Grapefruit Diet – Magic Or Myth

The “Grapefruit Diet” (also known as the Hollywood Diet and Mayo Diet) has been around since at least the 1930s. The ideal is that something inside a grapefruit – some magical enzyme – can burn fat.

The problem of course is that there is no scientific proof that this magical ingredient exists. Yes, people do lose weight when following the grapefruit diet, but they regain it almost immediately after they go off it. That’s because the grapefruit diet (so-called because it includes drinking grapefruit juice at every meal) is what’s known as a Very Low-Calorie diet – that is, a diet that involves consuming fewer than 1,000 calories per day. Not only can such diets be dangerous when followed without medical supervision, they often ultimately don’t work long-term, and can even cause damage to your metabolism.

Can Grapefruit Really Help You Lost Weight?

There’s really only one way to lose weight: calories out (burned) must exceed calories in (consumed). That doesn’t mean, however, that grapefruit can’t be a successful part of a healthy, sensible weight-loss plan. Making half a delicious fresh grapefruit a regular part of your breakfast helps fill you up, keeps you hydrated, and gives you energy.

A good grapefruit (like those you’ll find at Pittman & Davis!) is low in calories and carbs, yet high in nutrients (which is probably how the fruit became associated with diets and weight loss to begin with). A rich source of antioxidants, grapefruit benefits the immunes system also. A medium-sized grapefruit has:

Calories: 52

Carbs: 13 grams

Protein: 1 gram

Fiber: 2 grams

Vitamin A: 28% of your RDI

Vitamin C: 64% of your RDI

Folate: 4% of your RDI

Magnesium: 3% of your RDI

Potassium: 5% of your RDI

Thiamine: 4% of your RDI

So, when you buy grapefruit for yourself and your family, you know you’re getting a a fruit that’s supremely good for us. And yes, it can help you lose weight – researchers have found that the simple act of adding grapefruit or grapefruit juice to one’s diet can indeed result in weight loss. But this is less due to some magical ingredient and more to grapefruit’s natural insulin-level reducing properties. It also probably helps that consuming citrus fruit with higher water content (like grapefruit) helps you feel fuller and more satisfied on fewer calories. Combined with its great taste and huge nutritional punch, that’s another great reason to making the tart and tangy citrus fruit a part of your daily diet!

Where to Find the Best Grapefruit

If you’ve avoided grapefruit in the past due to its reputation as a “diet food” and the slight rise in grapefruit prices due to citrus greening disease, we urge you to give this historic fruit another try. Grapefruit – especially the deep red grapefruit varieties – are a lot sweeter than you may remember! And you’ll find the sweetest ones when you shop grapefruit online at Pittman & Davis, where we’ve been providing the best mail order grapefruit to our customers for over 80 years. We take special pride in our sweet and juicy Ruby Red Grapefruit, which has made receiving a grapefruit box or assorted grapefruit baskets a welcome gift for many, year after year. Our Ruby Reds are so sweet you never need to add sugar, and always arrive fresh and perfect. Do something good for your health and give them a try – we’re betting you’ll become a regular customer ever after!