The New Grapefruit Diet Review
The old 'miracle' grapefruit diet has been dismissed as a
fad. But eating grapefruit as part of a healthy, balanced diet
can give your weight loss a boost.
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Eat Grapefruit and Lose up to 10lb!
By WLR Dietitian
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Health Warning
The 80s might bring back fond memories of leg
warmers, Flashdance and Duran Duran videos, but for anyone who
was battling the bulge at the time, it probably also conjures
up images of eating vast amounts of grapefruit! If you wanted
guaranteed weight loss, the grapefruit diet was the plan to
follow.
Providing no more than 800 calories a day, the
grapefruit
diet menu involved eating lots of 'fat-burning'
grapefruit to kick-start your metabolism, as much black coffee
as you liked, some daily protein (mainly boiled eggs) and the
odd piece of dry toast.
At the time, nutrition experts dismissed it as another fad
diet, explaining that the 'fat-burning' properties of
grapefruit were, in fact, a myth and any weight loss that
occurred was due to the extremely low and potentially
dangerous calorie intake.
But two decades on, it seems these nutritionists may need to rethink their views on the
popularity of grapefruit as a 'diet food' if the results of a
study published earlier this year are to be believed.
The latest research, carried out by scientists at the
Nutrition and Medical Research Centre at Scripps Clinic in San
Diego, America, has found that the simple act of adding
grapefruit and grapefruit juice to your diet, really can aid
weight loss. But unlike the seriously restricted diet of the
80s, you get these results without changing what else you eat!
Even study leader Dr Fujioka seemed surprised, saying, 'For
years, people have talked about the grapefruit diet. Now we
have data that grapefruit helps weight loss. Our study
participants maintained their daily eating habits and slightly
enhanced their exercise routine. The only dietary change was
the intake of Florida grapefruit and grapefruit juice.'
This sounds amazing! What else can you tell me about the
research?
The study included 100 obese people who were divided into
three groups. The first group ate half a grapefruit before
each meal three times a day. The second group drank grapefruit
juice before each meal. The third group received no
grapefruit. No other changes were made to their diets.
After 12 weeks, those participants who ate
grapefruit with each meal lost, on average 3.6lb. Only a third
of a pound a week, but pretty good considering they didn't
make any other changes to their diet. Meanwhile, those who drank
grapefruit juice three times a day lost 3.3lb in the 12 weeks. By comparison,
the grapefruit-free participants lost, on average, only 0.5lb.
But weight loss wasn't the only health benefit seen when
grapefruit or the juice was consumed. The research also found
the grapefruit-consuming participants had lower levels of
insulin, a hormone that regulates blood sugar levels and fat
metabolism, which in turn might help to reduce the risk of
diabetes or stroke.
What's the theory?
The researchers believe grapefruit contains unique plant
compounds that reduce insulin levels, which in turn promotes
weight loss.
The link between raised insulin levels and excess
weight is complicated and multifaceted. To start with, high
levels of insulin may indicate that sugar isn't efficiently
utilised for energy with the result that it's more likely to
be stored as fat. Secondly, high levels of insulin can make
people feel hungry so that they eat more. And finally, high
levels of insulin prevent the body from breaking down fat. Add
these together, and it's easy to see why lower levels of
insulin may promote weight loss. What exactly it is in
grapefruit that has this insulin-lowering effect remains
unclear.
What do the experts think?
Care needs to be taken when interpreting the results. It's
the first study of it's kind and even the researchers believe
more work needs to be carried out before recommendations are
made regarding grapefruit intake. Fortunately, a larger study
is already planned for later this year.
When it comes to reducing the risk of diabetes, experts
also believe we should err on the side of caution before
recommending vast amounts of grapefruit. Speaking to Chemistry
& Industry Journal, who published the results of the study,
Emma Bunn, diabetes care advisor at
Diabetes UK said, 'If
grapefruit does significantly lower insulin levels this could
be a potentially exciting discovery. We will be following any
further research in this area closely to establish if
grapefruit could provide genuine benefits.'
Nutrition experts also agree that more research is needed
before rushing out to stock up on grapefruit. Most tend to
agree with the nutritionalists of the 80s and say it's
unlikely that grapefruit has any magical properties in terms
of aiding weight loss in the absence of other diet or
lifestyle changes. It's perhaps more likely that participants
lost weight simply because they were taking part in a study
and, as a result, were more focussed on their food intake and
exercise habits.
Juliette's verdict
This is an interesting piece of research but even if the
results aren't yet conclusive, one thing is certain - eating
more grapefruit won't damage your health and can certainly
contribute to a healthy diet.
It's important to eat
five portions of different fruit and
vegetables each day to keep us healthy and slim and half a
grapefruit or a glass of grapefruit juice can contribute to
one of these portions. If you enjoy grapefruit, it's certainly
not going to do you any harm to eat it regularly - but make
sure you still include plenty of other fruits and vegetables
in your diet as well.
That's not to say I would welcome a return of the 80s-style
grapefruit diet - it's way too low in calories, extremely
restrictive, unbalanced and, let's face it, incredibly boring!
Twenty years of nutrition advances have taught us that eating
a wide range of foods is the best way to lose weight. As
always, if you want to shift those pounds safely and keep them
off for good, you should never go below 1,100 calories a day
or follow an unbalanced diet that restricts the majority of
foods while encouraging vast quantities of just a few.
Further Information
You can use the databases, food and exercise diaries, and
tools in WLR to track your diet or create your own diet plan.
Try it free for 24 hours.
Grapefruit Diet: fact or fiction - Press release from the
Scripps Clinic where the research was carried out.
Warning! Grapefruit juice can interact with medicines
While this research might tempt you to fill up on grapefruit
to boost your weight loss campaign, if you’re taking any
medications you might want to speak to your GP first or check
the literature that comes with your medication.
This is because a wealth of research shows that grapefruit
juice can interact with a number of medications, potentially
causing serious side effects. It works by inhibiting an enzyme
in the intestines that’s responsible for the natural breakdown
and absorption of many medications. When the action of this
enzyme is blocked, blood levels of these medications increase
and this can lead to potentially toxic side effects.
Research suggests that flavonoids and/or furanocoumarin
compounds are the substances in grapefruit juice that block
the enzyme in the intestines. Many drugs appear to be affected
by grapefruit juice so if you are taking any medication, it’s
essential to check whether you can safely consume grapefruit
juice. In the meantime, it’s likely that grapefruit segments
may also interact with certain medications so you’d be wise to
consult your GP before eating lots of grapefruit. Other citrus
fruits don’t seem to have any effect.
Links
MedicineNet article
The above website is American – it lists drugs that are
affected but uses American drug names.
www.powernetdesign.com/grapefruit/
general/faq.html
This site is aimed more at health pros but the Q&As are very
good.
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