Can Grapefruit and Lemon help you burn fat?

Question: True or False: Can grapefruit juice and lemon juice help you burn fat?

A friend emailed me this question and I felt it necessary to blog about it. It is a great question. . There are many claims out there that a certain food can help boost your metabolism, help you burn fat, etc. We all remember the fad grapefruit diet. The word "fad" being key here. First of all, lets examine the question closely. Lets look at the fruits mentioned. Grapefruit and lemon. Both contain a powerful antioxidant called ascorbic acid, or more commonly known as Vitamin C. They also both contain a large amount of both soluble and insoluble fiber, important for digestion, as do most citrus fruits. We can safely assume any citrus fruit could go here. Grapefruit has more fiber in it than other fruits but you would have to eat the tough membranes sectioning the fruit as well to make this true.

The answer to the question is false. There is no magical weight loss component in these fruits. They do offer wonderful health benefit's though!! They have a powerful dose of anti-oxidants . Anti-oxidants are our powerful allies. they bond with free radicals in our body that may damage cells contributing to all sorts of diseases,including the dreaded cardiovascular disease. Vitamin C helps prevent this from happening so rapidly. It could certainly help prevent the on set of many diseases. Vitamin C rich fruits include grapefruit, lemon, orange. We can also get this vitamin from veggies such as broccoli and cauliflower.

Another dietary tool and reason to include vitamin C in your diet is it has lots of fiber! That's right! Digestive health is very important, you want to keep things movin' if you know what I mean. It also slows digestion and absorption so that glucose(sugar) in foods are entered into the bloodstream slower, helping blood sugar stay at a more even level preventing hypo-glycemia (the cold sweats and shakes) and helping the body feel fuller, longer. Fiber also hangs around in the stomach longer, again, helping one stay full longer. Most expensive dietary supplements you can purchase via infomercial or health food store contain large amounts of it...so you spend lots of money on something you could get in your diet alone.

Bottom line on grapefruit and lemon? Eat em up! They are great for you!!! There is no magical food that will "help you burn fat" more quickly than others. It's all about how you feed your body though. Eating a balanced diet, which naturally includes plenty of vitamin C, is the only way to go. Our bodies were built to break down all of these foods to use for energy and maintenance, we don't even have to think about it after we eat, we just feed our body, and it does the work for us, placing the nutrients where they are needed, any excess is either expelled or stored as fat, our bodies are truly amazing. We must fuel it efficiently just as we do our vehicles, hopefully it won't get quite as expensive though ;-). Also, while efficiently fueling our bodies exercising to keep it strong is the second key to health and weight loss (if that's your goal). If you let your car sit for a while with a full take of gas, it may be sluggish when you crank it up, or it may not crank at all!!! Do you know what I mean?? I hope this helps! ~K