How Many Carbs Are in a Grapefruit? Nutrition Facts

Grapefruit Nutrition Facts: Carbs, Calories, and More

With its sweet, tart flavor and refreshing juiciness, grapefruit makes a healthy addition to any diet. But if you're watching your carbohydrate or calorie intake, you may be wondering: How many carbs are actually in a grapefruit?

Understanding the complete nutritional profile of grapefruit can help you incorporate it appropriately into a balanced eating plan.

Basic Grapefruit Nutrition Facts

Grapefruit is low in calories but delivers essential vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. One medium grapefruit (approx. 154 grams) contains:

Calories: 72
Total fat: 0.2 grams
Sodium: 0 milligrams
Potassium: 320 milligrams
Total carbs: 18 grams
Dietary fiber: 2 grams
Sugar: 11 grams
Protein: 1 gram

Grapefruit Macronutrients

Carbohydrates

A medium-sized grapefruit contains about 18 grams of carbohydrate. Out of that, 2 grams comes from dietary fiber while around 11 grams comes from natural fruit sugars like glucose, fructose, and sucrose.

One serving of grapefruit contributes only around 6% of your Daily Value for net carbs. So enjoying grapefruit is unlikely to seriously impact blood sugar levels or ketosis for most healthy individuals.

Fiber

Grapefruit is a good source of fiber, with 2 grams per fruit. The majority comes from insoluble fiber like pectin and cellulose that helps food move through your digestive system.

Getting enough fiber promotes healthy digestion and bowel regularity. It also helps stabilize blood sugar levels and enhances heart health.

Sugar

A medium grapefruit has about 11 grams of naturally occurring sugars. Thats less than other popular fruits like bananas, apples, mangoes, and grapes.

The sugar in whole grapefruit comes with beneficial nutrients and fiber. So its generally not a problem for healthy people. But limiting grapefruit may be smart if you have prediabetes, diabetes, or struggle to manage weight.

Protein

Grapefruit contains minimal protein at just 1 gram per fruit. But combined with sources of lean protein like fish, poultry, legumes, nuts or dairy, grapefruit can be part of a diet that meets your daily protein needs.

Grapefruit Vitamins and Minerals

Beyond the macronutrients, grapefruit contains a variety of beneficial vitamins and minerals:

Vitamin C: One serving supplies over 100% of your Daily Value for immune-supporting vitamin C.
Vitamin A: Grapefruit has provitamin A compounds called carotenoids that convert to active vitamin A.
B Vitamins: Especially high in thiamin, grapefruit also provides B6, folate, and choline but little B12.
Potassium: A fantastic source of muscle-supporting potassium.
Magnesium, copper and phosphorus: Decent amounts of these essential minerals.
Calcium: Low in calcium so enjoy with other calcium sources.

Grapefruit Calories

With about 72 calories in a medium grapefruit, this fruit makes an incredibly nutrient-dense, low-calorie addition to meals and snacks.

Here's how the calorie count of grapefruit compares:

Strawberries: 50 calories per cup
Raspberries: 65 calories per cup
Blueberries: 85 calories per cup
Banana: 110 calories for a medium fruit
Apple: 95 calories for a medium fruit

Choosing grapefruit over higher calorie fruits can help reduce overall calories for weight loss or maintenance.

Grapefruit Benefits

Research shows that increasing grapefruit and its nutrient-rich citrus juice into your eating pattern can provide:

1. Immunity Boost

A good grapefruit delivers over 100% DV for vitamin C, plus beneficial antioxidants. This nutrient combo helps support proper immune function to ward off pathogens.

2. Weight Management

Enjoying grapefruit or drinking unsweetened grapefruit juice may encourage weight loss. Compounds in grapefruit may slightly boost metabolism. And grapefruit itself has few calories so is a smart snack for weight control.

3. Blood Sugar Regulation

Despite having natural sugar, grapefruit has a low glycemic index. So consuming it produces only minor blood sugar fluctuations compared to many other carb-containing foods.

4. Heart Health

Studies indicate grapefruit may modestly lower LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood pressure, likely due to its fiber, potassium and antioxidant content. This can promote overall cardiovascular wellbeing.

5. Hydration

With its high water content, grapefruit helps your body maintain healthy fluid balance, which is especially key during exercise, hot weather or illness when dehydration risk climbs.

6. Gut Health

The fiber, water, vitamins and minerals in grapefruit support the growth of healthy gut flora. And citrus bioflavonoids may protect against stomach ulcers by eradicating H. pylori bacteria.

7. Strong Bones and Muscles

Rich in bone-supporting vitamin C, magnesium and potassium, getting enough grapefruit daily helps you meet needs for maintaining strong bones and muscles as you age.

8. Skin Health

Vitamin C assists in building collagen and elastin to keep skin supple. And antioxidants in grapefruits help guard your skin cells against damage from sunlight, pollution or smoke exposure that ages skin.

9. Vision Health

Carotenoids like beta-carotene, lycopene and lutein in grapefruit convert to vitamin A, which is vital for proper eye function. Getting enough antioxidants also helps prevent vision-robbing oxidative damage.

Choosing and Eating Grapefruit

Selecting Fresh Grapefruit

Pick grapefruits that feel heavy for their size with glossy, thin skins. Avoid those with soft spots, wrinkled skin or dry-looking stems. Unwaxed grapefruit that are slightly green may ripen at home but pre-ripened fruit wont get sweeter once picked.

Storing Grapefruits

Fresh grapefruit keeps well at room temperature for 2-3 days. For longer storage, keep whole grapefruits loose in the refrigerator crisper drawer. Theyll typically last around 2 weeks.

You can also freeze grapefruit slices or juice if you buy in bulk while they're affordable.

Juicing vs Eating Grapefruits

Enjoying fresh grapefruit sections delivers satisfying flesh, juices and beneficial fiber. But juicing removes the fiber, concentrating natural sugars.

If watching carbs or calories, stick with reasonable portions of whole segments or squeeze juice from half a grapefruit into sparkling water for a light, refreshing drink.

Adding Grapefruit to Meals

Beyond eating grapefruit raw or as juice, try these tasty ways to incorporate it into meals:

Breakfast: Add to yogurt, cottage cheese, oatmeal, or avocado toast
Salads: Toss into greens, chicken, grain or taco salads
Main dishes: Top seafood, pork or chicken
Sides: Broil or bake with brown sugar and cinnamon
Desserts: Mix into fruit salad or cake batter
Drinks: Blend into smoothies or water

Grapefruit Precautions

Grapefruit is safe for most people but does have some important drug interactions to know about. Certain medications are broken down by enzymes in your gut that grapefruit negatively impacts.

Drug types known to potentially interact with grapefruit include:

Statins
Anti-anxiety meds
Blood pressure and heart medications
Anti-seizure drugs
Organ transplant rejection drugs
Some antihistamines

If you take medications, check with both your doctor and pharmacist to confirm if grapefruit should be avoided or limited in your personal situation.

The Benefits of Grapefruit Seed Extract

Grapefruit seeds are sometimes processed into supplements called grapefruit seed extract (GSE). Enzymes and antioxidants called limonoids and naringin in the seeds boast antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral effects that may support immune health.

Potential benefits being researched include:

Anti-inflammatory effects
Killing pathogens that cause skin or sinus infections
Combatting Candida fungal overgrowth
Supporting gut health
Controlling parasites
Inhibiting oral bacteria that causes cavities or periodontal disease

However, GSE supplements can interact with medications similar to grapefruit. Little human research exists on appropriate dosing as well. So consult your doctor before taking GSE.

Pick Grapefruit for Your Health Goals

With plenty of nutrition at only around 70 calories per serving, making room for grapefruit can be a smart choice.

The citrus fruit delivers key vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fiber and water with a modest amount of natural sugar. So incorporating grapefruit into your eating pattern supports overall wellness from head to toe without excess carbs or calories slowing you down.

FAQs

Is grapefruit low in carbs?

Yes, grapefruit is relatively low in net carbs. Half a medium grapefruit contains about 9 grams of carb, with 2 grams as fiber so 7 grams of net carbs. This makes it easy to incorporate into lower carb eating patterns like a keto diet.

Is grapefruit high in sugar?

Grapefruits contain around 11 grams of naturally occurring sugar per fruit, primarily as fructose and glucose. That's lower than many other fruits. The sugar comes alongside beneficial nutrients without lots of calories making grapefruit a healthy choice.

Should you eat grapefruit daily?

Enjoying a grapefruit or glass of grapefruit juice daily provides immune-boosting vitamin C, antioxidants, fiber and water beneficial for health. But check with your doctor about interactions if you take certain cholesterol, blood pressure or anxiety medications before making it a daily habit.

Does grapefruit help you lose weight?

Research shows compounds in grapefruit may boost metabolism slightly, and grapefruits are low calorie. So incorporating them into an overall healthy diet and active lifestyle can help with maintaining a healthy weight or facilitating fat loss.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new treatment regimen.