The grapefruit crash diet is a diet plan based on consuming grapefruit with every meal while eating little else. While the grapefruit diet does accomplish impressive weight loss in a short period of time, the cost is not generally worth it. Fortunately for those who enjoy grapefruit, this healthy fruit can be included as a component of a healthy and balanced diet plan.
Grapefruit Diet Methods
There are different instructions for the grapefruit diet depending on the specific source. In general, the diet consists of three small meals with grapefruit and a few other foods. No snacks are allowed on the diet. The meals on the plan are extremely limited, mainly consisting of eggs, meat and vegetables such as tomato, cucumber or lettuce. The diet lasts for 10 to 21 days. The diet does not include any recommendations for exercise.
Crash Diet
The grapefruit diet is considered a crash diet and a fad diet because it cuts calories to an unhealthy level, about 800 calories per day. Less than 1,200 calories per day can cause the body to consume muscle tissue and go into starvation mode. A healthy diet typically does not cut calories below 1,600 to 1,800 calories per day. The grapefruit diet lacks not only calories, but nutrients as well. Most people who go on a crash diet like the grapefruit diet end up regaining the weight as soon as they stop the diet.
Grapefruit in Weight Loss
Although the grapefruit diet is considered an unhealthy crash diet, including grapefruit in a healthy diet may actually confer some benefit to dieters. A 2004 study at the Nutrition and Metabolic Research Center at Scripps Clinic in California found that adding a half grapefruit or glass of grapefruit juice to every meal helped study participants lose more weight than individuals who did not consume grapefruit during a 12-week study. The people in the study did not change their diets in any other way except by adding grapefruit products.
Other Considerations
For some people, going on the grapefruit diet could be even more dangerous than other crash diets. Grapefruit can block the absorption of certain medications, including statins for high cholesterol, blood pressure drugs and medications for anxiety or insomnia. Even a single glass of grapefruit juice can impact how medications are absorbed, and the effect can last up to 24 hours after consuming grapefruit. Before adding grapefruit to your diet, talk to your doctor about how it may interact with any medications you take.
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