Grapefruit is very popular among the citrus family due to its flavour and refreshing qualities. It is an excellent health-builder and appetizer as it promotes salivary and gastric digestion. More than 20 varieties of grapefruit have been propagated in the United States. The nutritional value of the fruit varies with colour (white, pink, or red). Red and pink grapefruits have high amount of vitamin A, potassium(325mg), folate(25 micrograms), calcium(40mg), and iron(1mg).
The Pros and Cons of the Grapefruit Diet
Benefits of Grapefruit Diet
Grapefruit is rich in vitamin C as well as other micro-nutrients, certain phytochemicals and fiber. Grapefruit diet has certain advantages like:
- Grapefruit diet is low in calories, full of vitamin C, and contains beta-carotene
- It can also protect against infection and cancer
- The white pith contains pectin and bioflavonoids which makes grapefruits an excellent antioxidant food
- Early results from US researchers suggest that eating grapefruit really does help reduce the risk of developing diabetes
- Enzymes in grapefruit help to reduce insulin levels and encourage weight loss
- This diet is incredibly easy to follow
Negative Aspects of Grapefruit Diet
The grapefruit diet is a low-calorie diet. Here are some of its downsides.
- The shortage of calories and the number of caffeinated beverages one has to drink make this diet dangerous, as it can result in dehydration.
- On the other side also, the diet is deficient in fiber, protein and several important vitamins and minerals.
- The diet is lacking in essential vitamins & minerals and as a result, you may feel dizziness or low energy levels throughout the diet.
- It relies too much on a single food, hence it is too restrictive.
- Since it also lacks sufficient iron, calcium, and many vitamins, this ‘diet’ is not healthy.
- The diet is strictly short-term.
- The diet doesn’t help to change your usual eating habits, which actually need to be to gain permanent weight loss, the weight you lose will likely be regained back over time.
Healthy diets consist of reducing calories while still maintaining a reasonable caloric consumption to maintain nutrition. However, the grapefruit diet drastically lowers calories from a few thousand a day to only a few hundred calories. Grapefruit only has approximately 80 calories per serving, so eating a few of this fruit a day leaves the body starving for nutrition. The lack of nutrition does not provide the body with the requirements for energy, so a person using the grapefruit diet will feel fatigued even though there is weight loss. The 3-5 pounds a week lost by a person on the grapefruit diet is usually temporary. Rapid weight loss and unhealthy dieting lead to overeating and a return of the lost pounds.
Aside from the fatigue and lack of energy, the grapefruit diet can lead to future health problems. Liquid diet websites claim that following the grapefruit diet increases metabolism, but researchers at Vanderbilt University claim it actually slows the metabolism and causes the breakdown of muscle. Increased use of the grapefruit diet causes patients to have a more difficult time when trying to lose weight due to poor nutrition and decreased metabolism. Other side effects include anemia, dizziness, muscle cramps and headaches. The loss of muscle includes cardiac tissue, so patients may even damage the heart while on the diet. Finally, poor nutrition causes an electrolyte balance, which can lead to irregular heartbeats. Before participating in any diet plan, consult a physician.
The Grape Fruit Diet Tips
Here are some basic rules and tips you must know before you start the grapefruit diet.
- Drink eight 8oz. glasses of water daily (64 oz. total per day).
- Although it is not as short as some diets, it is also not incredibly long either (between seven to 21 days).
- Due to the severe restriction of calories, exercise during the diet would not be recommended. Exercise should only be performed when energy levels are high, and this diet does not allow for enough overall calories to guarantee that.
- Eat until you are full during a meal, don’t eat between meals.
- Follow the amount of grapefruit or juice suggested. The grapefruit is the catalyst that starts the “magical” fat-burning process.
- Coffee will affects the insulin balance that hinders the burning process. Cut down coffer to a max of 1 cup a day.
- You can fry food in butter and use butter generously on vegetables.
- Do not eat desserts, bread, and white vegetables or sweet potatoes.
- You may double or triple helpings of meat, salad or vegetables.