When the grapefruit diet emerged in the 1930s, it focused on the consumption of grapefruit before each meal. Originally, grapefruit dieters ate one-half of a grapefruit or its equivalent four ounces of 100% pure grapefruit juice before each meal.
For breakfast, the dieters consumed their grapefruit with two eggs and a strip of bacon.
At lunch, the dieters took their grapefruit portion with some meat and a salad.
For dinner, the participants ate yet another one-half of a grapefruit alongside their balanced meal of meat and vegetables.
In recent amendments to the diet outlined in human studies, grapefruit dieters need only consume one-half grapefruit with their breakfast and continue to eat fresh fruit, fruit and vegetable juices, broth-based soups, and skim milk throughout the day along with their proteins. In this recent form of the grapefruit diet, men and women had to control their calorie counts along with their daily dose of grapefruit or grapefruit juice. Basically, the diet boils down to about one-half of a grapefruit or four ounces of grapefruit juice and high protein, low-calorie balanced meals, and it has the potential to bestow numerous benefits on the men and women who try it.
- According to numerous research studies, the grapefruit diet in its original or contemporary forms has led to notable weight loss among study participants. Overall, the men and women who stuck to the grapefruit diet reported smaller waists and lower weight. According to the Journal of Medicinal Food, the diet helped study participants lose nearly four pounds over twelve weeks with some people reporting weight loss up to ten pounds over the course of the study. Scientists observed that the participants had lower insulin levels while pursuing the diet. Insulin promotes hunger, so the people with lower insulin levels had more control over their hunger cravings. Due to this control, the grapefruit diet helps people eat less. In addition to healthy weight loss, the grapefruit diet helps builder a more disease-resistant body.
- The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry reported the study of another grapefruit study, which concluded that grapefruits help lower the risk of prostate cancer. According to the report, the plant compound naringenin, which resides in oranges and grapefruits, repairs damaged genetic material, also known as DNA, in human prostate cancer cells. By repairing the damaged genetic material, the naringenin hinders the ability of cancerous cells to reproduce and spread, which reduces the risk of cancer. The grapefruit diet promotes weight loss, lowers the risk of cancer, and helps maintain or improve heart health.
- Grapefruits have powerful antioxidants, and these antioxidants have important implications for heart health. These antioxidants in grapefruits, according to the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, lower levels of low density lipoproteins (LDL) cholesterol, which doctors often refer to as “bad cholesterol” because it tends to stick to vessel walls. According to the report, the consumption of one grapefruit per day significantly reduces LDL cholesterol. Red grapefruits can reduce these levels by 15%. With regard to triglycerides, which refers to a type of fat found in the blood, the consumption of a single grapefruit per day lowers these levels by 17%. Due to these effects, grapefruits seem to have the power to promote healthy hearts.
Conclusion:
The grapefruit diet offers its practitioners a healthy, tangy, and tasty way to lose weight, protect themselves from disease, and improve their heart health.
