People who eat the Israeli-developed citrus variety Sweetie, a cross between a grapefruit and a pomelo, or drink its juice regularly will be able to reduce their blood cholesterol and increase their blood antioxidant activity, scientists have claimed.
Eating the fruit will allow people to “improve their chances of preventing blocked heart arteries and heart attacks”, according to findings of a research team at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
These findings were recently published by Dr Shela Gorinstein of the University’s School of Pharmacy’s Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Natural Products in an article in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
The results of the research revealed patients suffering from elevated cholesterol levels showed a definite lowering of LDL “bad” cholesterol and an increase in blood antioxidant activity after drinking the Sweetie’s juice.
The clinical investigation was carried out by Professor Avraham Caspi, head of the Cardiovascular Institute at the Kaplan Medical Centre in Rehovot, with the participation of researchers from Japan, South Korea, Germany, the Czech Republic and Poland conducting similar tests. Positive results were obtained by all of the various research groups.
The practical recommendations of the research teams specified that hypercholesterolic patients add fresh Sweetie juice to their daily diets as a “likely beneficial preventative to future heart disease”.
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