Weight loss: How grapefruit can help you slim

Like me, I'm sure many of you started new weight-loss diets in the opening days of 2005. It certainly seems like dieting in January has become as much of a tradition as stuffing ourselves with turkey at Christmas.

So if you did sign on for a new diet and could use a little boost to help things along, I'll tell you about a new study that shows how one simple addition to your meal plan might improve your weight-loss results.

Yellow gold
The idea that grapefruit servings may help dieters lose weight is not news. But until last year there were no studies to actually support this claim.

Researchers at Scripps Clinic of San Diego in the US divided a group of 100 obese subjects into three equal groups: One group ate half a grapefruit before each meal, one group drank a glass of grapefruit juice before each meal, and one group was instructed not to eat any grapefruit or drink any grapefruit juice. Subjects followed their regimens for three months, while continuing to eat as they normally would.

The results were remarkable. Those in the group that ate grapefruit with each meal lost an average of 3.6 pounds, while subjects in the grapefruit juice group lost an average of 3.3 pounds. A few of the subjects in both of these groups lost nearly 10 pounds. But the average weight loss in the group that consumed no grapefruit was less than one pound.

Secret from the grove stand
So... what dietary magic makes grapefruit such a helpful weight-loss aid? Researchers believe that grapefruit contains chemical properties that assist in the management of insulin levels - a potential boon to dieters and diabetics alike.

At the beginning and the completion of the Scripps study, researchers measured the insulin and glucose levels of all subjects. When the test was over, those in the two grapefruit groups had lower levels of insulin and glucose than they did at the beginning, while levels in the non-grapefruit group were unchanged.

The Scripps researchers believe that enzymes in grapefruit help control insulin spikes that occur after a meal, which frees the digestive system to process food more efficiently. The result: Less nutrients are stored as fat. And like all citrus, grapefruit is rich in water-soluble fibre, which has been shown to enhance digestion while helping regulate the absorption of carbohydrates that would otherwise contribute to blood sugar spikes.

And there's an added bonus to grapefruit's ability to lower insulin levels. Elevated insulin levels prompt hunger pangs. Likewise, when those levels drop, hunger fades and less food is consumed.

Pulp rewards
With the success of this study, the Scripps Clinic is now preparing a similar, but much larger study that may provide support to their findings. I'll keep an eye out for those results. In the meantime, adding some grapefruit to our diets seems simple. Especially because weight-loss and insulin control are not the only health benefits we get from grapefruit.

In a previous alert we told you about grapefruit pectin (a substance found in the pulp of the fruit), which has been studied extensively by Dr. James Cerda, a gastroenterologist at the University Hospital in Gainesville, Florida (US). After years of experimenting with animals, subsequent human trials by Dr. Cerda showed that an intake of grapefruit pectin may help lower LDL cholesterol levels and reverse arterial-wall damage caused by atherosclerosis.

A report on one of these studies in the journal Clinical Cardiology concluded, 'This study has shown that daily dietary supplementation of 15 grams of grapefruit pectin significantly lowered plasma cholesterol and improved the ratio of LDLC to HDLC in hypercholesterolaemia patients who are unable or unwilling to follow a low-risk diet.'

Getting an intake of grapefruit pectin, however, is not as easy as simply eating a few grapefruit sections. To ingest the 15 grams of pectin suggested in the Clinical Cardiology study you'd have to eat two entire grapefruits, rind and all - not a very appetising prospect. But in the years since that 1988 study was published, several grapefruit pectin supplements have appeared on the market. They can be easily found in health food stores and through Internet sources.

One interesting aspect of the Scripps study that's similar to the Clinical Cardiology study is that in both trials the subjects didn't begin any special exercise regimens or strict diets, and yet subjects in both studies still experienced positive health benefits. So just imagine how useful grapefruit or grapefruit pectin might be for those who eat nutritious meals and get regular exercise as well. The results could be amazing.

...and another thing
Can your diet affect your joints?

A friend of mine with arthritis recently asked me if there were any foods she should stay away from that might aggravate her condition. And in fact there are some foods that can add to joint pain.

Many arthritis sufferers are highly sensitive to solanine, an alkaloid known for its toxicity. Solanine is found in plants called nightshade or deadly nightshade plants. Well known edible nightshade plants include tomatoes, potatoes, green and red peppers, eggplants, and cayenne. Removing these solanine-rich foods from your diet may be a good first step toward eliminating dietary triggers of joint pain; a frequently overlooked element in the treatment of arthritis. 

Obviously, a salad with tomatoes and green peppers isn't going to be 'deadly,' but arthritis patients may find some measure of relief with a reduced intake of nightshade foods.