Health Benefits of Grapefruit Essential Oil

Grapefruit essential oil helps everything from reducing blood pressure and providing stress relief to treating and protecting your skin. It’s extracted by cold-pressing glands in the fruit’s peel. Also known as Citrus paradisi, grapefruit essential oil has many medicinal benefits. It’s been used in topical ointments and skin creams, as well as in aromatherapy, for thousands of years.

The grapefruit is a hybrid cross between sweet oranges and pomelo. It originated in Asia and was taken to the Caribbean by Europeans in the 1800s. Grapefruit essential oil is more expensive than other essential oils because it’s harder to extract than from other citrus fruits.

Essential oils contain strong concentrations of the smells and flavors of the plants and fruits from which they’re extracted.

Health Benefits

There are many uses for essential oils, particularly in medicine. They have been used as antiviral, antimicrobial, anticancer, and skin permeation agents (increasing skin’s durability). Other health benefits include:

Reduce Blood Pressure and Provide Stress Relief

High blood pressure, or hypertension, affects one in four Americans. Identifying ways to lessen the triggers of stress and the negative effects of high blood pressure is important to maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Aromatherapy is recommended by doctors around the world to lower stress and hypertension. Inhaling the vapors of heated grapefruit essential oil has been shown to have immediate as well as long-term positive effects on people with hypertension.

Antibacterial and Antimicrobial Properties

Bacteria are everywhere, and while not all are bad — probiotics and yeast, for example — it’s important to keep them in check to maintain a healthy environment. One way to do this is to clean surfaces with products with antibacterial properties.

Grapefruit essential oil has a compound, limonene, that has proven to be a very effective antibacterial agent.

Antimicrobial (kills or stops the growth of microorganisms) properties are found in grapefruit essential oil. One study found that the oil was very effective against MRSA, a group of bacteria that are hard to treat due to their naturally stronger resistance to everyday antibiotics.

Preventing and Treating Skin Ailments

The use of plant-based oils to heal the body can be traced back to ancient Egypt. Today, over 90 essential oils are used in dermatological products, treating all types of skin afflictions. More than 1,500 combinations of these oils can be found in medicinal creams, lotions, moisturizers, and ointments.

The skin is our first line of defense against disease-carrying bacteria. When compromised by a cut or scratch, an ulcer or sunburn, its defensive powers are weakened. Essential oils have been shown to be effective in healing skin and providing a barrier against bacteria.

Rich in Antioxidants

Studies have shown that grapefruit essential oil is rich in antioxidants. Antioxidants have been shown to help the body fight against cancer, heart disease, and other diseases {Science News: Antioxidants: Preventing Diseases, Naturally.”}.

Health Risks

Grapefruit essential oil should be safe for most people when used topically or via inhalation. There are, however, a few things to keep in mind when using any essential oil. These include:

Internal consumption. Essential oils have been proven safe when used on the skin or inhaled when heated. They are, however, very toxic and can be fatal at high doses if ingested.

Photosensitivity. Essential oils enhance the strength of the sun’s rays, which can lead to sunburn.

Pets. When starting to use essential oil products, pay attention to how your pets react. They can be more sensitive to essential oils than humans.

Pregnancy. Essential oils have been used by women to help with the stress and anxiety of pregnancy, but it’s recommended that you consult with your doctor before using them.