Know Your Grapefruit

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Grapefruit is part of the citrus family but it hasn't been in circulation for as long as oranges have been. Whereas there are references to oranges dating back 4,000 years, the first time we ever heard about grapefruit was in 1750 when it was referred to as the “forbidden fruit” of Barbados. The original name for the grapefruit was a shaddock. It was renamed grapefruit based on the fact that it grows in clusters much like grapes on a vine. Once grapefruit trees were transplanted to the US their popularity as a breakfast fruit grew. Sales for grapefruits really took off during the 70's with the grapefruit diet craze. Today, grapefruits and grapefruit juice are a rich source of essential daily vitamins and minerals.

Any grapefruit connoisseur will tell you there are three basic varieties of the fruit: white, pink and red. Within those three groups are variations like the ruby red, the Star ruby and the Rio red. Grapefruits can last for about a week outside the fridge and up to four weeks if they are kept chilled. A common method of eating grapefruit is slicing it in half and sprinkling some sugar or honey onto the halves then scooping out the juicy goodness. But many folks enjoy eating grapefruits like they would oranges by peeling away the skin and enjoying the sections. However you eat your grapefruit you're going to find a wide array of nutritional benefits within every juicy bite.

Like their citrus cousins the oranges, grapefruits are chock full of vitamin C. We all know vitamin C has been shown to be a great cold remedy. However, vitamin C also plays an important part in cell regeneration and can help lower cholesterol which in turn can reduce the risk of heart attacks. The pink and red varieties of grapefruit get their color from lycopene which is a wonderful mineral that has shown to reduce the risk of some cancers. Specifically, grapefruits have been shown in clinical tests to lower the chances of prostate cancer in men.

Thanks to the abundant amount of calcium you'll find in every grapefruit, you can decrease the risk of kidney stones along with strengthening your bones. Grapefruit juice has also been shown to kick start your liver by increasing that organ's detoxification process. In other words, drinking grapefruit juice can help keep your body clean. All of that from one grapefruit!
You don't have to pick a perfect grapefruit to enjoy the benefits. If a grapefruit skin looks bruised or banged up, that will have no impact on what's under the skin. To pick the perfect grapefruit they should be firm with just a bit of spring to the squeeze. Thanks to the perfect growing climates in states like Texas, grapefruit can be available anytime of the year but the optimum season is between winter and spring. Isn't it time for you to have a grapefruit?

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