OriginsAccording to the American Dietetic Association,
the fad type of grapefruit diet began in the 1930s, when
it was also known as theHollywood diet. There were
two regimens, a 7-day and a 21-day version, both of
which were very low-calorie diets or VLCDs. The
dieter consumed little except black coffee and half a
grapefruit at each meal, with small amounts of salad
and lean meat. This Depression-era version of the
‘‘Hollywood diet’’ was quite different from the Holly-
wood diet offered online as of 2007, which amounts to
a 24- or 48-hour juice fast intended to detoxify the
dieter’s body as well as promote rapid weight loss.
In the 1940s, the VLCD grapefruit diet reap-
peared under the name of the Mayo Clinic Diet—a
name that has also been attached to several other so-
called mono diets, one based on eggs and the other on
meat. The Mayo Clinic has issued a disclaimer regard-
ing the use of its name in connection with the grape-
fruit diet as well as other fad diets that have used the
clinic’s name. It is also possible that the VLCD form of
the grapefruit diet may have influenced Herman Tar-
nower’s first version of theScarsdale dietin the 1960s.
The original mimeographed diet sheet that the doctor
gave his overweight cardiology patients specified 18
servings of grapefruit—14 at breakfast and 4 for des-
sert in the evenings—over the two-week period of the
diet, and some of his patients referred to the Scarsdale
diet informally as a grapefruit diet.
The VLCD grapefruit diet has also been recom-
mended since the 1970s as a detoxification diet. Some
writers recommend taking apple cider vinegar along
with the grapefruit in order to ‘‘flush the system of
impurities.’’ The fact that thefiberin grapefruit speeds
up the passage of foods through the intestine and eases
constipationis another reason why some advocates of
detoxification diets design their regimens around
grapefruit.
The high-protein version of the grapefruit diet
began to circulate at some point during the 1970s
and has reappeared at various intervals since then. It
is the variation most commonly found on Internet
sites that post fad diets. Some forms of this diet
claim that it works because grapefruit supposedly con-
tains special ‘‘fat-burning’’ enzymes.
The term grapefruit diet has also been used by
journalists since 2004 to refer to the findings of a 12-
week research study conducted at the Scripps Clinic in
California in 2003. The term diet is a bit of a misno-
mer, because the study was designed to measure the
effectiveness of grapefruit and grapefruit products in
treating insulin resistance as well as lowering weight in
91 overweight subjects who were not otherwise trying
to diet. The study received considerable publicity and
revived interest in incorporating grapefruit into nutri-
tionally sound weight reduction diets. Its use of grape-
fruit in capsule form as well as fresh grapefruit,
however, also prompted the development of several
new lines of over-the-counter ‘‘miracle diet aids.’’DescriptionVery low-calorie grapefruit diet plan
The basic menu plan is the same for each day of
the week:
Breakfast: 1/2 grapefruitþ2 slices of baconþ 2
boiled eggsþblack coffee (no sugar) or unsweetened
tea.
Lunch: 1/2 grapefruitþ1 cup of salad with low-
calorie dressing þ 8 ounces of lean chicken or
water-packed tuna fishþblack coffee (no sugar) or
unsweetened tea.
Dinner: 1/2 grapefruitþas much salad with low-
calorie dressing as desired þ 8 ounces of lean
chicken, lean beef, or fishþblack coffee (no sugar)
or unsweetened tea
No snacks are allowed, and the only seasonings per-
mitted for the meat or fish are herbs; no soy sauce,
mustard, catsup, or other condiments are allowed.
The dieter is supposed to follow this diet for 12
days, then take two days off, and repeat the two-week
cycle indefinitely.High-protein grapefruit diet plan
This version of the grapefruit diet has been
described as ‘‘just plain weird’’ because it comes with
a curious set of rules as well as lists of foods that the
dieter may or may not have. It also promises a weight
loss of 52 pounds over 2-1/2 months.
‘‘The Rules’’:
You must drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water every
day (64 ounces total).
At any meal you may eat until you are full.
You must eat the minimum of each food listed at
each meal.
You cannot eliminate any item from the diet, espe-
cially the bacon at breakfast and the salads. You
MUST eat the bacon and the salads. These combi-
nations of food burn the fat; omitting one part of the
combination will cause the whole thing not to work.Grapefruit diet