By Julie Daniluk, R.H.N.
Most of us have heard of the famous grapefruit detox and wondered about its effectiveness. And while the results are overblown, there is something to be said about the healing power of this wonderful bitter and sweet cousin of the orange. During the winter, when the produce aisle gets a little pricier and tired-looking, the one thing that gets better is the quality of citrus fruits. That is because February is the peak season for grapefruit in Arizona, California and Florida.
Even if grapefruit won't help you drop 10 lbs the way the fad diet promises, it does make a great alkaline breakfast suggestion. What this means it that while you might think that grapefruit is an acidic food, when we "burn" them in our body, they actually leave our bodies more alkaline due to their mineral content. Alkaline foods help our body cope with the acidic refined choices we consume like sugar, white flour and processed meats.
Grapefruit actually slows down phase one detoxification in your liver. This may sound like it is a bad thing, but it turns out that excessive amounts of toxic chemicals such as pesticides may cause hyperactivity or what is called 'induction' of this pathway. This can result in high levels of damaging free radicals being produced if phase II detoxification can't keep up. Other substances that may cause hyperactivity include caffeine, alcohol, dioxin, and paint and exhaust fumes.
If the phase II detoxification systems are not working adequately, these intermediates can cause substantial damage. By enjoying grapefruit, you can slow phase one and let phase two catch up, helping your liver balance out the workload.
5 health reasons to eat grapefruit
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