Grapefruit & Digestion

Grapefruit improves digestion. Its sour taste increases saliva and gastric juices. The fruits bitterness stimulates peristalsis and cleansing of the digestive tract. Grapefruit increases the effective potency and bioavailability of many drugs by inhibiting certain enzymes. It increases alertness and refreshes the body, due to sourness and bitterness.

Grapefruit, Fat Metabolism, & Cholesterol

Grapefruit improves fat metabolism and lowers cholesterol. Scientists have hypothesized that grapefruit reduces insulin levels, encouraging fat loss. Ayurveda's high regard for grapefruit lies in its taste, the combination of sour and bitter flavors. Sour and bitter tastes stimulate the flow of bile, which cleans the liver of congestion and prevents the formation of stones in the gall bladder. The removal of bile from the liver, due to its oiliness, also lowers cholesterol levels in the blood. Your spine will feel more cool and relaxed because the bile flow directly reduces Pitta.

The Grapefruit Diet

The grapefruit diet is a weight-loss program popularized in the 1930s. It is a low-calorie crash diet with the addition of 1/2 grapefruit per meal. As with many fad diets, use caution. Avoid starvation or crash diets that increase Vata and ultimately lower metabolism. A healthy diet with the addition of grapefruit can be a sustainable method for long-term weight loss.

Grapefruit & Aging

Grapefruit contains large quantities of spermidine, necessary for cell growth and maturation. As cells age their level of spermidine falls. Worms, fruit flies, and yeast fed spermidine have significantly longer life spans. Mice fed spermidine had reduced molecular markers of aging. Human cells fed spermidine also lived longer. A half grapefruit provides 78.1 percent of the daily recommended dose of vitamin C. High levels of the powerful antioxidant lycopene, shown to have anti-tumor activity, give grapefruit its characteristic red/pink color.

Contraindications

Grapefruit may interfere with enzymes that metabolize estrogen, possibly increasing the risk of breast cancer in women who previously used hormone therapy. Grapefruit can increase the risk of some types of kidney stones. Grapefruit also interferes with some beta blocker drugs used to treat high blood pressure, and cyclosporine, taken by transplant patients to prevent rejection of their new organs. Grapefruits are also contraindicated when using anti-depressants.