Grapefruitin baby!

My first memory of actually tasting a grapefruit was probably in the late80s/early 90s when Mom was makin grapefruit a major part of her diet she said it was really healthy. My young tastebuds couldn't accept something as deep fried stuff and coke was on top o' my list.


A decade and a half later I have taken up fresh citrus juices as part of my diet plan. Grapefruit was obviously wasn't my first choice I remembered the strong tasting fruit.....

Anyways, since oranges are going out of season I HAD to move to grapefruit and yeah I was in for some real surprise. It didn't taste as bad as I thought it would (0= or maybe because I've tasted far more bitter/sour stuff.

Tonight I decided to do some research on the benefits of including grapefruit in your diet. Setting nutritional facts aside I must share on big advantage I noticed so far--it doesn't make you pee too much (0=
Seriously, all the other juices I've tried make me run for the toilet but not grapefruit.

Back in the 80s weightloss enthusiasts like me relied on a low calorie grapefruit diet. However, the notion was banished. Recently, a new wave of research suggests that grapefruit actually does assist weight loss:

"The researchers believe grapefruit contains unique plant compounds that reduce insulin levels, which in turn promotes weight loss.

The link between raised insulin levels and excess weight is complicated and multifaceted. To start with, high levels of insulin may indicate that sugar isn't efficiently utilised for energy with the result that it's more likely to be stored as fat. Secondly, high levels of insulin can make people feel hungry so that they eat more. And finally, high levels of insulin prevent the body from breaking down fat. Add these together, and it's easy to see why lower levels of insulin may promote weight loss. What exactly it is in grapefruit that has this insulin-lowering effect remains unclear."
[source]

Another source states that the fruit might create a problem with some drugs:

In 1991, pharmacologist David Bailey of the University of Western Ontario reported that grapefruit juice boosted the average absorption of a blood pressure medication three-fold.(1)

Why? "There's an enzyme located along the gastrointestinal tract that partly inactivates certain drugs as they're being absorbed," says Watkins.

"Something in grapefruit juice neutralizes the enzyme, allowing more of those drugs than usual to be absorbed."

Although the risk of harm from this extra absorption is probably very low", says Bailey, "there's a potential for some people to experience side effects from their drugs because of it."

Grape fruit is also really light on calories and WEIGHTLOSSRESOURCES mentions the various ways in which grapefruit can be incorporated into the diet.