About 90 percent of its content is water and that gives you a great ability to satiate the stomach. It also has fewer calories than other citrus, such as orange, mandarin or lemon, and some of their compounds may act favorably on the levels of insulin, a hormone related to the accumulation of body fat.

Because of its diuretic and cleansing qualities, also called grapefruit, has become the protagonist of numbers slimming diets that recommend eating this fruit pulp or natural juice drink plenty and regularly.

“The nutritional composition of grapefruit known for its vitamin C and folic acid, carotenoids and antioxidant minerals potassium and magnesium, in addition to its abundant malic, oxalic, tartaric and citric acids, which give some of the properties attributed “says Dr. Manuel Zamora Gomez Masters in Dietetics and Nutrition.

for every hundred grams of edible portion, this fresh Citrus fruit contains 39 calories, 17 milligrams (mgr.) Of calcium, 57 mgr. 16 phosphorus and iron as well as vitamin C (40 mgr.), vitamin B2 (2 mgr.), vitamin B1 (4 mgr.) and Vitamin A (80 mgr.).

According to the specialist, “its slimming qualities can be useful if the grapefruit is included in a diet under medical supervision, which should be personalized, varied, adequate in calories and teaches how to eat right, but not the sole or major ingredient, and propose some drastic diets because they can cause nutrient deficiencies and imbalances.”

“Some strict diets are based on the partial fast. The craziest propose eating just one or two foods as components of the daily menu. They tend to be very unbalanced shock from a nutritional standpoint, “adds the expert.

Another version of the grapefruit diet, the lemon diet is: Preaching the consumption of a few lemons sugar in the morning to the acid in the fruit dissolves fat, but that’s not true.

Grapefruit does not burn fat

Dr. Connie Diekman, a former president of the American Dietetic Association (ADA), explains that grapefruit helps weight loss, but “is not a magic bullet for weight loss.”. According to Diekman, “there is evidence that grapefruit contains enzymes that burn body fat. Initially helps you lose weight by removing fluids, but not fat associated with health risks. It also is a weight that most people recover as quickly as he lost. ”

To take advantage of the nutritional qualities of grapefruit and promote its consumption, a team of researchers from the Polytechnic University of Valencia, UPV, Spain, are developing fruit powder to consume as a spice, or rehydrate for incorporation as an ingredient in juice, purees, milk or tea.

The fruit must be one of the essential nutrients in the diet, but not enough is consumed, among other reasons, due to stability problems, they do that in a few days spoiling.

For more durable alternative products and maintain maximum fruit properties, the researchers have applied the UPV and spray freeze drying techniques, to dehydrate fruits and turn them into a powder to prevent caking.

Applications grapefruit powder

According to research by nutritionist the beneficial effect of grapefruit health and also maintains its antioxidant capacity. Per 100 grams of fresh grapefruit, are obtained between 10 and 15 grams powdered grapefruit.

Half of this amount would be adequate to flavor a serving of salad, and would amount to consume a quarter of a grapefruit or drink grapefruit juice means if you add 85 milliliters of water, according to the researchers, which is also developing ‘snacks’ dehydrated grapefruit.

Benefits for diabetes and cancer treatments :

Moreover, a scientific report from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Israel) and the Massachusetts General Hospital (USA) explain that an antioxidant associated with the bitter taste of grapefruit gets more sensitive to insulin.

Grapefruit juice can significantly increase blood levels of many drugs and so far, this effect has been considered a risk of overdose, but have found that can be used in a controlled manner, to increase the availability and effectiveness of the cancer drug rapamycin, “said Dr. Ezra Cohen, a cancer specialist at the University of Chicago (USA).

According to a clinical trial of Cohen, drink a glass a day of grapefruit juice (237 ml) allows patients to reduce the dose of rapamycin, also used in transplant recipients, and get the same benefits.

This combination could help patients avoid side effects associated with high doses of the drug, according to this study published in “Clinical Cancer Research.

Experts agree that the nutritional and health grapefruit virtues are tested, however, when taking medication and this citrus fruit commonly eaten in abundance, put it to the attention of the physician to avoid possible interactions.

Author Bio

Article is written by Hasan Mansur.