It may seem a farcical idea to assume that just by adding grapefruit juice to your diet, you could stand to lose weight. This diet however is believed to have been around since the 1930s, and in a recent study carried out in the Scripps clinic in San Diego, clinical trials were carried out which would suggest just that, and that rather than cutting the foods you enjoy out of your diet, adding this fruity beverage to your daily routine could in fact help you lose pounds.
The Grapefruit diet has been noted as being effective because the grapefruit acts as a catalyst to burning fat and therefore encouraging weight loss. Dr Fujioka of the Scripps clinic in carrying out a 12 week study on 100 men and women, found that just by eating half an unsweetened grapefruit for breakfast, lunch and dinner, on average participants lost 3 and a half pounds, some many more than this, because the chemical properties of grapefruit (low glycemic index, high fibre, and low calorie content) reduce insulin levels.
The diet encourages users not to eliminate anything from their regular diet, and in fact encourages them to eat as many helpings of meat, salad and vegetables as possible. It does however suggest a limitation on caffeine, which can counter the effect that grapefruit juice causes, in slowing down the insulin levels in your body, as well as foods that are high in sugar or starch, such as desserts and bread.
The diet is suggested as a short-term plan, between 7 and 21 days, with exercise considered as not strictly necessary.
Grapefruits are high in vitamin C and beta-carotene, which makes including this fruit in your diet beneficial and nutritious towards a healthy lifestyle. Eating half a grapefruit prior to your meal can also make you feel fuller, encouraging you to eat less at dinner time.
Some criticism has come of the diet however in suggesting that there is not sufficient evidence to suggest that the effects of grapefruit are more special than any other fruit or vegetable, and that weight loss is primarily caused by fluids and not fats, which means that it is very easy to gain weight again once the user comes off the diet. A great idea then if you’re hoping to squeeze into that dress for next week’s bash, but not suitable as a long-term diet plan for serious, sustained weight loss.
