Pink Grapefruit Rocks!

I have been a lover of Pink Grapefruit since I was a child.  I grew up in Western NY State and every winter my parents would buy a huge box of grapefruit from the church fundraiser.  I am not exaggerating when I tell you there were about 50 grapefruit in this box and nothing tastes more like summer in the deep NY State winter than a sunny grapefruit.  As I grew up and went away to college, anytime I would feel homesick I would do one of two things, either go to the mall and smell the perm solution hanging in the air near the hair salon (you see my mother was a hair dresser with a salon in our home) or I would splurge on a big juicy pink grapefruit from the grocery store.

Okay, before you stop reading because you think grapefruit is too bitter for you to eat, let me tell you that I have a trick that takes the bitter bite out of these power packed beauties!  Most of the bitterness in a grapefruit is in the membranes and the pith, the white portion located between the yellow part of the skin and the fruity center.  If you peel the grapefruit and divide it into sections, you can easily remove the membrane from the inner pink fruit and you will find it sweet and juicy. 
Here’s how:

Start by peeling your grapefruit like this:

This is the pith.  You can remove it or leave it attached to the bottom of each section. 

Next peel away the membrane surrounding each section, like this:

Then peel the section off the bottom where it is attached to the pith or just bite it off the top. 

This is a juicy procedure so be sure to have plenty of towels and napkins nearby!

I have taught my boys and my husband, who swore he did not like grapefruit, to love them like I do.  Now pink grapefruit is a staple in our house.  I try to eat one everyday because they are delicious and grapefruit packs a triple power punch of nutrients and healthy benefits that are hard to beat!

Antioxidants
Studies have shown eating a grapefruit a day supplies your body with the antioxidants lycopene and beta-carotene.  These antioxidants are known for their ability to protect your body’s cells from free radical damage which have been shown to contribute to disease and premature aging.

Cholesterol
A Hebrew University Study in 2006 showed Pink Grapefruit consumption to lower blood triglycerides, a type of cholesterol know to contribute to cardiovascular disease.  Women with PCOS (like me) are the largest group of women at risk for developing cardiovascular disease.

Weight Loss
A 2004 study by the Metabolic Research Center at Scripps Clinic and a 2006 study in the Journal of Medicinal Food found that eating half of a grapefruit before each meal caused weigh loss in participants.  The researchers found that pink grapefruit contained active compounds that helped maintain reduced insulin levels in their blood following a meal. Having less insulin in the blood following a meal means you are more likely to use the food for energy  and less likely to store it as fat. Not only that but each 230g serving  are low in calories (about 90 Kcals) and packed with dietary fiber (4g) Vitamin A (53%) and Vitamin C (120%)

If you have not tried a pink grapefruit in a while, what are you waiting for?  Go on out and get one!!