The Sweet n' Sour Of Health!
 
This great golden yellow to orange fruit is very shortly coming into season in Southern California and a time I always looked forward to when I lived there. There is nothing so tasty as fresh fruits or vegetables right off the tree, bush or vine!!!
 
A large citrus fruit related to the orange, lemon and pomelo. Grapefruits are categorized as white, pink or ruby. However, this terminology doesn't reflect their skin color, which is either yellow or pinkish-yellow, but simply describes the color inside. Grapefruits usually range in diameter from four to six inches, with some varieties featuring seeds while others are seedless. The wonderful flavor of a grapefruit is like paradise, just as its Latin name Citrus paradisi connotes. It is juicy, tart and tangy with an underlying sweetness that weaves throughout.
 
History of grapefruit
 
Grapefruits have a rather recent history, having been discovered in Barbados in the 18th century. Many botanists think the grapefruit was actually the result of a natural cross breeding which occurred between the orange and the pomelo, a citrus fruit that was brought from Indonesia to Barbados in the 17th century.
 
The resulting fruit was given the name grapefruit in 1814 in Jamaica, a name which reflects the way it's arranged when it grows - hanging in clusters just like grapes.
 
Grapefruit trees were planted in Florida in the early 19th century, although they did not become a viable commercial crop until later that century. Florida is still a major producer of grapefruits, as is California, Arizona and Texas. Other countries that produce grapefruits commercially include Israel, South Africa and Brazil.
 
The National Cancer Institute placed grapefruit on their list of cancer preventative foods. Low in calories and actually known to trigger weight loss.
 
An excellent source of vitamin C, that helps to support the immune system. Vitamin C-rich foods like grapefruit are known to help reduce cold symptoms or severity of cold symptoms; Numerous scientific studies have found vitamin C to be a cold-fighter. Also shown to prevent free radical damage that triggers the inflammatory processes, and reduces severity of inflammatory conditions, such as asthma, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis. Vitamin C is beneficial to promoting cardiovascular health. Owing to the multitude of vitamin C's health benefits, it is not surprising that research has shown that consumption of vegetables and fruits high in this nutrient is associated with a reduced risk of death from all causes including heart disease, stroke and cancer.
 
Also an excellent source of Vitamin A the healthy skin nutrient!
 
Grapefruit may be the less favored citrus choice when compared to the sweeter orange, but grapefruit sparkles with health promoting compounds that are known to help:
 
* fight cold symptoms
* prevent certain forms of cancer
* prevent heart disease
 
New research presented at the 228th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society provides two more reasons to drink grapefruit juice: protection against lung and colon cancer.
 
CAUTION: Do not drink grapefruit juice if taking blood-pressure-lowering drug Plendil (felodipine) increases its absorption making for dizziness and/or fainting!
 
Nutrients in grapefruit are; Vitamin A & C, Lycopene, Limonoids and Pectin,
 
In humans, drinking three 6-ounce glasses of grapefruit juice a day was shown to reduce the activity of an enzyme that activates cancer-causing chemicals found in tobacco smoke. In rats whose colons were injected with carcinogens, grapefruit and its isolated active compounds (apigenin, hesperidin, limonin, naringin, naringenin, nobiletin) not only increased the death of cancer cells, but also increases the production of normal colon cells. Researchers also confirmed that grapefruit may help prevent weight gain by lowering insulin levels.
 
Lycopene; the rich pink and red colors of grapefruit are due to lycopene, a carotenoid phytochemical. Lycopene appears to have anti-tumor activity. Among the common dietary carotenoids, lycopene has the highest capacity to help fight oxygen free radicals, which are compounds that can damage cells.
 
Limonoids; phytochemicals in grapefruit called limonoids inhibit tumor formation by promoting the formation of glutathione-S-transferase, a detoxifying enzyme. This enzyme sparks a reaction in the liver that helps to make toxic compounds more water soluble for excretion from the body. Pulp of citrus fruits like grapefruit contain glucarates, compounds which may help prevent breast cancer.
 
Pectin; a form of soluble fiber that forms a gel-like substance in the intestinal tract that can trap fats like cholesterol. In animal studies, grapefruit pectin inhibited the formation of atherosclerosis. Animals fed a high-cholesterol diet plus grapefruit pectin had 24% narrowing of their arteries, while animals fed only the high-cholesterol diet had 45% narrowing.
 
Prevent Kidney Stones; reduce your risk of calcium oxalate kidney stones. Drink grapefruit juice. A study published in the British Journal of Nutrition found that when women drank ? to 1 litre of grapefruit, apple or orange juice daily, their urinary pH value and citric acid excretion increased, significantly dropping their risk of forming calcium oxalate stones.(October 4, 2003)
 
Protection against Macular Degeneration; Data reported in a study published in the June 2004 issue of the Archives of Opthamology indicates that eating 3 or more servings of fruit per day may lower your risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the primary cause of vision loss in older adults, by 36%, compared to persons who consume less than 1.5 servings of fruit daily.
 
In this study, which involved 77,562 women and 40,866 men, researchers evaluated the effect of study participants' consumption of fruits; vegetables; the antioxidant vitamins A, C, and E; and carotenoids on the development of early AMD or neovascular AMD, a more severe form of the illness associated with vision loss. Food intake information was collected periodically for up to 18 years for women and 12 years for men. Fruit intake was definitely protective against the severe form of this AMD vision-destroying disease. Three servings of fruit may sound like a lot to eat each day, but grapefruit can help you reach this goal. Try starting your day with a half grapefruit, add grapefruit sections to your green salads, or for an elegant dessert, spread a little honey over a half grapefruit and broil for 1-2 minutes.(July 10, 2004)
 
How to Select and Store Grapefruit!
 
A good grapefruit doesn?t have to be perfect in color. Skin discoloration, scratches or scales may affect the appearance of a grapefruit, but they do not impact the taste quality. Signs of decay include an overly soft spot at the stem end of the fruit and areas that appear watersoaked. These form of decay usually does translate into poor taste; a flavor that is less vibrant and more bitter than a good quality grapefruit.
 
The grapefruit should be heavy for its size as this usually indicates thin skins and therefore a higher concentration of juicier flesh. Those that have overly rough or wrinkled skin usually tend to be thick skinned with less meat inside, a dryer taste and not as flavorful.
 
Grapefruits should be firm, yet slightly springy when gentle pressure is applied. While chilled grapefruits do not have an apparent fragrance, those kept at room temperature should have a subtly sweet aroma. Grapefruits can be purchased throughout the year although the height of the season ranges from winter through early spring.
 
Since grapefruits are more juicy when they're slightly warm rather than cool, store them at room temperature if you are planning on consuming them within a week of purchase. If you will not be using them within this time period, store them in the refrigerator crisper where they will keep fresh for two to three weeks.
 

The next time you eat a sweet, juicy grapefruit know that you will also be consuming a variety of nutrients you may not have realized. These nutrients are called phytochemicals. They are found naturally in grapefruit and many have been linked to the prevention of certain cancers. One of these phytochemicals is called lycopene. Some animal studies have shown lycopene to reduce the risk of prostate, breast, cervical and colon cancer. Studies by Dr. Steve Clinton at the Harvard School of Public Health have shown that when lycopene is found in high concentrations in the human prostate it significantly reduces the risk of prostate cancer.

I have no recipe here as we eat fresh grapefruit peeled in citrus fruit salad or as a breakfast fruit or snack. You can find canned grapefruit sections that are quite tasty. Use your imagination and enjoy grapefruit for your health!
Lena