Grapefruit Benefits | Johns Hopkins Medicine
Tangy, juicy, fragrant, with a versatile flavor all its own, the grapefruit originated on the island of Barbados, and is a cross between a sweet orange and a large citrus fruit called a pomelo. Here are some insights on what makes grapefruit a delicious part of a healthy diet.
Grapefruit and weight loss
The grapefruit diet is apparently not a myth. That's what a new study by the Nutrition and Metabolic Research Center at Scripps Clinic has suggested. Researchers there found that the simple act of adding grapefruit and grapefruit juice to one's diet can result in weight loss.
The 12-week pilot study, led by Dr. Ken Fujioka, monitored weight and metabolic factors, such as insulin secretion, of the 100 men and women who participated in the Scripps Clinic 'Grapefruit Diet' study.
On average, participants who ate half a grapefruit with each meal lost 3.6 pounds, while those who drank a serving of grapefruit juice three times a day lost 3.3 pounds. However, many patients in the study lost more than 10 pounds.
Grapefruit
You know, I continue to really enjoy grapefruit. Maybe because I know itβs a special treat, denied to many Americans, especially older ones on statins. Itβs something that I can have and enjoy when others can not have it. Itβs not just a way to brag, but also a goal to maintain good health so once can continue to enjoy it unlike so many others. The fruit is tangy and not as sweet as oranges, it is a bit bitter β a taste that too often is missing from our diets these days.
As a child, the idea of liking Grapefruit seems hard on the imagination. I remember tasting it as a child, thinking this awful bitter and why would anybody want to eat it. Of course with all the health benefits of this red citrus fruit, and itβs rich variety of flavor notes including that often missing bitterness, itβs hard to imagine having to give it up. My parents always used to get a big box of it and enjoy it every morning until it molded up and the rest of it either out in compost pile or to the chickens.
Honestly, though I just used to think of grapefruit as something gross that adults, especially my grandmother from Florida ate. Something best mixed in with the chicken manure and compost, not something that you actually would pay for to at the store. But how times change as one gets older. Maybe Iβm just becoming the person my parents were before they had to give it up! Just thinking that makes me feel so old!