Overview | How Is This Diet Supposed to Work? | What’s Involved? | What the Research Says | Concerns | Bottom Line

Overview

The grapefruit diet entails eating grapefruit or drinking grapefruit juice at every meal. According to the American Dietetic Association, the grapefruit diet first became popular in 1950 and is also known as the Hollywood diet.

How Is This Diet Supposed to Work?

The premise of this diet is that grapefruit contains fat-burning properties. However, there is no research to support this theory.

What’s Involved?

There are many variations of this diet, but in general they all entail consuming grapefruit with meals. The older versions of this diet are also very restrictive in the foods that are allowed and are, therefore, very low in calories.

One common version of this diet consists of eating four meals per day, with grapefruit included at three of these meals. Other foods allowed on this particular version include as much black coffee as desired, eggs, and meat. A sample daily meal plan may look like this:

Meal 1

  • ½ grapefruit
  • 3 eggs (any style)
  • 2 slices of bacon

Meal 2

  • ½ grapefruit
  • Any type of meat
  • Salad with any type of dressing

Meal 3

  • Same as meal 2 plus coffee

Meal 4

  • 1 cup of tomato juice or skim milk

A newer variation of this diet, proposed in The Grapefruit Solution, has dieters following a weight loss plan of their choice, but with grapefruit added to their daily meal plans.

What the Research Says

While there is no research to support the theory that grapefruit has fat-burning properties, a recent study conducted by the Scripps Clinic in California found that adding grapefruit to each meal for 12 weeks resulted in greater weight loss. Because this was a relatively small study and the first of its kind, more research is needed to support these results.

Concerns

Most of the grapefruit diet plans are very low in calories and fall short on many essential vitamins and minerals. They are also very restrictive in the foods that are allowed. Thus, they are both unhealthy and unrealistic.

A concern with grapefruit in general is that it interacts with many different types of medications, possibly resulting in serious side effects. Use the Drug Interaction Database to find out whether grapefruit may interact with any of your medications.

Bottom Line

The original grapefruit diet is too restrictive in foods, calories, and nutrients, and thus is not recommended for anyone who wants to lose weight in a healthy way. And while some versions of this diet may be more sensible, they are still not based on solid research. Most of us should strive to eat at least three servings of fruit per day, and grapefruit can certainly contribute to these servings. But eating a variety of nutrient-rich foods—including a variety of fruits—is key to any healthful diet.