What comes to mind when someone mentions the month of February? Most of us would likely answer Valentine’s Day. But February is also National Grapefruit Month, which is just as sweet.

Why do grapefruit deserve their own month? Because they’re an incredible fruit! Not only do they taste great and have over a dozen varieties, but they’re also jam-packed with lots of health benefits. Here are some health benefits of grapefruit worth celebrating!

Keeps Your Heart Healthy
Grapefruit are filled with a ton of nutrients, with many that help keep your heart healthy. The potassium found in grapefruit can help prevent high blood pressure because it works to neutralize sodium in your body. It can also help with your cholesterol. And a study of fresh red grapefruit found they reduce triglycerides (a bad type of fat) and could be beneficial for patients suffering from coronary artery disease.

Boosts Your Immunity
In these cold winter months, we could all use a boost to our immune systems! When nutrients in your body are depleted, you’re at increased risk for infections and illness. The vitamin C and vitamin A found in grapefruit provide that added dose of nutrients that can help with respiratory issues and reduce the time you spend sick.

Aids in Digestion
We all know nothing helps digestion like some fibre and water, and grapefruit has lots of both! Grapefruit are filled with water: in fact, they’re 88 per cent water. That’s a big hit of hydration to keep your body running well.

May Reduce Chances of Cancer
One of the best things about grapefruit is that they’re packed full of antioxidants like lycopene, flavonoids, vitamin A and vitamin C. Lycopene has been linked to lowering the risk of certain types of cancers. Studies have also shown that grapefruit reduces inflammation which can help stop cancer cells from multiplying.

Stronger Skin
As we age, our skin begins to change and not always in ways we like. We lose collagen, causing our skin to become thinner and more fragile and creating those unwanted wrinkles. As we’ve learned, grapefruit is full of vitamin C, which has been found to help in the generation of collagen.  Vitamin C can also help speed up wound healing. By increasing collagen and helping blood vessels work more efficiently, vitamin C accelerates the process of forming scar tissue and helps our skin to heal.

Grapefruit Recipes
With so many varieties and flavour profiles, there are countless ways to incorporate the health benefits of grapefruit into your diet. Forget just throwing a bit of sugar on half a grapefruit or drinking some juice, there are lots of more creative ways you can include this fruit in almost every meal of the day. Here are a few of our favourites:

Grapefruit and Medications
If you’re taking medication, you should be cautious about eating grapefruit. Grapefruit mixes with certain medications in a way that causes the drugs to be released into the bloodstream faster, which can be very dangerous. Some common examples are blood pressure or allergy medications. Grapefruit also has high levels of potassium, which can be dangerous to people with kidney damage. Be sure to check with your doctor if you’re on any medication before adding grapefruit to your diet or increasing the amount you eat.


Grapefruit are reasonably priced, easy to find and can be used in so many recipes - but what truly makes their juicy goodness appealing are all the things they do for your health! Don’t forget to show grapefruit some love during “Cupid’s month.”