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Nutrient Intake & Diet Quality

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Nutrient Intake, Diet Quality and Florida Grapefruit

Based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, fresh grapefruit and 100% grapefruit juice count toward fruit intake.1 In fact, one medium (4-inch diameter) or 1 cup fresh grapefruit sections, or 8 ounces of 100% grapefruit juice, counts as one cup of fruit.2 Most Americans should consume 2 cups of fruit per day1 and adding fresh grapefruit or 100% grapefruit juice to your daily diet can help you achieve the recommended amount of fruit needed each day for optimal health.

There are many barriers to fruit consumption, including cost, access and convenience. Including fresh grapefruit and grapefruit juice as part of a healthy overall diet offers a step in the right direction to increase fruit intake.3

Grapefruit is Nutrient Dense

Grapefruit and 100% grapefruit juice contribute many important and beneficial vitamins, minerals, and bioactive plant compounds to the diet, including vitamin Cfolate and thiamin, plus fiber in fresh grapefruit. In fact, 100% grapefruit juice is one of the most nutrient-dense of all commonly consumed 100% fruit juices4 and fresh grapefruit ranks high with respect to nutrient density among other fresh fruits.5 The Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggests 100 percent fruit juice should be one of the primary beverages consumed, along with water and low-fat and fat-free milk.1

Grapefruit Supports Healthy Eating

Research shows that compared to non-consumers, people who consume any form of grapefruit have higher intakes of total fruit (all forms, including 100% juice), even above and beyond their consumption of grapefruit.6 This same research reported that grapefruit consumers had higher intakes of vitamin C, potassium, magnesium, dietary fiber and whole grains, lower intakes of added sugars and saturated fat (women only), and were more likely to meet adequate intake levels for dietary fiber. These data suggest that grapefruit in any form – fresh, juice, frozen or canned – can be an essential component of a healthy diet.

Grapefruit has Beneficial Plant Compounds

Grapefruit and 100% grapefruit juice, like all citrus fruit, have many plant compounds linked to health benefits. These phytonutrients or bioactives include flavonoids and carotenoids like beta-carotene (colorful plant pigments). The amount of phytonutrients can vary dramatically depending on cultivar, growing conditions, and other factors. Citrus flavonoids are primarily concentrated in the peel of the fruit. Commercial processing of fresh grapefruit into grapefruit juice extracts flavonoids from the peel into the juice. For this reason the juice tends to have a higher flavonoid content than the whole fruit.

We always hear that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and it actually is! Start off your day with a nutritious breakfast and ½ of a fresh grapefruit or an 8-ounce glass of grapefruit juice to provide great taste and the nutrients your body needs to conquer the day.

Most Americans do not meet their daily fruit intake recommendations.1 Fresh grapefruit or a glass of 100% grapefruit juice can help!

Detailed Nutritional Information

An 8-ounce serving of 100% grapefruit juice and ½ medium fresh grapefruit are excellent sources of vitamin C.* Additionally, fresh grapefruit can help contribute fiber to the diet. Clinical studies with fresh grapefruit or grapefruit juice show that consumption can help contribute significantly to nutrient intake and status, specifically for vitamin C7,8 and fiber (fresh grapefruit only).8

Consumption of whole fruit and 100% fruit juice should not be viewed as competitors as they are often consumed under different circumstances. Including 100% grapefruit juice as part of a healthy overall diet may help overcome some of the barriers to consuming fruit in the diet, especially for lower socioeconomic populations. Recommendations to include 100% fruit juice should be made in the context of the entire diet because the addition would provide value and benefit.3

A systematic review reported 100 percent fruit juice consumption by children was related to higher intakes of vitamin A, vitamin C, magnesium, potassium, fiber (likely due to higher quality diet and whole fruit intake) and (marginally higher) intakes of iron.9 Particularly for children, the overall dietary pattern is important and food choices should be based on their contribution to the diet as a whole, including 100% fruit juice which helps augment diet quality, fruit intake, and nutrient intake.10

* Daily Value: Based on a 2000 calorie diet. FDA rounding rules applied when calculating percent DV based upon 2018 rules. Information is not intended for labeling food in packaged form. Nutrient values may vary based on brand or product types.