Grapefruit juice is very good for the cardiovascular system.

A new study indicates that drinking a glass of grapefruit juice every day can help keep blood vessels healthy and strengthen the body's resistance to heart disease.

Consuming just 0.5 liters of grapefruit juice per day is enough to improve blood circulation in your body.

Scientists have identified that grapefruit juice contains a substance called flavanone—a natural compound found in citrus fruits—that helps fight heart disease.

These findings, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, encourage people to regularly drink grapefruit juice as it plays an important role in preventing heart disease – the disease with the highest number of cases in the UK.

Maintaining a diet rich in fruits has long been known to have health-protective effects.

Researchers at the French National Academy of Agriculture in Clermont-Ferrand, France, recruited 48 healthy women aged 50-65 – one of the groups at highest risk for heart disease.

Drinking a glass of grapefruit juice every day can help keep blood vessels healthy and strengthen the body's resistance to heart disease. (Illustrative image)

Half of the participants in this group were asked to consume 340 ml of grapefruit juice containing flavanones daily, while the other half consumed a non-flavanone version.

Results from six-month trials showed that volunteers who regularly drank grapefruit juice containing flavanones experienced significant improvements in their health, particularly in blood circulation. Conversely, volunteers who drank juice without flavanones showed little to no change in their health compared to before.

Researchers tested this with a test called flow-mediated dilation, designed to show how "elastic" and flexible the arterial wall is. The results showed that the more flexible the elasticity, the more efficient the blood flow to the heart.

In a report on findings from grapefruit, researchers stated: "Regularly drinking grapefruit juice in middle-aged and menopausal women is beneficial for arterial health and strength. This effect may be related to the flavanones found in grapefruit."

The research was partially funded by the Florida Citrus Department's fund.

However, patients with heart disease should be cautious when drinking grapefruit juice because it may interfere with medications they are taking to control high cholesterol or high blood pressure.

According to Alobacsi.vn