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Someone needs to drop-kick that crazy grapefruit diet off the planet.
Grapefruit itself, on the other hand, is practically the definition of a whole-beauty food.
- Protects your skin.
- Helps you breathe.
- Is a secret ingredient in an utterly irresistible fragrance.
- And, oh yeah, it actually does help you lose weight—though not via that extreme fad diet of 800 calories a day of nothing but black coffee, boiled eggs, and grapefruit.
Since this is the season for grapefruit, now the time to get the most out of it. Here's how:
Make it your skin’s main squeeze: The zest of grapefruit peel (like other citrus) is high in d-limonene, a compound that seems to keep skin cancer cells at bay. For a delicious flavor twist, grate a little grapefruit peel over salads, grilled fish, sorbets, hot tea, and sparkling water.
Breathe easy: Grapefruit is loaded with one of the antioxidant all-stars, vitamin C, which may help explain why people who shun citrus risk of wheezing, gasping adult asthma.
Smell amazing: If you haven’t ever inhaled In Love Again—one of Yves Saint Laurent’s stunner scents—try it the next time you’re in a scent store. The essence of its essence is grapefruit, but I won’t even try to explain its effect. Just go, smell and bring your credit card.
Lose weight: Somewhat to the chagrin of everyone—scientists, editors, doctors, the founder of Weight Watchers, me—who ripped into the grapefruit diet for years, some highly reputable scientists recently found that people who start every meal with either half a grapefruit or a glass of grapefruit juice lose about half a pound a week. Without dieting. Or going crazy on the treadmill. Or doing anything differently except eating grapefruit like they owned Harry and David.
The apparent reason is that grapefruit contains certain plant compounds that lower insulin levels, which encourages weight loss. Whatever. Of course that crazy grapefruit diet really will never go away, but as for the rest, it’s all good.
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