Grapefruit is a member of the citrus family and is about 92% water. It is grown in warmer climates such as Arizona, California, Florida, Texas, South America, South Africa, Israel and India. The French call them pamplemousse.
- An entire grapefruit has less than 100 calories, making it a great fruit to eat if you’re trying to lose weight, especially since that often amounts to a whole cup of fruit or more and almost 4 grams of fiber per serving.
- Grapefruit are an excellent source of vitamin C, fiber, and potassium.
- Grapefruit contains and enzyme that may interact with some medications including statin drugs to treat high cholesterol, Procardia and Adalat CC for high blood pressure and organ-transplant rejection drugs such as cyclosporine.
- It is easy to serve grapefruit so it is accepted by your family and loved ones. You can warm it up in the microwave for 10 seconds before slicing. Sweeten it with sliced apples or oranges. And include it in salads or as a side dish. Cut it in quarters for a quick way to serve as a breakfast or snack.
- For a real treat use a grapefruit to flavor a pitcher of water to have a nice flavor twist from the ordinary lemon and to replace sugary drinks.
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Judy Doherty, MPS, PCII
Judy’s passion for cooking began with helping her grandmother make raisin oatmeal for breakfast. From there, she earned her first food service job at 15, was accepted to the world-famous Culinary Institute of America at 18 (where she graduated second in her class), and went on to the Fachschule Richemont in Switzerland, where she focused on pastry arts and baking. After a decade in food service for Hyatt Hotels, Judy launched Food and Health Communications to focus on flavor and health. She graduated with Summa Cum Laude distinction from Johnson and Wales University with a BS in Culinary Arts, holds a master’s degree in Food Business from the Culinary Institute of America, two art certificates from UC Berkeley Extension, and runs a food photography & motion studio where her love is creating fun recipes and content.
Judy received The Culinary Institute of America’s Pro Chef II certification, the American Culinary Federation Bronze Medal, Gold Medal, and ACF Chef of the Year. Her enthusiasm for eating nutritiously and deliciously leads her to constantly innovate and use the latest nutritional science and Dietary Guidelines to guide her creativity, from putting new twists on fajitas to adapting Italian brownies to include ingredients like toasted nuts and cooked honey. Judy’s publishing company, Food and Health Communications, is dedicated to her vision that everyone can make food that tastes as good as it is for you.
