Go for the Grapefruit

It’ll cheer you up and boost your health, but watch for drug interactions

Are you counting down the days until summer? Transport yourself there with a bite of sunshine—the grapefruit. This luscious treat is in season and abundant in grocery stores right now.

Packed with vitamins and minerals, grapefruit is a true super-food. “It’s loaded with vitamin C to help boost your immune system, rich in cholesterol-lowering fiber, high in potassium (important for blood pressure control), and full of cancer-preventing lycopene,” says registered dietitian Karen Friedly of Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network.

Grapefruit always is picked ripe. It can be stored for up to three weeks in the refrigerator, but tastes best at room temperature. Most people enjoy it for breakfast, either as juice or cut in half and sprinkled with sugar. But you can broil grapefruit halves for a belly-warming treat. Just remove the seeds and loosen the sections, then sprinkle each half with brown sugar or sweetener and broil until the juice bubbles and the edges turn light brown.

Despite its many benefits, grapefruit is the wrong choice for people taking certain medications such as cholesterol- or blood
pressure-lowering drugs. “Grapefruit prevents an enzyme in the body from breaking down certain drugs,” says Friedly’s colleague, registered pharmacist Michael Columbus. Because of this, the levels of the drug in the body can increase to potentially toxic levels.

“Check your medication container to see if there is a grapefruit interaction, or any other interaction warning, on the label,” Columbus says. He urges those with questions about potential food/medicine interactions to contact their doctor or pharmacist.

What to Know More about using grapefruit in recipes? Click here.

This page last updated 2/12/08 04:08 PM

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