FloridaJuice.com - Nutritional Facts

Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid)
How does vitamin C help?

Acts as a scavenger to harmful elements in your body.

One of the most powerful antioxidants, vitamin C neutralizes free radicals (harmful elements naturally occurring within the body and through environmental factors) to help fight cell and tissue damage that could lead to diseases, including cancer and heart disease. Vitamin C also helps the body fight infection.
A prominent cancer researcher, Gladys Block, Ph.D., reports that people with low vitamin C intake (less than 50 mg/day) appeared to have approximately twice the cancer risk, compared to people with higher (greater than 100 mg/day) vitamin C intake¹.

Both the expectant mother and baby need this vitamin daily. it's the cementing agent that holds new cells together. It helps babies grow and build strong bones and teeth. And, it helps the expectant mother's body absorb iron.

Vitamin C-rich foods should be included daily to get the most iron out of other foods .
Vitamin C is essential for tissue repair, wound and bone healing, and healthy skin .
Vitamin C requirements rise 13 percent when a woman is expecting².

Increases iron absorption.

As many as 20 percent of all women, and up to 80 percent of women who exercise, may be iron deficient.
Vitamin C can help boost the absorption of non-heme iron (the iron found in plants, not meat products). So including a glass of grapefruit juice before eating a spinach salad helps your body absorb two to four times as much iron.

Supports your immune system.

When you feel that tickle in the back of your throat and your nose starts running, it is important to give your body the fluids and nutrients it craves to stay healthy. A serving of grapefruit juice can provide vitamin C and a host of other nutrients such as folate, vitamin B6, and carotenoids, that your immune system needs to stay strong and healthy (16, 17).

Important in forming collagen, a protein that gives structure to bones, cartilage, muscle and blood vessels.

A study in the Journal of Epidemiology (May 1992) suggests a correlation between people who have high blood levels of vitamin C and a longer life, compared to those who have lower blood levels³.

An eight-ounce glass of 100 percent grapefruit juice contains 72 milligrams of vitamin C, more than a full day's supply!

Potassium
What does potassium do?

It's important for maintaining fluid and electrolyte balance in cells. It also assists in sending nerve impulses, helps muscles contract, and releases energy from protein, fat and carbohydrates during metabolism.

According to the National High Blood Pressure Education Program, potassium plays an important role in our cardiovascular health .
Higher potassium intake has been associated with lower blood pressure and reduced risk of stroke⁴.
Since blood volume expands by up to 50 percent during pregnancy, expecting mothers need more electrolytes (potassium, sodium and chloride) to keep the extra fluid in balance⁵.

One 8-ounce glass of grapefruit juice provides 380 milligrams of potassium, 11 percent of the Daily Value.

Thiamin
What does thiamin do?

Thiamin helps convert food into energy the body can use and is needed by all cells and tissues.

According to a recent USDA survey, the average intake of thiamin by women 19 to 50 years of age is slightly below the Recommended Dietary Allowance of 1.5 mg.

An 8-ounce glass of grapefruit juice provides 6 percent of the Daily Value for thiamin.

Calcium
What does calcium do?

Calcium aids in bone and tooth development, blood pressure regulation and muscle function.

According to recent USDA surveys, average calcium intakes for young women and men are below recommended amounts. The average calcium intake by women 20 to 29 years of age is about 778 milligrams per day, and the average calcium intake by men 20 to 29 years of age is 1075 milligrams⁶.
Approximately 25 percent of women over the age of 50 years suffer from osteoporosis caused by not consuming enough calcium and other bone-healthy nutrients on a daily basis⁷.
One in four Americans (about 50 million adults) has high blood pressure⁸. Research has shown that increasing calcium in your diet can help support healthy blood pressure.
Calcium is very important to both mother and baby. Calcium from the mother's body is used by the developing baby, putting increased demands on the mother's supply. Additional calcium should be consumed for both the mother's and fetus health⁹.

Calcium-fortified grapefruit juice is an excellent non-dairy source of calcium that is lactose free.

Carotenoids
What do carotenoids do?

Carotenoids give fruits and vegetables their unique and vibrant colors. They also act as powerful antioxidants against free radicals that can damage cells, DNA, and proteins.

Pink and Ruby Red grapefruit juice contain lycopene, a carotenoid that has been associated with decreasing the risk of ovarian cancer and other forms of cancer such as prostate cancer. As an antioxidant, lycopene also has been linked to helping prevent heart disease, the number one killer of women today.

Phytonutrients
What do phytonutrients do?

Scientists believe these plant-derived components are intimately involved in fighting cellular damage, a common pathway for cancer, aging and a variety of diseases.

Unlike traditional nutrients (protein, fat, vitamins, minerals), phytonutrients are so "new," the recommended daily amounts considered "essential" for health have not yet been determined. However, the importance of phytonutrients is steadily becoming apparent as research uncovers more benefits, such as enabling nutrients to work more efficiently¹⁰.
Grapefruit juice naturally contains more than 150 phytonutrients, many of them known as flavonoids, a class of natural antioxidants that many scientists believe may help the body in its battle against aging, allergies, infection, cancer, ulcers and heart disease¹¹.

Magnesium
What does magnesium do?

Helps your body generate energy and is required for the action of over 300 enzyme systems in your body.

A study by the USDA found that during moderate exercise, people with low magnesium levels used more energy and tired more easily than those with adequate levels¹².

Magnesium may help regulate blood pressure and contribute to bone health.

Vascular tone can be sensitive to magnesium intake and low intake could have underlying negative effects on blood pressure that could contribute to an increased risk for cardiovascular disease.
Magnesium works hand-in-hand with calcium and phosphorus in maintaining bone health.

An 8-ounce glass of grapefruit juice provides 6 percent of the Daily Value for magnesium.

Folate
What does folate do?

Folate is essential for growth and development. It plays a key role in DNA formation and cell division, helps guard against one form of anemia, and can help reduce the risk of birth defects of the brain and spinal cord, known as "neural tube defects".

To help reduce their risk of someday having a baby with a neural tube defect, women need to get plenty of folate every day (400 micrograms), even if they aren't actively planning a pregnancy.
Women's folate needs increase by a third during pregnancy to help maintain a healthy pregnancy¹³.

Folate significantly modifies homocysteine levels in the body. Homocysteine, an amino acid in the blood, is related to coronary heart disease and cognitive impairment, when high levels exist. Click here for reference

According to recent studies by Tufts nutrition experts, low levels of folate have been linked with low energy levels, depression and even memory loss¹⁵.

An 8-ounce glass of grapefruit juice provides 6 percent of the recommended 400 micrograms of folate each day.

Niacin
What does niacin do?

Niacin helps metabolize the food you eat into energy your body can use. Niacin also is used for DNA repair and helps the body use calcium.

For pregnant women, niacin requirements increase almost 30% to keep up with higher energy demands during pregnancy.

An 8-ounce glass of grapefruit juice provides 2 percent of the Daily Value for niacin.

Vitamin B6
What does vitamin B6 do?

Vitamin B6 helps the body process protein and carbohydrates in food and helps produce hemoglobin, a part of red blood cells that carries oxygen to all parts of the body. Vitamin B6 also works in conjunction with folate to metabolize homocysteine.

Higher homocysteine concentrations have been identified as a risk factor for heart disease. Vitamin B6 helps the body convert homocysteine to cysteine and lower the amount of homocysteine in the blood.

An 8-ounce glass of grapefruit juice provides 4 percent of the Daily Value for vitamin B6.

References

Block G. Vitamin C and cancer prevention: the epidemiologic evidence. Am J ClinNutr1991Supplement; 53:270S-282S.).
Ogle A. Before Your Pregnancy. New York, NY. The Random House Publishing Group; 247.
http://www.cforyourself.com/.
http://www.babycenter.com/refcap/pregnancy/pregnancynutrition/655.html.
JAMA. 2002;288:1882-1888.
http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/5000/5557.html.
http://www.ext.vt.edu/news/releases/040303/calcium.html.
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
http://www.calciuminfo.com/index.htm.
http://www.oralcancerfoundation.org/facts/phytonutrients.htm.
http://www.eatright.org/Public/NutritionInformation/92_nfs1002.cfm.
Journal of Nutrition. 2002;132:930-935.
Ogle A. Before Your Pregnancy. New York, NY. The Random House Publishing Group; 240-246.
http://www.eatright.org/Public/NutritionInformation/92_nfs1002.cfm.
http://chalcedony.tccs.tufts.edu/scripts/phpprint/phpprint.php.
Scrimshaw, N. and J. SanGiovanni (1997). "Synergism of nutrition, infection, and immunity: an overview." Am J Clin Nutr 66:464S-477S.
Calder, P. (2002). "The immune system: a target for functional foods?" British Journal of Nutrition 88:S165-S176.