Grapefruit: Diet & Nutrition

Did you know that grapefruit is best eaten when fresh and chilled as this maximises its vitamin C content? Learn more.

How much to eat

Citrus fruit can be eaten freely. Two or three citrus fruits can provide the body with 20 percent of its potassium requirements.

Key benefits

All citrus fruit are excellent sources of Vitamin C, which helps to maintain the body's defences. The flavonoid narigenin is found in grapefruit. It is thought to reduce the risk of some cancers. Grapefruit can improve blood circulation and lower blood cholesterol levels.

Grapefruit

Grapefruit is a hybrid of two citrus species, Citrus maxima (pummelo) and Citrus sinensis (sweet orange). Grapefruit has a deep red flesh inside and it is a variety of Florida. It makes an essential nutrient for skin development and eyesight.

Grapefruit

The fruit is yellow orange skinned and its major types are white, pink and red. The color will not affect the flavor where the pink and red grapefruit add Vitamin A to your diet. It makes a perfect breakfast since it comes in a ready-made bowl. It should not be picked until it is fully ripe.

Health benefits

    * Grapefruit is an excellent source of vitamin C
    * It helps to lower the cholesterol level where the seeds have antioxidant properties
    * Grapefruit is rich in nutrients like potassium, folate, thiamin, vitamin A, vitamin B6 and fiber
    * It is an anti-cancer agent that helps to fight against diseases
    * It is very helpful in dissolving inorganic calcium

Grapefruit: Nutrition . Selection . Storage

Nutrition information for grapefruits and tips on how to select, store and prepare them. Health Benefits

This fruit’s name is derived from how it grows on the tree, clustered like bunches of grapes.

How To Select
Choose grapefruits with thin, smooth, firm blemish free skins that are heavy for their size.

How to Store
Store grapefruits at room temperature for 1 week or under refrigeration for 2 to 3 weeks.

Nutrition Benefits
Fat free; saturated fat free; sodium free; cholesterol free; high in vitamin A; high in vitamin C.

Grapefruit

Tart and tangy with an underlying sweetness, grapefruit has a juiciness that rivals that of the ever popular orange and sparkles with many of the same health promoting benefits. Although available throughout the year, they are in season and at their best from winter through early spring.

Grapefruits usually range in diameter from four to six inches and include both seed and seedless and pink and white varieties. The wonderful flavor of a grapefruit is like paradise as is expressed by its Latin name, Citrus paradisi.

Grapefruit Overview

A relative newcomer to the citrus clan, the grapefruit was originally believed to be a spontaneous sport of the pummelo (q.v.). James MacFayden, in his Flora of Jamaica, in 1837, separated the grapefruit from the pummelo, giving it the botanical name, Citrus paradisi Macf. About 1948, citrus specialists began to suggest that the grapefruit was not a sport of the pummelo but an accidental hybrid between the pummelo and the orange. The botanical name has been altered to reflect this view, and it is now generally accepted as Citrus X paradisi.

When this new fruit was adopted into cultivation and the name grapefruit came into general circulation, American horticulturists viewed that title as so inappropriate that they endeavored to have it dropped in favor of "pomelo". However, it was difficult to avoid confusion with the pummelo, and the name grapefruit prevailed, and is in international use except in Spanish-speaking areas where the fruit is called toronja. In 1962, Florida Citrus Mutual proposed changing the name to something more appealing to consumers in order to stimulate greater sales. There were so many protests from the public against a name change that the idea was abandoned.