The grapefruit or fruit juice is important because it
acts as a catalyst that starts the burning process. Don’t
add to or reduce the amount of grapefruit or juice.
Cut down on coffee because it affects the insulin
balance that hinders the burning process. Try to
limit yourself to 1 cup of coffee at meal time.
Don’t eat between meals. If you eat the suggested
foods, you will not get hungry.
You can fry food in butter and use generous amounts
of butter on the vegetables.
Do not eat desserts, bread, or white vegetables or
sweet potatoes.
You may have double or triple helpings of meat,
salad, or vegetables.
Eat until you are stuffed. The more you eat, the more
weight you will lose.Stay on the diet 12 days, then stop the diet for 2 days
and repeat.
The daily diet plan:
Breakfast: Either 1/2 grapefruit or 8 ounces of
unsweetened fruit juice (any fruit)þ2 eggs any
styleþ2 slices of bacon.
Lunch: Either 1/2 grapefruit or 8 ounces of unsweet-
ened fruit juice (any fruit)þsalad with any dressingþ
meat any style and any amount.
Dinner: Either 1/2 grapefruit or 8 ounces of unsweet-
ened fruit juice (any fruit)þsalad with any dressing or a
red or green vegetable cooked in butter or spicesþmeat
or fish any style cooked any wayþcoffee or tea (1 cup).
Bedtime snack: 8 ounces of tomato juice or skim milk.
Foods the dieter may eat: red onions, bell peppers,
broccoli, radishes, cucumbers, carrots, green onions,KEY TERMS
Cytochromes—Complex proteins within cell mem-
branes that carry out electron transport. Grapefruit
juice interferes with the functioning of an enzyme
belonging to the cytochrome P-450 group.
Glycemic index (GI)—A system devised at the Uni-
versity of Toronto in 1981 that ranks carbohydrates
in individual foods on a gram-for-gram basis in
regard to their effect on blood glucose levels in the
first two hours after a meal. There are two commonly
used GIs, one based on pure glucose as the reference
standard and the other based on white bread.
Insulin resistance—A condition in which normal
amounts of insulin in a person’s blood are not
adequate to produce an insulin response from fat,
muscle, and liver cells. Insulin resistance is often a
precursor of type 2 (adult-onset) diabetes.
Lycopene—A plant pigment that appears red in nat-
ural light and is responsible for the red color of
tomatoes. Grapefruit is rich in lycopene, which is a
powerful antioxidant and is thought to retard skin
aging and may help to protect against chronic dis-
eases such as heart disease and cancer.
Metabolic syndrome—A group of risk factors related
to insulin resistance and associated with an
increased risk of heart disease. Patients with any
three of the following five factors are defined as
having metabolic syndrome: waist circumference
over 102 cm (41 in) for men and 88 cm (34.6 in) for
women; high triglyceride levels in the blood; lowlevels of HDL cholesterol; high blood pressure or the
use of blood pressure medications; and impaired lev-
els of fasting blood glucose (higher than 110 mg/dL).
Mono diet—A type of detoxification diet based on
the use of only one food or beverage. Some versions
of the grapefruit diet are essentially mono diets.
Pectin—A water-soluble heterosaccharide (complex
molecule composed of a sugar molecule and a non-
sugar component) found in the cell walls of higher
plants. It is used primarily as a gelling agent in mak-
ing jams and jellies, but can also be taken by mouth
as a form of plant fiber to relieve constipation.
Placebo—An inert or medically inactive substance,
often formulated to look like a pill or capsule, admin-
istered to subjects as part of clinical research trials to
determine the effectiveness of a drug or treatment.
Placebo comes from the Latin and means ‘‘I shall
please,’’ because the name was first given to sugar
pills dispensed by some doctors to satisfy some
patients’ demands for drugs they didn’t need.
Pomelo—A large pear-shaped citrus fruit with a thick
rind that was crossed with the sweet orange in the
West Indies to produce the modern grapefruit.
Very low-calorie diet (VLCD)—A term used by
nutritionists to classify weight-reduction diets that
allow around 800 or fewer calories a day. Some
versions of the grapefruit diet are VLCDs.Grapefruit diet