Miracle Grapefruit Diet

The "miracle grapefruit diet" is one of the granddaddies of modern fad diets. It's also known as the "Hollywood diet" or erroneously as the "Mayo Clinic diet," even though the institution has never endorsed it, much less developed it. The basic mechanics of the diet, filling up on low-calorie, high fiber grapefruit rather than high-calorie foods, can help you lose weight. This has more to do with calorie control than the grapefruit itself, however, and some versions of the diet even can be dangerous.

Identification

The concept of the grapefruit diet dates back to the 1930s, and you'll find several versions of the grapefruit diet, but most follow the model of adding either a grapefruit or a glass of grapefruit juice before every meal. Some versions severely cut down your total caloric intake or limit your diet to certain foods while others suggest you continue your daily diet as normal. Promoters of these diets claim they'll cause quick weight loss -- usually 10 or more pounds in a few weeks -- and attribute it to appetite suppression from the grapefruit. Some even claim grapefruit contains a fat-burning enzyme, though no credible research exists to back this up.

Outcome

Grapefruit diets employ a diet method known as preloading -- filling your stomach with a low-calorie substance before you begin a meal. A February 2011 study published in "Nutrition & Metabolism" showed that people on a calorie-restricted meal plan who ate grapefruit or drank grapefruit juice before meals lost about 7.1 percent more weight than people simply following a lower-calorie diet. Of course, the same applied to people who drank a glass of water before their meals, indicating it's the preloading activity itself, nothing unique to grapefruit, that helps with the weight loss. Weight loss always boils down to burning more calories than you are consuming, and any diet that causes you to do this will result in you losing weight.

Considerations

Grapefruits are quite healthy. A single fruit contains only about 40 calories and is loaded with fiber, potassium, vitamin A, vitamin C and several other nutritional goodies. Grapefruit juice contains many of the same nutrients, but lacks fiber and might have a significant amount of added sugar, depending on the brand. If you truly love grapefruit enough to eat it before every meal, you might find using it as a diet plan helpful. Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity director and co-founder Kelly Brownell, however, cautions that extremely rigid diets are difficult to follow in the long term, and you also run the risk of fooling yourself into believing the grapefruit truly does have "miracle" weight-loss properties. This could cause you to lose diet control once you quit the grapefruit regimen. Remember the cartoon character Dumbo and his magic feather? Just as the big-eared elephant could fly without it, a healthy diet plan can let you efficiently lose weight without grapefruit.

Warning

Always consult a doctor before making a huge change to your diet. Doctors do not recommend very low-calorie diets for casual weight loss, and the morbidly obese should embark on them only under a doctor's care. Therefore, you should steer clear of grapefruit diets requiring you to eat only 800 calories a day or less, as these can have serious health implications. Also, grapefruit and grapefruit juice can react or interfere with certain medications, including some antidepressants, antihistamines, seizure medications and heart medications. If you decide suddenly to add grapefruit to your diet, check with your doctor about any prescription medication you are taking to make sure it's safe.

Miracle Grapefruit Diet

Identification

Outcome

Considerations

Warning

References

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