Grapefruit And Weight Loss Facts

Grapefruit and Weight Loss Facts

Warning: Grapefruit is powerful enough to interact with certain drugs, so if you are taking any pharmaceutical medications, it is very important to talk to your doctor or naturopath if you plan to eat grapefruit on a daily basis.

Folklore and hearsay suggest that drinking grapefruit juice or consuming grapefruits can help to control weight and maintain weight loss. There is also talk of grapefruit being helpful to control blood pressure and fat in the blood.

Bottom Line: In case you are not interested in reading the study below, the answer is that yes, grapefruit is a very healthy food to consume daily, and can indeed help with weight maintenance and cardiovascular health among other health benefits of this fruit being so high in Vitamins and minerals.

In 2012, in a randomized controlled peer reviewed study (1) in the journal, Metabolism, tested the role grapefruit for:

* weight loss,

* blood pressure control,

* lipid profile in the blood (ie. good and bad fat in the blood).

They took 74 overweight adults and for 6 weeks studied the effect of eating:

1/2 a fresh grapefruit with each meal (so a total of 1 1/2 grapefruits a day).

Results showed that grapefruit consumption was associated with:

* a modest amount of weight loss (about 0.5 - 3kg),

* a significant loss in waist circumference (about 3 cm),

* a significant reduction in systolic blood pressure (about 3 - 13mg Hg)

* improvement in blood lipid profile (ie. decrease in total and LDL cholesterol)

The researchers concluded that these improvements that they saw made grapefruit something that is worth more study in regards to weight loss and cardiovascular health.

Great things about grapefruit: Grapefruit is also a very powerful antioxidant and high anti-bacterial. It is high in vitamin C and minerals. It is high in pectin which can help to decrease cholesterol.

Serving Size 1/2 fruit (3-3/4" dia) (123 g)

Per Serving % Daily Value*

Calories 52

Calories from Fat 2

Total Fat 0.2g 0%

Saturated Fat 0g 0%

Polyunsaturated Fat 0g

Monounsaturated Fat 0g

Cholesterol 0mg 0%

Sodium 0mg 0%

Potassium 166.05mg 5%

Carbohydrates 13.1g 4%

Dietary Fiber 2g 8%

Sugars 8.5g

Protein 0.9g

Vitamin A 28%

Vitamin C 64%

Calcium 0%

Iron 1%

With love,

Grandmother's Kitchen

References

(1) Dow CA1, Going SB, Chow HH, Patil BS, Thomson CA. Metabolism. 2012 Jul;61(7):1026-35. doi: 10.1016/j.metabol.2011.12.004. Epub 2012 Feb 2.The effects of daily consumption of grapefruit on body weight, lipids, and blood pressure in healthy, overweight adults.