Grapefruit is a delicious citrus fruit that is a source of various vitamins and minerals. It is said to have unique weight loss properties, and the grapefruit diet helps you shed excess pounds quickly. But is it a good choice for a low-carb diet? Is grapefruit keto-friendly?
Yes, grapefruit is keto in small amounts. It contains moderate amounts of net carbs and fiber, which is good for your metabolism and does not raise your blood insulin levels. However, you should limit the amount of citrus fruits during the keto diet to not exceed the daily carbohydrate limit. Grapefruit has many benefits for your body, including helping you lose weight.
What is the grapefruit diet? Can this fruit help you lose weight while on a keto diet? How many carbs are in grapefruit? I will answer all your questions about grapefruit on keto. Stay tuned to find out more!
Grapefruit and Weight Loss
The grapefruit diet has long been popular among adherents of a healthy lifestyle and weight loss. So what is it, and how does it work? Let’s discuss it in detail.
How Many Pounds Can You Lose on Keto in One Month?
What is Grapefruit Diet?
There are many positive reviews about grapefruit for weight loss. They agree that dietary meal plans based on this citrus fruit are tasty, not hungry, and at the same time effective. The grapefruit diet requires small daily servings eaten in 5-6 meals and the use of grapefruit with each meal. About a dozen diet menus have been developed with this citrus fruit, but they are all similar. The staple foods of this diet are eggs and grapefruit. It lasts one to three weeks, with an expected weight loss of about 10 pounds.
During your diet, your breakfast should include one grapefruit, two boiled eggs, and a glass of sugar-free black or green tea. Lunch is more varied. It can consist of two eggs and one grapefruit, stews or fresh vegetables, fruit salad, boiled chicken, and grapefruit. For example, the grapefruit diet offers boiled meat and vegetable salad, two boiled eggs and low-fat cheese, boiled fish with vegetables and toast, grapefruit, and boiled chicken for dinner.
Does Grapefruit Diet Really Work?
At the moment, there is no confirmed evidence that grapefruit can lead to weight loss without restricting calories and avoiding processed foods. It means that you will not be able to lose weight by continuing to overeat and simply adding grapefruit to your menu. The grapefruit diet is effective because of the severe calorie restriction of the daily food intake. However, with severe calorie restrictions, any diet can work.
But is it good for your body? Crash dieting helps you achieve rapid weight loss, but they are all bad for your health. In addition, the main reason for losing weight quickly is the loss of excess fluid. Not eating enough calories and drastically limiting healthy fats can disrupt your hormonal balance and cause a variety of disorders.
In addition, during a severe calorie deficiency, you can get metabolic disorders. In the future, you may gain even more weight than you lose during the crash dieting, and it will be more difficult for you to get rid of it. A healthy diet should saturate your body and help it function to its fullest. But can grapefruit help you lose weight while eating plentiful nutrition?
Does Grapefruit Help Lose Weight?
However, the composition of grapefruit can help you lose weight and improve overall health, which also plays an important role in the weight loss process. Grapefruit contains sodium, which can make you feel satisfied. With the constant consumption of this citrus fruit, you will not experience a sharp feeling of hunger and eat fewer calories. However, there are foods that also contain sodium and are low in carbohydrates, such as avocados, spinach, and cauliflower.
Should I Count Calories on Keto?
Sodium affects your metabolism and involves the elimination of excess liquid. All liquid that is not used in the process of vital activity is removed quickly. Thus, after a few weeks, you may notice that you have lost a couple of extra pounds. In addition, the diuretic effect of grapefruit can help to get rid of the puffiness in any part of the body and also helps to get rid of cellulite and prevents its appearance.
Grapefruit contains flavonoids needed to stimulate metabolism and burn fat. It helps to remove excess salts from the body and also helps to cleanse the organs of toxins.
As you can see, grapefruit is not a magic remedy for losing extra pounds. Still, it can help your metabolism and support your weight loss process along with a healthy diet. Also, grapefruit indirectly affects weight loss, normalizes sleep, improves digestion, and positively affects your mood in general. I will tell you about the beneficial properties of grapefruit in more detail.
Is Grapefruit Keto?
We have figured out how grapefruit affects weight loss and now let’s see how it fits into your keto diet. Is grapefruit keto? So, 100 grams of grapefruit pulp contains:
- 42 calories
- 8 grams of protein
- 1grams of fat
- 11 grams of carbohydrates
- 2 grams of fiber
- 9 grams of net carbs.
So is grapefruit keto? It is a controversial question. This fruit contains a lot of carbohydrates and is not suitable for your regular low-carb diet. I recommend that you choose fruits and berries that are lower in carbohydrates. However, you can sometimes add grapefruit to your keto menu for its health benefits.
Grapefruit Health Benefits
The main advantage of this fruit is its unique composition and rich complex of vitamins. The amount of vitamin C in one fruit can satisfy the daily requirement for an adult. It has a beneficial effect on the immune system and participates in the regeneration of the skin, preventing premature aging.
Need Keto Motivation? The Best Tips for Your Keto Lifestyle
Vitamin D is useful for the elderly and children, and vitamin PP is a natural energy component that will give you vigor and healthy sleep. Half of one medium grapefruit contains 28% of your daily value for vitamin A. Let’s take a closer look at the grapefruit main health benefits.
Prevents the Growth of Cancer Cells
All red and pink grapefruit varieties contain a high percentage of lycopene, which acts as a powerful antioxidant. With its help, the appearance and development of cancer cells are reduced [1]. Lycopene also helps to eliminate estrogen from the body. If you consume grapefruit or its juice every day, the enzyme activity that causes lung cancer with constant smoking decreases.
Lowers Cholesterol and Insulin Levels
The pulp of the fruit contains substances that break down cholesterol and lower blood sugar levels. It is useful for people suffering from diabetes, high blood pressure, and atherosclerosis. Naringenin, found in grapefruit, helps normalize blood sugar levels by increasing overall insulin sensitivity.
Strengthens the Immune System
Grapefruit contains a large amount of vitamin C, which can significantly increase the resistance to all kinds of viruses and bacteria when absorbed by the body. If you eat one grapefruit a day, this vitamin is absorbed by 80-100% of the recommended daily value.
Improves the Work of the Digestive Tract
Grapefruit contains a large amount of fiber, both soluble and insoluble. It helps to cleanse the intestines gently and speed up the metabolism. The activation of digestion processes affects the ability to lose weight while maintaining health and vigor. To improve bowel function, you need a lot of fiber, which is found in this citrus fruit. In addition, this substance eliminates constipation, having a positive effect on the functioning of the entire digestive system.
Helps Improve Sleep
One fruit or a glass of grapefruit juice is an effective remedy for insomnia. It helps not only to relieve fatigue but also to get rid of depression, relax, and finally have a good rest. Its aroma soothes the nervous system and is effective in fighting sleep disorders and stress. The balanced composition of the fruit increases the overall tone and has a good effect on recovery processes after illness, severe mental and physical exertion.
Improves Weight Loss Process
Grapefruit contains sodium, which suppresses hunger. Eating citrus fruits regularly will help you stay full longer and consume fewer calories as a result. Sodium has a diuretic effect, due to which excess fluid leaves the body, reducing cellulite. Here are the main components of grapefruit, which have a powerful effect on the body and promote weight loss:
- Naringin – provides a bitter taste of the fruit and is a catalyst that accelerates metabolic processes and, as a result, the breakdown of excess body fat.
- Flavonoids are beneficial compounds with many properties, from improving metabolism to reducing inflammation throughout the body.
- Acids stimulate digestion and help burn fat.
- Fiber allows you not to feel hunger for a long time while losing weight and normalizes the microflora and digestive system work.
- Vitamins of groups B, P, C, D have a good effect on the skin, nails, hair, bone tissue, and the circulatory system and have a general healing effect.
- Pectins contribute to the elimination of toxins from the body.
- Essential oils, in particular nootkatone. They speed up metabolism, tone, improve mood and help in the fight against sagging skin.
- Mineral salts maintain the constancy of the internal environment of the body.
Are there any Contraindications to Grapefruit?
Grapefruit contains many active enzymes, so this fruit should be excluded from your menu under certain conditions. Contraindications to the use of grapefruit are:
- Taking medications. Often grapefruit juice enters into a chemical reaction with various drugs, including statins, birth control pills, choleretic and antihistamines, heart drops. This citrus fruit enhances the effects of various medications, which can lead to side effects.
- Diseases of the digestive system. Gastritis, colitis, ulcers, and other diseases do not accept the use of large amounts of acid, so that grapefruit can stimulate their exacerbation.
- During pregnancy. Despite the fact that the fruit helps to cope with toxicosis at an early stage, in the second half of pregnancy, citrus can cause an allergic reaction in a child.
- Chronic kidney and liver diseases. Grapefruit is contraindicated for people with chronic diseases such as hepatitis, cystitis, pyelonephritis, etc.
Yummy Bonus: Keto Shrimp and Grapefruit Salad
This simple keto salad contains healthy ingredients to help speed up your metabolism and help you lose weight during your keto diet. I cook it for breakfast and love to eat it with boiled eggs. You can substitute shrimps with any seafood, chicken, or fish.
Ingredients
- Shrimps – 250 gr
- Fresh spinach – 1 cup
- Grapefruit – 1 piece
- Avocado – 1 pc
- Cucumbers – 1 piece
- Garlic – 2 cloves
- Butter – 15 gr
- Juice of one lemon wedge
- Spices to taste.
Preparation
Peel the shrimps and rinse them in cool water. Place the pan over medium heat to prevent the butter from burning. Melt the butter in a pan, crush the garlic cloves with a knife and fry them until golden brown.
Remove the garlic, add spices to taste, and sauté the shrimp in garlic oil for a couple of minutes. Peel the avocado and cucumber and cut them into small pieces. Peel the grapefruit thoroughly, cut the pulp. Rinse the spinach and combine all the ingredients. Season them with oil, salt, and pepper, and drizzle with lemon juice.
Enjoy!
Conclusion
As you can see, grapefruit certainly has many health benefits. Is grapefruit keto? Yes, grapefruit is keto in small amounts. You can eat half of this fruit during your keto snack, supplementing it with healthy fats and proteins.
However, I want to remind you that you need to add a lot of green leafy vegetables to your menu and count all the carbohydrates in your daily intake for a healthy keto diet. If your goal is to lose weight on keto, you should maintain a balance of protein, fat, and carbohydrates and avoid overeating.
Sources:
- Shanbhag VL. Lycopene in cancer therapy. Published Apr-Jun 2016; 8(2): 170–171. J Pharm Bioallied Sci. (DOI: 10.4103/0975-7406.171740)
