Breakfast from the Backyard

Last month, we went to the farmer's market and tasted our first POMELO, a large yellow skinned fruit. Yummy. What is a pomelo? Well, some believe this old citrus fruit is the father of the grapefruit, with the orange being the mother.

Papa pomelo probably romanced Momma orange in Indonesia. (Don't all lovers love the tropics?) The fruit of their coupling, the grapefruit, was brought to Barbados in the 17th century and discovered by the Western world in the 18th century.

One of Florida's many blessings is the big, ruby red grapefruit tree in our back yard. Planted about 15 years ago by Shirley and Boyd Earle, it serves up all we can eat these days. In the tree's honor, I decided to do some research.

Grapefruits are just 100 calories each, usually four to six inches wide and either white, pink or ruby; the blush color means they are sweeter.

What a great source of vitamin C, potassium, antioxidants beta carotene and lycopene, bioflavonoids and phytochemicals! This mighty fruit protects us against the common cold, certain forms of cancer, and heart disease. I wish it had been in season when we got the flu.

One full grapefruit contains nearly 100 percent of the adult Recommended-Daily-Allowance (RDA) of vitamin C, over 300 mg of potassium, and 2 mg of iron. We feel like we are eating pure sunlight.

The ruby red fruit is high in lycopene (an antioxidant associated with reduced risk of certain forms of cancer) and beta carotene,which the body converts to vitamin A. Both of these compounds support vision, bone growth, reproduction, cell division and more.

Grapefruit also contains phenolic acid, which inhibits the formation of cancer-causing substances; limonoids, terpenes and monoterpenes, which induce the production of enzymes that help prevent cancer; and bioflavonoids, which inhibit the action of enzymes that promote tumor growth.

Amazingly, grapefruit also blocks prostaglandins that cause inflammation. People suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and other inflammatory diseases would be wise to eat grapefruit daily.

Worried about cholesterol? Grapefruits are especially high in pectin, fiber shown to help lower blood cholesterol. Can you see the new growth, the bright light green leaves forming here? After the hard frosts Florida has has this winter, we are so glad to see our tree weathered it all and is now giving birth to her next crop of fruit.
Some people, like my Mother, can not enjoy grapefruit because it increases the blood levels and side effects of one of her medications. Many oral prescriptions, including some choles­terol and blood pressure medications, antidepressants, antihistamines, sedatives, and estrogens are accelerated by grapefruit compounds called furanocoumarins. Scientists hope that, by studying the furanocoumarins, doses of medications could eventually be lowered when taken with grapefruit juice.

For those of us fortunate to have a tree and an appetite for its offspring, what a blessing.

I'll say good bye for now. I'm going to the backyard to pick some breakfast.