One of the benefits of living in southwest Louisiana is that it’s warm enough to grow citrus fruit.  In fact, our across-the-street neighbors have three huge citrus trees in their yard, and they’ve given us permission to pick as much as we’d like!  I’d never been too crazy about store-bought grapefruit juice because it has always tasted bitter and peppery to me, but once I tried fresh squeezed grapefruit juice I was hooked–for the past couple of weeks now I’ve been juicing a grapefruit first thing in the morning and drinking the delicious, almost-sour juice before eating breakfast or drinking my usual cup (or four) of coffee.  Because sweets in the morning typically make me feel queasy throughout the day, I like that grapefruit isn’t as sweet as orange juice.  Additionally, grapefruit is naturally portion-controlled.  I know I’ll get something like 3/4 to 1 cup of juice and no more from a single grapefruit, so I don’t have to worry about measuring.  Dawn has already talked about the universal health benefits of grapefruit juice in her post on Delicious and Healthy Beverages, but I’d also like to point out that grapefruit is especially beneficial for those of us who are trying to lose a little weight.  I’ve noticed that I don’t feel like I’m starving all day when I’ve had grapefruit juice first thing in the morning, which is a problem for me even when I’m not counting calories.

A quick google search for “grapefruit weight loss” yielded mostly information about the Grapefruit Diet, which I am in no way advocating.  However, after wading through a more than a few pages on the Grapefruit Diet, I found a BBC News article from 2004, Grapefruit May Help Weight Loss, that highlights a potential link between grapefruit and weight loss.  The article summarizes a study conducted by Ken Fujioka and colleagues at the Scripps Clinic in San Diego in which three groups of obese patients either ate half a grapefruit before each meal, drank a glass of grapefruit juice before each meal, or did nothing.  The article reads,

“After 12 weeks, those eating grapefruit had lost an average of 3.6 pounds, and some shed as much as 10 pounds.  The participants drinking grapefruit juice lost an average of 3.3 pounds. But those in the control group who consumed no grapefruit only lost an average of 0.5 pounds.  The researchers said the weight loss was probably linked to lowered levels of insulin, which was born out by measurements of glucose levels.  Insulin is used to metabolise sugar. The more efficiently sugar is metabolised, the less likely it is to be stored as fat in the body.”

Of course, this also means that grapefruit is good for those of us who are at a higher risk for diabetes.  Double yay!  Even after I’m finished dieting, grapefruit is something that will probably remain a staple of my diet because of all its other health benefits.

This is only mildly related in that it’s also about breakfast:  For breakfast this morning I had Fried Egg Kale Toast (minus the toast) from Apartment Therapy’s Breakfast with a Blogger series.  If you’ve never tried this, it’s of utmost importance that you do so immediately.  I love an egg in the morning, but I’m usually starving by 10 o’clock.  The kale adds quite a bit of bulk to the meal, meaning I feel fuller for longer.  And the combination of fried egg with lemony, garlicky kale is pretty unbeatable.

Related Posts:

• Just when it seemed like I’d given up on blogging altogether.
• Moosewood Muffins & Back to School
• Vanilla Pound Cake Recipe
• On Breakfast