Hello Friends!
We hope all has been well and that March will finally bring some warmer weather! Many of you may have noticed at the store that grapefruit and oranges are in full swing and looking ripe and delicious! With that said we know that fresh fruits and vegetables are good for us but how much and which ones are best? We are partial to the grapefruit for many reasons which will be explained below but first, what is the Grapefruit Diet?
There was/is a popular diet out there for many years (since the 1930’s) called the Grapefruit Diet. It primarily consists of a small variety of foods for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and at bedtime. The fresh grapefruit or grapefruit juice must be unsweetened. The plan calls for drinking 64 ounces of water daily and also allows you to drink black coffee.
Because the calories are very low, averaging 800-1,000 calories in most versions most people will lose weight on this plan. However it doesn’t address lifestyle changes in eating and that is why you shouldn’t look to this “diet” for lasting weight loss. The Grapefruit Diet (along with many others) is so limited in the foods it permits that it doesn’t help you improve your eating habits.
So what are the benefits of eating grapefruit?
- Oranges and grapefruit rank #1 and #2 in fiber out of the top 20 most-consumed fruits and vegetables. Studies provide evidence that they provide a greater feeling of fullness and keep blood sugar levels more constant resulting in better appetite control.
- Here’s the relationship. While not its primary function, insulin assists with the regulation of fat metabolism. Therefore, the smaller the insulin spike after a meal, the more efficiently the body processes food to use as energy and the less it’s stored as fat in the body. For the whole story click here.
- For those of you who are trying to regulate your body Ph Levels, it’s good to know that grapefruit is an alkalinizing fruit.
So the long and short is this.
- For weight-loss choose high fiber low-carb fruits like berries, grapefruit and apples.
- For weight-loss consume no more than 2 servings of fruit per day. Excess fructose can cause weight gain. i.e. 1/2 grapefruit has 4.3 grams of fructose where 1/2 a mango has 16.2 grams of fructose.
- Lifestyle changes in eating are paramount vs. “fad-diets”. If you are looking to change your eating habits a great place to start is the OH Detox. It will help you transition from your current eating habits and patterns and establish new ones.
Let us know how your progress is going! You can email us at info@organichousewives.com
Have a great day, make great choices and smile as much as possible!
Hugs to all,
Donna and Daniela
Organic Housewives 