Ways to Eat Grapefruit for the Naringenin

Type 2 diabetes is America’s fastest-growing disease. Unlike type 1 diabetes, this version is often preventable. Though some folks are at a higher risk due to heredity, most new cases are the result of unhealthy eating habits. About 80 percent of patients are obese and millions more are overweight. What are the risks?

People who are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes have a much higher risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke. Because the disease often inhibits the blood’s ability to clot, blood vessels may narrow making it harder for blood to travel to its intended destination. A person who has the disease and is overweight is essentially a ticking time bomb. Not only may the person experience a narrowing of the veins and arteries, but because they are overweight they will often have high cholesterol, i.e., more fat in their bloodstream. A blockage or a buildup of these lipids or fats is what causes heart attacks and strokes.

What are the costs? Just this year, type 2 diabetes became the number one cause of preventable death in the US, ahead of smoking. It is reliably estimated that the disease cost upwards of 100 billion dollars (that’s billion with a “b”) each year, making it the most expensive disease in the nation.

Now, we are all told when we are young that people come in all shapes and sizes, and that is a valuable lesson to learn! But it seems to us that many Americas are behaving irresponsibly when it comes to what they put in their mouths. In the next few paragraphs we will discuss one of the healthiest foods on earth and how it may help Americans win the battle of the bulge.

The grapefruit was one of the first fruit that was singled out for its supposed fat burning properties. It was said that there were ways to eat grapefruit that would speed up the metabolism and promote weight loss. Of course, it was nothing more than speculation at the time. But recent studies have confirmed that a flavonoid called naringenin that is found in the grapefruit may reduce the risk of obesity and thusly type 2 diabetes.

How does it work? The researchers in one Canadian study concluded that naringenin works by instructing the liver to burn up as much excess fat as it can, rather than storing it. Tests were performed on two sets of mice that were both fed high fat diets. But one of the groups also received a naringenin supplement. The results, which were published in the prestigious journal Diabetes, found that the mice that received the supplement gained less weight.

Researchers will soon begin testing on human subjects. But doctors all over the globe are already telling their patients with type 2 diabetes about ways to eat grapefruit.

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