The 52 New Foods Challenge Food of the Week: Grapefruit
Grapefruits are not a new food for most of us, but Jennifer Tyler Lee has a recipe for broiled grapefruit with a touch of honey which sounds pretty yummy. I’ve been wanting to try grilled or baked grapefruit because I think the caramelization of the sugars might make it more appealing to me.
Food Facts:
- Good source of vitamins A, C, B6, B5 (pantothenic acid), folic acid, thiamine, copper, selenium, potassium, and magnesium
- Good source of fiber
- Contains antioxidants called anthocyanins, liminoids, lycopene, and carotenoids
- The only citrus indigenous to the “new world” or the Americas (first found in Barbados)
- They are known for helping to lower blood cholesterol, help normalize hematocrit levels (important if you are anemic), and helping to protect against cancer, macular degeneration, and cardiovascular disease.
- Can also help the body get rid of excess estrogen, helping to prevent breast cancer
- Like oranges and mandarins, they are often picked when green, shipped, and then artificially ripened with ethylene gas which causes them to ripen. This causes them to look ripe but they aren’t truly ripe and have fewer bionutrients than tree ripened fruit.
- Grapefruits harvested after December are more likely to be tree ripened (their season is late winter/ early spring)
- Organic Grapefruits (mandarins and oranges too) have not been degreened
- To select the best grapefruits: look for large, smooth-skinned fruits that are heavy for their size
- Until about one hundred years ago, all grape fruits had white flesh! The pink flesh was a natural mutation making it sweeter.
- Some Medications and grapefruit should not be used together – meds used for blood pressure, cholesterol, anxiety, and those that reduce the rejection of an organ after transplant. Check with your doctor.
From Eating on the Wild Side: The Missing Link to Optimum Health
by Tonia Reinhard.
