Grapefruit : Too Much of a Good Thing?

Remember back in the eighties and the early nineties, when grapefruit diets were all the rage, and grapefruit was thought to be some sort of a super weight loss facilitator, much like the acai berry is now (which by the way, I don’t think helps a lick in weight loss, it’s a super antioxidant which is great, but weight loss supplement – no).  I enjoy the occasional grapefruit, and although I love the flavor and texture and I think it’s a super healthy fruit to eat, I don’t think that you are going to lose a lot more weight if you eat grapefruit every day.  That’s just my personal opinion.

Well, recently in the news, a woman almost died from eating too much of this citrus fruit that’s commonly eaten for breakfast.  Grapefruit was supposedly a good addition to a diet because of it’s supposed fat burning properties, however I suspect that it’s just a healthy food and the other items eaten on a sensible diet and caloric intake are still to take credit for any resultant weight loss.  There are also crazy grapefruit only diets that I believe can be dangerous in some situations, as they did for one women who almost lost a limb because she was on a grapefruit only diet for three days and was also on the birth control pill.

The problem was that the grapefruit, especially since it was the only thing this woman was consuming for three days, blocks an enzyme when consumed in large quantities, which blocks the enzyme that breaks down drugs in the human body.  Because of this, her birth control pills were not being broken down in her body.  Not only that, but the hormone estrogen cannot be broken down and since birth control pills contain estrogen, she was in danger of forming serious blood clots,and hence that is why she almost lost her legs.

So, I guess it’s useful to know this about grapefruit!