My New Obsession

Friday's here again - meaning it's been a week since my last blog post. Work, along with life in general, has been quite busy this past week. My goal is to post something everyday, but life doesn't always allow time for everything you want to do.

Anyways, I'm here to talk about my new obsession: GRAPEFRUIT! I've been eating, drinking, and even thinking about the fruit a lot lately. Last Sunday at brunch, I had a grapefruit crush with freshly-squeezed grapefruit juice and let me tell you, it was so damn refreshing. I couldn't contain an "oh yeah" when I took the first sip of the icy citrus drink.

Grapefruit is an awesome fruit. Like other citrus fruits, it's a great source of vitamin C. Just one half of a grapefruit provides about 64% of the daily recommended amount of vitamin C. Grapefruit provides an abundance of other vitamins and minerals as well: vitamin A, calcium, magnesium, vitamin E, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, folate, pantothenic acid, potassium, phosphorus, manganese, zinc and copper. In addition to that huge list, grapefruit contains phynutrients, such as limonoids and naringenin, and antioxidants, such as lycopene and beta-carotene.

There are many benefits to consuming grapefruit:

• Weight loss
• Stroke prevention in women
• Blood pressure and hearth health
• Cancer prevention
• Digestion and regularity
• Hydration
• Skin health
• Asthma prevention

Please note that people taking the following medications should not eat grapefruit:

• Felodipine (Plendil)
• Nifedipine (Procardia, Adalat)
• Atorvastatin (Lipitor)
• Simvastatin (Zocor)
• Lovastatin (Mevacor)
• Cyclosporine (Sandimmune)
• Diazepam (Valium)
• Triazolam (Halcion)
• Midazolam (Versed)
• Busprione (BuSpar)
• Sertraline (Zoloft)
• Carbamazepine (Tegretol)