" I see some diets recommending having grapefruit at breakfast to help with fat burning.  Can grapefruit help with fat loss? how so?"

 

Ah yes, the Grapefruit Diet.  Before I waste too much of your time the first thing you need to know is that the principles of this diet are to eat around 800 calories and have half a grapefruilt or 8 ounces of grapefruit juice with every meal.  "They" recommend to do this diet for 12 days.  Hmm, sounds like a fad to me.

 

Now it doesn't take a degree in nutrition to know that if you eat 800 calories you will lose weight, grapefruit or not.

 

"They" reckon that the enzymes in grapefruit stimulate fat burning.  This diet has been around since the 1930's and has been named the Hollywood Diet, The Mayo Clinic Diet and The Scarsdale Diet.  I'm sure there must be other names, but they all mean the same thing, starve yourself and have a grapefruit or 2.

 

A study published in 2006, found that over a 12 week period subjects taking fresh grapefruit lost 1.6kg, the grapefruit juice group lost 1.5kg and the grapefruit capsule group lost 1.1kg.  The placebo group lost 0.3kg.  But before you all go and rush out for grapefruit by the bundle, the conclusion states "Although the mechanism of this weight loss is unknown it would appear reasonable to include grapefruit in a weight reduction diet".  Yes, that's right folks, they did not attribute the weight loss to the grapefruit.  The purpose of this study was in fact to test grapefruits effects on insulin resistance.

 

If I lost only 1.6kg in 12 weeks on a clinically controlled diet (if it was in fact controlled), I'd want my money back.

 

But back to the main point...the actual grapefruit diet is only 800 calories.  If you eat your normal food and expect the addition of grapefruit to be a miracle fat melter, then you will be disappointed.

 

Grapefruit has been shown to improve cholesterol and serum triglycerides, but one study reports that "The addition of fresh red grapefruit to generally accepted diets could be beneficial for hyperlipidemic, especially hypertriglyceridemic, patients suffering from coronary atherosclerosis"

 

Do you actually have coronary atherosclerosis?  Whether you do or not, this study still doesn't prove grapefruit will burn your fat for you.

 

This diet works similarly to the Lemon Detox Diet.  Starve yourself, lose weight through water, muscle, a bit of fat and a few toxins and then when you can't sustain it anymore put the weight back on.

 

Eat grapefruit, it's good for you (like all fruit and veg), but if you want to "burn" fat, you require oxygen to do so...and that means get puffing.  If you don't want to put back on the fat you have just burnt, then don't overeat.  And finally, if you don't want to screw up your metabolism to make it harder to burn this fat then don't eat refined junk.

 

 

The Effects of Grapefruit on Weight and Insulin Resistance: Relationship to the Metabolic Syndrome.  Ken Fujioka, Frank Greenway, Judy Sheard, Yu Ying. Journal of Medicinal Food. Spring 2006, 9(1): 49-54. doi:10.1089/jmf.2006.9.49.

Red Grapefruit Positively Influences Serum Triglyceride Level in Patients Suffering from Coronary Atherosclerosis: Studies in Vitro and in Humans J. Agric. Food Chem., 2006, 54 (5), pp 1887-1892 DOI: 10.1021/jf058171g

 
Stacey
7 Oct 10

Lisa has been struggling with unexplained allergies (Read Lisa's Bodybuliding Poisoning Me article) for some time now.  Now, we're not saying it's salicylates, but this week's article explains what a salicylate sensitivity is.

 

 

Unexplained sinus problems, hives, eczema, stomach pains, mouth ulcers, swelling in face hands or feet, headaches, fatigue, shortness of breath. Tests, scans, medication, more tests, more scans, more medication and no relief.  It's a scenario that some people experience on a daily basis.


Salicylates (Sal-iss-a-lates) are present in varying levels in most of the foods we eat, they're not additives and they are a necessary part of that foods life. Salicylates are hormones found in plants and have a chemical structure similar to aspirin. They act as a ‘protector' to foods to ward off pathogens. Salicylates are mostly found under the skins of food.


Salicylates have the potential to build up in the body faster than it can break them down and may cause problems for those susceptible to sensitivity.

A hypothetical scenario could play out like this: One day you're enjoying a punnet of strawberries (high in salicylates) but as the days go by you may end up with a persistent headache which you treat with aspirin and still continuing to eat strawberries, and perhaps a few tomatoes...you keep treating your headache with aspirin and a month later you end up with what looks like ‘an allergy to something' chronic sinus and perhaps a rash.


Salicylates are also found in other products. They're commonly found in acne medication as salicylic acid, they can also produce a ‘minty' flavour and are used in mints and mint flavoured products and may be referred to as oil of wintergreen. Salicylates are in virtually everything; deodorants, sports rubs, air fresheners, washing powder...the list goes on. Methyl Salicylate toxicity was found in a cross country runner in 2007 who was suspected to have overused a particular topical muscle relief product.


Where to from here? The first step is to assess whether you strongly believe salicylates are the cause of your symptoms.

•·         Keep a diary which details every food eaten, medication taken and product used and list any symptoms, severity of symptom and time of day the symptoms occur.

•·         Be attentive to your symptoms, sinus in pollen season may just be a pollen sensitivity and it will be hard to assess salicylate sensitivity during this time.

•·         Start making a list of foods which you strongly believe are making you sick and then avoid eating them. You have to avoid them to help work out other foods which may be adding to the problem.

•·         Assess the level of additives in your diet. Additives (such as preservatives, colourings, flavour enhancers, nitrates, amines, artificial sweeteners etc) can also produce headaches, sinus and other problems.


Before claiming a salicylate sensitivity try eliminating all processed foods for at least a week to see if your symptoms clear. This type of diet would include fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, eggs, milk, cheese, yoghurt and grains (oats, barley, millet, wheat, rice, corn), tea and coffee with no sugar or artificial sweeteners. Bread contains preservatives and should be left out when attempting a natural diet.

 

If you still experience mucus or stomach issues, you may have to cut dairy and grains also during this period.  Yep that means a diet of veges, fruits, eggs and meat (organic and free range if possible)

If you have done all these things and a natural unprocessed diet is still causing symptoms then it's time to talk to your Nutritionist about a salicylate elimination diet. There are no tests for salicylate sensitivity per se.

Your nutritionist should also be able to provide you with yummy meals you can make from your limited foods list and teach you how to effectively identify problem foods.


Some foods which are low in salicylates may still cause a reaction in people either due to build up in the body or to excessive sensitivity.

 

This is a list of some of the common foods which can produce a sensitivity.

Aspirin and products containing aspirin or salicylic acid
| Almonds | Apples | Apricots

Berries (all)

Cherries | Chili | Cider & cider vinegar (apples) | Cloves | Coffee | Cucumbers & pickles | Currants Dried Fruits

Grapes & raisins | Nectarines | Oranges

Paprika | Peaches | Peppers (bell & chili) | Plums |prunes

Tangerines | Tea | Tomatoes

Wine & wine vinegar (grapes) | Oil of wintergreen (methyl salicylate)

Rose hips or acerola (often found in vitamins) | Food colorings, preservatives, etc.

The complete list of foods and products is much larger than this.

 
Stacey, 1 Oct 10

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