Grapefruit gained its popularity not only due to its unusual taste, but also to a greater extent due to myths about its properties and origin. For over 100 years, there has been controversy and rumor around this citrus, even the question of how to eat grapefruit is constantly included in the discussions that take place in culinary circles. Someone says that he is a hybrid of orange and pomelo, and someone claims that grapefruit is the result of selection, however, so far no one has been able to produce this fruit in an artificial way. He is simultaneously credited with medicinal properties and is immediately called hazardous to health. But it is worth saying that none of these assumptions found 100% evidence.
Like all other citrus fruits, grapefruit is rich in vitamins P, C, B1, D. It also contains mineral salts.
How to eat grapefruit so that all healthy vitamins remain in it? Of course, raw, but correct. It will be useful during the recovery period from a serious illness, after mental overwork or physical stress. Fresh from grapefruit normalizes the digestive system. But you still should not get involved in it. There are even grapefruit diets that are clearly recognized as not safe. A large amount of juice is unfavorable for the mucosa of the esophagus, for the oral cavity. This is because grapefruit has a very high acidity. How to eat grapefruit to lose weight? By itself, it does not contribute to weight loss, it only helps digestion. Without physical exertion and without a general reduction in the calorie content of the foods eaten, a grapefruit is unlikely to help lose weight.
An important and relevant question is, how to eat a grapefruit? The usual rules for eating citrus fruits do not work here. So here is the order:
- The first step is to wash the fruit with soda, preferably in warm water. It is necessary to wash until the citrus aroma from the peel.
- Then you need to wipe it dry.
- Now you need to cut the peel - carefully cut horizontally from above so as not to touch the flesh.
- Inside in the middle you will see a “column” - it needs to be removed or cut out.
- Squeeze the pulp a little with a spoon to form a juice.
- Pour sugar into the resulting depression, about 2-4 teaspoons. Now squeezing the pulp, pour the juice into a separate bowl. And so on until the fruit is dry.
- A mixture of juice and pulp should be poured into glasses.
- Add sugar to each glass, otherwise the juice will be too bitter and sour.
Many people want to know how to eat whole grapefruit without squeezing juice. Very simple - cut it in half and eat with a spoon. The fact is that all the bitterness of grapefruit is contained in the partitions between the slices, so with a spoon, carefully eat out the flesh without touching these bitter partitions.
No less relevant is the question of when is grapefruit better to eat - before or after a meal? If you use it before meals, it stimulates appetite, and after - promotes digestion. So, when it is better to eat grapefruit, you decide there are no strict rules for its intake.
Like many other products, grapefruit has a number of side effects and contraindications that you should know:
- Like all citrus fruits, grapefruit is a strong allergen, so it must be very carefully introduced into the children's diet.
- Grapefruit is not compatible with certain medications. So, for example, if you take drugs to lower blood pressure, you can’t eat this citrus, since it can cause an increase in the effect of the drug.
- You can not use grapefruit for peptic ulcer, with gastritis, colitis, cholecystitis, nephritis, hepatitis. It is also worth limiting its use if you are tormented by heartburn.
As you can see, there are a lot of rules, as there is a grapefruit and it is worth listening to them. Otherwise, you risk getting pain in the stomach, low blood pressure and high acidity.