Grapefruit

The Grapefruit, with her historical roots in Barbados, is a subtropical citrus plant with fruits originally named “The forbidden fruit”. The tree keeps its green color all over the year and has beautiful, long, dark green leaves and small flowers. The fruit is vividly colored with yellow to orange shades, spherical, with a bright yellow to pink and red flesh. It is also known as one of the seven wonders in Barbados.

The most popular cultivars are known in USA as “Reddest” and “Texas Choice”, the latter is also the symbol of Texas State. Nevertheless, USA is the top producer of worldwide grapefruit, followed by China and Mexico. Everybody heard about the grapefruit diet   as it is one of the most nutritious and healthy fruits. They are great sources of vitamin C, anti oxidants and pectin. Studies have shown that they help in decreasing the cholesterol level and increases fat burning. The seed extract is an excellent antimicrobial and recent research has proven that a quarter of a grapefruit eaten daily decreases with 30% the chances of a breast cancer in post-menopausal women.

As healthy as they are, grapefruits have a big disadvantage in some cases. There have been reported numerous interactions with drugs, increasing their effect. Their high content of naringin, bergamottin and dihydroxybergamottin inhibit some intestinal proteins – which intensifies drug absorption. The bad news is that there were many deaths caused by a false overdose medication, but in reality by the high consumption of grapefruits while under treatment.