Passed around by word of mouth, the Grapefruit Diet or Mayo Clinic Diet has been around since the 1930s. Promoting fast weight loss, advocates of the diet claim the grapefruit has a magical ingredient that burns fight and promotes weight loss. However, most doctors believe it is just another fad because weight loss would occur regardless of whether grapefruit was eaten since most Grapefruit Diets average 800 to 1,000 calories.

In 2006, a small study was funded by the Florida Department of Citrus at the California Scripp's Clinic. In this study, researchers found that by adding 4 ounces of grapefruit juice or half a grapefruit to meals, participants had an average weight loss of 3 1/2 pounds a week without altering their diet in any other way.  Researchers believed a compound in the grapefruit helped the liver lower cholesterol and helped regulate insulin levels. The compound may be connected to the grapefruit's membrane.

Naringenin is a flavonoid in grapefruit responsible for the bitter taste. Recent research has shown that naringenin has remarkable effects on the liver. Rather than the liver storing fat, it helps the liver burn fat instead. Furthermore, it may even help diabetics since it helps balance insulin and blood glucose levels.

In a study at the Robarts Research Institute at the University of Western Ontario, two groups of mice were fed a Western Diet to speed up their metabolic syndrome. Metabolic Syndrome is a disorder consisting of insulin resistance, weight gain, elevated cholesterol levels, and elevated blood pressure. Both groups of mice ate the same amount of calories and fat. One group's food was treated with naringenin whereas the other group was not. The group whose food was not treated with naringenin became obese and developed metabolic syndrome. Their cholesterol levels rose, and they became insulin-resistant. However, the group which consumed naringenin-treated food did not have any of these effects. Consequently, the doctors that brushed off eating grapefruit to lose weight as a fad were wrong. Naringen does have insulin-like properties that induce weight loss and control some of the symptoms of metabolic disorders.

In addition to the weight loss, cholesterol-lowering, and insulin-lowering benefits, grapefruit is healthy in other ways too. Other nutritional benefits of grapefruit are:

• Low calorie - One serving only has 97 calories.
• Dietary fiber - One serving has 4 grams of dietary fiber.
• Pectin - Pectin is soluble fiber which lowers cholesterol which slows the progression of atherosclerosis.
• Contains Vitamin A, Vitamin C, folic acid, and potassium - One serving contains 120% of our daily Vitamin C needs and 53% of daily Vitamin A needs. Vitamin C supports the immune system and reduces inflammatory conditions like asthma, osteoporosis, and rheumatoid arthritis. It also prevents free radicals that prevent heart attacks and strokes.
• Lycopene - Lycopene may have anti-tumor properties, and it is an antioxidant which fights oxygen free radicals.
• Limonoids - Inhibits tumor formation. In animal studies, they have been shown to fight cancers of the mouth, breast, lung, skin, and colon.

Grapefruit may also prevent kidney stones and detoxify the body.

*One serving equals one cup of grapefruit sections with juice.

Considering the soaring numbers of obesity and diabetes cases in the United States, this is fantastic news. However, it should be that mice who had the naringenin-treated food consumed higher levels of naringenin than could be obtained through eating grapefruit in the diet.  Regardless, hopefully in the future, researchers will be able to develop an effective supplement. In the mean time, eat more grapefruit. It not only has many nutritional benefits, but it has already proven it can help you lose weight.