# Does drinking grapefruit juice help you lose weight? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 2, 2004, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-drinking-grapefruit-juice-help-you-lose-weight/243138 "2004-05-02T11:59:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![griffen2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ce7236/32.png) [@griffen2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffen2)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2004, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-drinking-grapefruit-juice-help-you-lose-weight/243138/1 "2004-05-02T11:59:34Z")
What’s the straight dope on this? ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2004, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-drinking-grapefruit-juice-help-you-lose-weight/243138/2 "2004-05-02T14:10:34Z")
[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3439391.stm](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3439391.stm) I guess it has to do with manipulation of insulin levels. Grapefruit also has a chemical in it that blocks one of the major enzymes that break down drugs in the body, it could have something to do with that too. Drinking green tea and drinking any calcium fortified beverage will help you lose weight too. ---
**Author:** ![Ilsa\_Lund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a6a055/32.png) [@Ilsa\_Lund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ilsa_Lund)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2004, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-drinking-grapefruit-juice-help-you-lose-weight/243138/3 "2004-05-02T15:23:35Z")
That looks pretty dodgy to me. Grapefruit is just fiber, sugar and water. Last time I checked, eating sugar didn’t exactly _lower_ your insulin levels… ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2004, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-drinking-grapefruit-juice-help-you-lose-weight/243138/4 "2004-05-02T16:05:41Z")
> [@Ilsa\_Lund](#): > > That looks pretty dodgy to me. Grapefruit is just fiber, sugar and water. Last time I checked, eating sugar didn’t exactly _lower_ your insulin levels… The article **did** say that they measured the insulin levels and that they went down. Grapefruit is certainly more than fiber, sugar, and water and has been shown to affect the metabolism of many drugs - a quick google led me to [http://www.powernetdesign.com/grapefruit/](http://www.powernetdesign.com/grapefruit/), and I’ve read many other articles on it. Whether other studies will show that grapefruit really does help lower your weight, I don’t know (it’s unwise to fully trust a single study about anything) but given its metabolic effects I wouldn’t be particularly surprised. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2004, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-drinking-grapefruit-juice-help-you-lose-weight/243138/5 "2004-05-02T16:22:27Z")
There’s nothing out there that can make up for a piss-poor diet and a sedentary lifestyle. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2004, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-drinking-grapefruit-juice-help-you-lose-weight/243138/6 "2004-05-02T17:43:04Z")
A healthy diet and adequate exercise, where the calories burned are greater than the calories consumed. Anything else is bogus. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2004, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-drinking-grapefruit-juice-help-you-lose-weight/243138/7 "2004-05-02T18:00:30Z")
Be careful with grapefruit juice. This was posted a few days ago. Surprised me. ---
**Author:** ![citrus\_x\_paradisi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6f9a4e/32.png) [@citrus\_x\_paradisi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/citrus_x_paradisi)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2004, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-drinking-grapefruit-juice-help-you-lose-weight/243138/8 "2004-05-02T18:06:46Z")
Of all the things for me not to know… :o ---
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2004, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-drinking-grapefruit-juice-help-you-lose-weight/243138/9 "2004-05-02T18:26:49Z")
I was also told by a doctor several years ago that excessive consumption of grapefruit juice can lead to increased kidney stone formation. Having passed a kidney stone, I can safely tell you I’m not gambling on whether it’s true or not, limeade or lemonade will have to suffice. ---
**Author:** ![Ludicrous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/82dd89/32.png) [@Ludicrous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludicrous)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2004, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-drinking-grapefruit-juice-help-you-lose-weight/243138/10 "2004-05-02T19:46:23Z")
Don’t drink grapefruit juice while on lipitor. It will amplify the effects so greatly it might kill you or at least deteriorate your muscle tissue. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-drinking-grapefruit-juice-help-you-lose-weight/243138/11 "2004-05-03T03:53:42Z")
A long time ago I knew someone who was on a grapefruit juice diet. She could eat whatever she wanted, but she had to drink X amount of grapefruit juice afterwards. It seemed to me like the main reason the diet worked was that she often refused to eat foods because she didn’t want to have to drink the juice afterwards. She did lose weight on the diet. YMMV.