Grapefruit is a healthy addition to your breakfast and a favorite among lovers of tangy, juicy fruit. In addition to being delicious, grapefruits have the added benefit of being a nutritional powerhouse, providing a wide range of vitamins and antioxidants. Grapefruit juice also yields nearly the same amount of nutrients as the whole fruit itself.
Vitamins
Red grapefruits are full of vitamins C and A. One serving of grapefruit contains about 71.8 mg of vitamin C, which is about 78.1 percent of your daily recommended vitamin C intake, according to World's Healthiest Foods. Grapefruit contains roughly 53 percent of your daily vitamin A and is high in potassium -- offering about 311 mg or 9 percent of your daily value, says Nutrition Data. Grapefruit also has smaller amounts of vitamins E, B6, folate and choline.
Fatty Acids
Red grapefruits contain the fatty acids omega-3 and omega-6. A serving of red grapefruit has about 18.4 mg of omega-3 and 66.7 mg of omega-6, according to Nutrition Data. A balance of both these fatty acids are vital for maintaining a healthy body. Omega-3 can help reduce the chance of developing heart disease or having a stroke, and also helps alleviate symptoms from rheumatoid such as arthritis, says Net Wellness. Omega-6 helps promote healthy skin, lowers cholesterol and coagulates blood so that it can clot.
Antioxidants
Red grapefruits get their color from a high concentration of the antioxidant lycopene, according to World's Healthiest Foods, which also says that out of all the dietary antioxidants, lycopene has the most effective ability to fight oxygen free radicals that can cause cellular damage. A study published in the Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition says that men who regularly ate red grapefruits in addition to drinking plenty of green tea significantly reduced their chance of developing prostate cancer. Other foods that are high in lycopene include watermelons, tomatoes, papaya, guava and apricots.
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