Why shouldn’t you eat grapefruit after drinking alcohol?
Grapefruit is a nutritious fruit that offers many health benefits. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), grapefruit can be used as a remedy for colds, coughs, and digestive disorders. It is rich in vitamins and minerals that are essential for the body, helping to boost immunity and improve overall health.
However, in some cases, it is recommended to avoid eating grapefruit. Many people believe that grapefruit, being hydrating and rich in vitamin C, can be used to cure a hangover. However, this fruit contains furanocoumarin compounds that increase intestinal enzyme activity, leading to increased toxicity of ethanol in alcohol and negatively affecting health. Therefore, it is advisable to wait for 48 hours after consuming alcohol before eating grapefruit.
In addition to avoiding grapefruit after drinking alcohol, people taking medications should also be cautious as it may reduce the effectiveness of certain drugs. Patients should consult their doctors before using this fruit to avoid undesirable side effects.
Some health benefits of grapefruit
Grapefruit offers many health benefits. Apart from its fleshy pulp, both the peel and seeds of grapefruit have certain medicinal properties.
In traditional medicine, grapefruit peel has a bitter and fragrant taste with neutral properties. The peel has the effect of dispelling wind, eliminating dampness, and reducing swelling. Nowadays, grapefruit peel is often used to make herbal shampoos or its essential oil is extracted for hair care and stimulation of hair growth.
Grapefruit essential oil can be used to treat digestive disorders and nausea in women. It can also be used to treat bad breath. To reduce unpleasant mouth odor, you can boil dried grapefruit peel in water, add a little salt, and use the mixture as a mouth rinse on a daily basis. After a week of use, you can see the results.
In addition, grapefruit peel can be used in combination with other herbs to make a camphor bath solution.
Hanging grapefruit peels in the house or burning them can help repel harmful insects.
Grapefruit peel can also be used to make preserves, desserts, teas, or vegetarian spring rolls.
Grapefruit seeds also have beneficial effects that many people are unaware of. Research has shown that grapefruit seeds contain pectin fiber that can dissolve in water. This substance has the ability to reduce the absorption of cholesterol and lipids, promote blood flow, prevent constipation, help control blood sugar, and protect cardiovascular health.
You can take about 20 fresh grapefruit seeds and put them in a cup of boiling water at 70 degrees Celsius, with enough water to submerge the seeds. Stir continuously until the water becomes thick. Filter the thickened water into a separate cup. Then add more water to the remaining seeds and continue stirring and filtering about 3-4 times until the seeds no longer feel sticky.
Drink the filtered water directly. It can be consumed about 1 hour after a main meal, twice a day to support weight loss efforts. Drinking 20-30ml of pectin solution daily can aid digestion.
