĭancer (slowing progression). However, other studies have shown reverse results, or an absence links. The consumption of grapefruit could, according to a large-scale prospective study (population), reduce the risk of breast cancer. In the case of pancreatic cancer, the studies remain however contreversial.Ī population study suggests that the daily consumption of citrus fruit coupled with a high consumption of green tea (1 cup and more per day) would be associated with a greater decrease in the cancer incidence. According to one of these studies, moderate consumption of citrus fruits (1-4 servings per week) would reduce the risk of cancers affecting the gastrointestinal tract and the upper part of the respiratory system.

Several studies have shown the consumption of citrus fruits, including grapefruit, would be related to the prevention of certain types of cancers, such as esophageal, stomach, colon, mouth and pharynx cancer. The benefits of grapefruitĬancer (prevention). The antioxidant compounds it contains would provide multiple health benefits, including cancer and cardiovascular disease. Grapefruit is a refreshing fruit with exceptional vitamin C content. Finally, the waste of the processing is added to the feed of the farmed animals. Unfortunately, because of its pronounced bitterness and dark color, it must be refined, making it a much less healthy product. An edible oil is made with the seeds which has the advantage of being unsaturated. The essential oil extracted from the bark is used to aromatize beverages. Once their bitter flavor has been removed, this substance provides a sweetener which is 1 500 times sweeter than regular sugar. It also contains a bitter substance, the naringin, used in “tonic” beverages, bitter chocolate and ice cream. The albedo, the white part of the bark, is an excellent source of pectin. In addition to fresh fruit and juice, grapefruit is used to prepare wine and vinegar. In the long run, the Floridians appreciated the flavor and freshness and began to consume them. Indeed, everywhere else, the tree was considered a mere object of curiosity, and its fruits rotted on the ground without being harvested. There was a need for a certain vision and a lot of audacity on the part of the first American producers to cultivate a fruit which, at the time, was not strictly of interest to anyone. Of them, were born the great orchards of grapefruits of the United States, a country where it produces today more than anywhere in the world. The seeds of this new species were landed in Florida in the early nineteenth century by a Spanish emigrant. It’s this fruit which is now commonly found under the name of grapefruit. The fruit is first named “forbidden fruit”, then grapefruit. This unusual combination will spawn a new species, the first of the genus citrus to be born outside the boundaries of its territory, Southeast Asia. Indeed, an unforeseen combination will take place between a young grapefruit from these seeds and an orange tree whose ancestors had immigrated to the American soil two centuries before.

However the trip of this botanical species stops there. The first seeds of the “true” grapefruit to arrive in America were said to have been sown in Barbados in the seventeenth century. “Pomelo” comes from English language (which also appears under the spelling pummelo), itself derived from the modern scientific Latin pomum melo meaning “melon apple”. The term “grapefruit” dates from 1665 and comes from the Dutch pompelmoes, pömpel, “thick” and limoes, “lemon”. It is grown in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Caribbean. Its pulp is quite bitter and tart, not or little edible. It has a skin which evolves between the yellow and the greenish. The fruit measures 11 to 17 cm in diameter, is pear-shaped. The botanical name of the grapefruit is Citrus × paradisi. If they are cousins they both belong to the citrus family, which means citrus fruits are indeed different. Pomelo and grapefruit should not be confused, although it is usual to designate the pomelo by calling it, wrongly, grapefruit.

Half a grapefruit nutrition facts