Pomelo is a citrus fruit that’s closely related to grapefruit. It’s shaped like a teardrop and has green or yellow flesh and a thick, pale rind. It can grow to the size of a cantaloupe or larger.
Pomelo tastes similar to grapefruit, but it’s sweeter. It contains several vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that make it a healthy addition to your diet.
Here are 8 health benefits of pomelo, including how to easily add it to your diet.
1. May boost immunity
Pomelo fruit is rich in vitamin C. Vitamin C acts as an antioxidant and attacks free radicals. It enhances microbial killing and phagocytosis. It can also treat and prevent systemic infections and many respiratory problems. Therefore, adding pomelo to your diet may improve your immune system.
2. May aid digestion
Pomelo is filled with dietary fiber. Dietary fiber assists in preserving normal bowel movement, preventing constipation, and avoiding hemorrhoids. A study suggests that adding more dietary fiber to your diet may help in maintaining the health of your intestinal microbes.
3. May promote weight loss
This is another area where the dietary fiber in pomelo comes into play. Foods high in fiber stay in the stomach for a longer time and reduce regular hunger pangs. They also require more chewing time, thus giving the body a long time to feel satisfied and reducing the risk of eating too much.
4. May improve bone health
Pomelo contains minerals like calcium, iron, copper, zinc, manganese. These minerals are essential for improving and maintaining bone health. Adding pomelo to your diet and physical exercise to your daily routine may help your bones become healthy and strong.
5. May regulate blood pressure
Pomelo juice contains potassium, which is a key nutrient for regulating blood pressure. Potassium is a vasodilator that releases the tension in the blood vessels to maintain blood pressure. Drinking pomelo juice and eating pomelo at night time helps keep your blood pressure in check and prevents hypertension.
6. May boost heart health
Pomelo contains antioxidants like polyphenols, flavonoids, and ascorbic acid that have been found to reduce the levels of triglycerides and LDL (bad) cholesterol and cardiac risk in rats. However, more research is required to understand this benefit on humans.
7. May fight aging
Pomelo, like grapefruits, is claimed to contain spermidine. Spermidine protects the cells from processes related to aging and cell damage. Thus, it may help combat wrinkles and skin aging to make your skin appear youthful, fair, and soft. Pomelo fruit extract has also been found to help in preventing advanced glycation end products (AGEs)-mediated diabetic complications.
8. Fights infections
Pomelo has antibacterial and antifungal properties that help in treating certain types of infections. A study found pomelo essential oil to be effective against the fungus Penicillium expansum. A study found that pomelo essential oil inhibits the development of bacterial biofilm on soft contact lenses.
