Grapefruit vs Starfruit – Which is Healthier?

Our Verdict

When comparing grapefruit to starfruit, we picked the starfruit.

Why?

In terms of macros, grapefruit has slightly more carbs while starfruit has nearly 2x the fiber, making this category a win for starfruit.

In the category of vitmains, grapefruit has more of vitamins A, B1, B2, and B6, while starfruit has more of vitamins B2, B5, C, and E, making this round a 4:4 tie.

Looking at minerals, grapefruit has more calcium and phosphorus, while starfruit has more copper, magnesium, manganese, selenium, and zinc, winning.

One more consideration that’s not shown in the nutritional values, is that grapefruit contains high levels of furanocoumarins, which can inhibit cytochrome P-450 3A4 isoenzyme and P-glycoptrotein transporters in the intestine and liver—slowing down their drug metabolism capabilities, thus effectively increasing the bioavailability of many drugs manifold.

This may sound superficially like a good thing (improving bioavailability of things we want), but in practice it means that in the case of many drugs, if you take them with (or near in time to) grapefruit or grapefruit juice, then congratulations, you just took an overdose. This happens with a lot of meds for blood pressure, cholesterol (including statins), calcium channel-blockers, anti-depressants, benzo-family drugs, beta-blockers, and more. Oh, and Viagra, too. Which latter might sound funny, but remember, Viagra’s mechanism of action is blood pressure modulation, and that is not something you want to mess around with unduly. So, do check with your pharmacist to know if you’re on any meds that would be affected by grapefruit or grapefruit juice!

PS: the same substance is quite available in pummelos and sour oranges (but not meaningfully in sweet oranges); you can see a chart here showing the relative furanocoumarin contents of many citrus fruits, or lack thereof as the case may be, as it is for lemons and most limes).

In any case, adding up the sections makes for a clear overall win for starfruit, but (unless one of the grapefruit contraindications applies to you) by all means do enjoy either or both, as diversity is best!

Want to learn more?

You might like:

Watch Out For Furanocoumarins!

Enjoy!