LA JOLLA, Calif.--Consumption of grapefruit may help obese individuals lose weight and control blood sugar, according to a study published in the Journal of Medicinal Food (9, 1:49-54, 2006).
Here is an abstract to the journal article:
[b]The Effects of Grapefruit on Weight and Insulin Resistance: Relationship to the Metabolic Syndrome
Journal of Medicinal Food
Mar 2006, Vol. 9, No. 1: 49-54
K Fujioka, M.D, F Greenway, J Sheard, Y Ying
Abstract: http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs.../jmf.2006.9.49
Excerpt:
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The fresh grapefruit group lost significantly more weight than the placebo group (P < .05). A secondary analysis of those with the metabolic syndrome in the four treatment groups demonstrated a significantly greater weight loss in the grapefruit, grapefruit capsule, and grapefruit juice groups compared with placebo (P < .02). There was also a significant reduction in 2-hour post-glucose insulin level in the grapefruit group compared with placebo. Half of a fresh grapefruit eaten before meals was associated with significant weight loss. In metabolic syndrome patients the effect was also seen with grapefruit products
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Although the mechanism of this weight loss is unknown it would appear reasonable to include grapefruit in a weight reduction diet.
Here is another recent article about grapefruit and a reminder to be careful about a possible reaction with grapefruit and medications.
Article: What is it about grapefruit juice that affects some drugs?
Medical Research News
Published: Sunday, 14-May-2006 http://www.news-medical.net/?id=17941
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Researchers in the United States say they have identified the compound in grapefruit juice that affects how some drugs are absorbed in the body and produces unwanted side effects.
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It had originally been thought that the flavonoids that give grapefruit juice its bitter taste were what caused the drug interaction, but lead researcher Dr. Paul Watkins, director of the General Clinical Research Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, says they found that a group of substances called furanocoumarins, when removed from the juice, destroys this particular effect.
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It seems an intestinal enzyme called CYP3A, which partially destroys drugs as they are absorbed in the body is affected by grapefruit juice so the body ends up absorbing more of the drug.
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Watkins suggests there are three implications to the finding.
Researchers can now look at a number of other fruits to see if they contain furanocoumarins and predict whether they will cause the same problem.
Secondly, manufacturers of grapefruit juice could offer a version of the juice that has the furanocoumarins removed, eliminating the potential for drug interaction.
Thirdly, furanocoumarins could be added to certain drugs to improve their "bioavailability", or ability to enter the blood stream.
This is probably the most interesting possibility
Here is a link to an abrstact to the article in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Vol. 83, No. 5, 1097-1105, May 2006 ). A furanocoumarin-free grapefruit juice establishes furanocoumarins as the mediators of the grapefruit juice–felodipine interaction
Article: Grapefruit Promotes Weight Loss, Combats Metabolic Syndrome 
