What is Grapefruit Diet?
Grapefruit diet plan is believed to be able to help in losing weight as it contains fat-burning enzymes known as naringin, a flavonoid compound that gives the grapefruit a bitter flavour. The grapefruit diet is a 12-day diet plan, which revolves around eating 1/2 grapefruit (or drinking unsweetened grapefruit juice) before each meal, together with a low-calorie diet. The calories allowed for each day are NOT more than 800 calories.
This diet claims that you will be able to lose 10 lbs within this 12-day period without suffering from hunger. After the 12-day period, you need to go for 2 days with a healthy diet before restarting the diet. You may have heard about the grapefruit diet or grapefruit juice diet but may not have a clear picture of what it is. Getting to understand this diet in depth is important and will surely help you to decide whether this diet is right for you.
Check out our grapefruit recipes for ideas.
What is Naringin?
Naringin is a flavonoid found in citrus fruits such as grapefruit and oranges.
What is naringin and its health benefits?
Naringin is a natural compound found in citrus fruits, including grapefruit and oranges. It’s particularly high in pomelo juice and grapefruit juice, but it’s also found in many other fruits like kumquat, lime, and tangerine.
Naringin benefits for your health, including:
- Boosting your immune system
- Increasing vitamin C absorption from food
- Fighting inflammation
- Reducing blood sugar levels
What do you eat on the grapefruit diet?
There is a food restriction in this diet. You are only allowed to have certain foods during the diet, mainly non-starchy and leafy vegetables, cheeses, hot dogs, salad, etc. There are also foods that you are prohibited to eat, among these are starchy vegetables, peas, corn, pasta, jam, fruits, pretzels, etc.
A Closer Look at the 12-Day The Grapefruit Diet Meal Plan
There are other reminders to follow during this diet. The grapefruit or its juice must be taken before starting your meal. You also need to drink plenty of water, at least 8 glasses, so as to help clean your body system. All foods in the diet must be finished and no snacks between meals, except a glass of skimmed milk or unsweetened tomato juice before bedtime. For black coffee or tea, limit yourself to only a cup for each meal.
Does the grapefruit diet really work?
The grapefruit diet is a very strict diet plan and NOT a healthy diet. It has omitted a couple of the food groups, which will result in missing out on various important nutrients and vitamins. It is not an ideal diet for the long term, but just to kick-start the weight loss process.
Does eating a grapefruit a day help you lose weight?
The grapefruit diet plan is based on the notion that eating grapefruits will help you lose weight and burn fat faster than other foods because they contain a compound called naringenin. However, there’s no evidence that naringenin actually has any effect on weight loss or metabolism
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