Grapefruit, or Citrus paradisi as it is botanically known, is a juicy fruit that belongs to the same family as the orange, sweet lime, and lemon. The fruit is available in both seedless as well as seed-containing varieties. Loaded with vitamin C, grapefruits are useful in fighting colds and boosting the immunity in general. They have also been found to be beneficial to people suffering from arthritic conditions and respiratory allergies by virtue of their ingredients, which have antioxidant properties.
Grapefruits owe their beautiful and bright red or pink colors to a carotenoid known as lycopene. This phytonutrient is not only a powerful antioxidant, but also an anti-tumor agent. Studies have shown that men who consume foods that are rich in lycopene such as grapefruits, guavas, papaya, apricots, tomatoes, and watermelon are less prone to suffer from prostatic enlargement and cancer.
Limonoids, another group of phytonutrients present in grapefruits, are capable of facilitating detoxification of a number of compounds in the liver so as to keep many diseases at bay. The glucarates in grapefruits are helpful in preventing breast cancer. The fruit has a good amount of pectin in it, which is a form of soluble fiber. This is useful in reducing the absorption of consumed fats, thereby lowering the cholesterol levels of the body and preventing atherosclerosis and hypertension in the bargain.
Drinking grapefruit juice daily makes the urine more alkaline in its pH and thus reduces the risk of developing calcium oxalate kidney stones. The juice has also been found to offer protection against lung and colon cancer. Therefore, it is advisable for smokers to eat this fruit or drink its juice regularly to decrease their chances of suffering from bronchogenic carcinoma. It has recently been established that grapefruit also has insulin-lowering properties and is therefore indispensible in the management of diabetes mellitus naturally.
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