Fruit is healthy for us, we all know that. Only one fruit is more good for your body than the other. If you are a fan of grapefruit, then you are in luck. This amazing fruit ensures that you can lose weight faster and also works against diabetes. You will find more about this amazing fruit in this article
The nutritional value of grapefruit
The grapefruit contains few calories and is therefore very suitable in a diet or as a snack. Most of the fruit consists of water that serves as a means of transport for nutrients and metabolic products in the body. In addition, the grapefruit contains many dietary fibers that are important for the functioning of the intestines. The grapefruit contains a lot of vitamin C, which, for example, ensures good resistance and improves the absorption of iron from food. Finally, the grapefruit also contains a lot of potassium, which ensures that the water balance in the body is regulated and the normal blood pressure is maintained.
Nutritional value per 100 grams of grapefruit: | |
---|---|
Kcal | 30 |
Protein | 0.7 grams |
Fat | 0.1 gram |
Carbohydrates | 6.5 grams |
Fiber | 1.9 grams |
Vitamin C | 39 milligrams |
Calcium | 12 milligrams |
Iron | 0.1 milligram |
Losing weight with grapefruit
A grapefruit diet was already introduced in the 1930s. Well, this diet helped not only because grapefruit was eaten but mainly because it contained very few calories. However, recent research has shown that the grapefruit does promote weight loss. The Grapefruit contains a substance that stimulates your liver to burn more fat, and you naturally want that if you want to lose weight. The substance that also gives the grapefruit its bitter taste, naringin, causes your body to burn fat instead of storing it as an energy reserve.
This effect has been studied, for example, in mice but also on test subjects. If these people maintained the same diet and consumed half a fresh grapefruit, 250 ml grapefruit juice or grapefruit capsules every day, they were found to have lost weight after 12 weeks. This effect was greatest in the people who ate fresh grapefruit (1.8 kilos), but the people who took capsules also lost considerable weight.
Grapefruit as a remedy for diabetes
The above studies also showed that the mice that received naringin did not develop insulin resistance (a precursor to diabetes) despite a very unhealthy diet. The mice that did not receive naringin did develop insulin resistance due to the unhealthy diet. Research in humans also gives a similar result. The subjects who ate grapefruit and drank its juice had a significant improvement in insulin sensitivity, as reflected by a lower fasting insulin level and a lower insulin level after meals.
Other health effects of the grapefruit
- The total antioxidant capacity in the grapefruit is very large, much greater than oranges, tomatoes and apples. These anti-oxidants take care of that heart and vascular disease will be prevented.
- The grapefruit has cholesterol-inhibiting properties which ensure that cholesterol and blood fat levels improve significantly when a grapefruit is eaten daily.
- The peel of the squeezed grapefruit can be left rough elbows rotated to make them softer
- The large amount of vitamin C and potassium can hangovers counteract.
- Lypocene, the dye that colors the grapefruit, protects against tumors and cancer and in particular prostate cancer
- The grapefruit works anti-inflammatory when used on wounds
- The grapefruit can help against it gallstones
Interaction between grapefruit and drugs
If you are taking medications and especially medications for chronic diseases, eating grapefruit regularly can cause the medication not to work as intended and cause side effects to occur sooner. If you are using medication, it is always wise to consult the package leaflet and possibly consult your pharmacist.
Grapefruit, more than just for breakfast
Grapefruit can not only be consumed as fruit or juice but can also be used in many dishes. The grapefruit not only combines well with fish and meat in hot dishes, but can also be used in salads and desserts. There is an abundance of recipes with the grapefruit on the internet. If, despite all the delicious recipes, you don’t like the taste of the grapefruit yet, you can of course always capsules use with grapefruit extracts so you can still take advantage of the health benefits.