Trim your waistline with grapefruit

Those of you that were around in the seventies would have been familiar with the grapefruit diet. While the diet that was around in the seventies was a fad diet that only worked as it was notoriously low in calories and is to be avoided at all costs, the humble grapefruit has actually been clinically proven to help aid weight loss and help reduce insulin resistance, in combination with a healthy diet of course!

Grapefruit has been shown to reduce weight and insulin resistance. Participants were required to consume ½ a grapefruit three times a day (prior to each meal) for 3 months. Subjects who consumed half a grapefruit with each meal lost an average of 1.6kg compared to the placebo subjects who lost virtually nothing. Insulin resistance was also improved with consumption of fresh grapefruit.

A fluke?

Not so. Modest weight loss when participants consumed grapefruit (1 grapefruit, 3 times a day before each meal) was also seen in another study where participants also experienced a reduction in waist circumference as well as improvements in blood pressure and blood lipids.

Adding a few grapefruit to your plate may also be useful be useful if you suffer from heart disease, due to its antioxidant potential. Fifty-seven patients with high triglycerides levels aged 39 -72 who had just had coronary bypass surgery were asked to consume 1 red grapefruit or 1 blond grapefruit for 30 days. A control group received no grapefruit.

Both yellow and red grapefruit lowered total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides however in this case blondes don't have more fun! Red grapefruit was more found to be more effective than it's blond counterpart due to it having a higher content of bioactive compounds and a higher antioxidant potential. The authors determined that red grapefruit is beneficial for treatment of high blood lipids, especially high triglycerides in patients suffering from coronary atherosclerosis.

Need another reason to get into grapefruit?

Like oranges, grapefruit is rich in vitamin C as well as bioflavonoids like rutin, herperidin and quercetin making it the perfect fruit to get into now with the cooler change in weather. My neighbour has tonsillitis and my sister has a scratchy throat, perhaps they should think about increasing their intake of grapefruit? The pink and red varieties also contain the antioxidant lycopene, found in tomatoes. Lycopene is fantastic for the prostate, heart and also for healthy sperm making it great for any man trying to improve his fertility! And as with all of its fruit and vegetable friends, grapefruit also contains cancer protective substances. In animals studies compounds within grapefruit have been shown to inhibit colon cancer as well as cancer of the mouth.

Not sure how to enjoy grapefruit?

Grapefruit is delicious cut into halves as an entrée for breakfast. Its sweet, slightly bitter and tart flavour also lends itself well segmented in a fruit salad, or a savoury salad. Choose grapefruit that is glossy, round, smooth and heavy for its size. Avoid any grapefruit with brown and/or soft spots. Grapefruit will keep for up to 5 weeks in the fridge but to enjoy its full flavour it should be eaten at room temperature.

Lisa Costa Bir is a Naturopath & freelance writer. She maintains a clinical practice in Caringbah South Sydney and lectures at Endeavour College of Natural Therapies Sydney.

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