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Grapefruit – the new fat buster?

Although the grapefruit is a pretty yummy fruit, we sometimes can’t help complaining about the bitter after-taste it leaves. Bleurgh!

However, we may want to stop our moaning– as scientists have revealed that the same compound that gives grapefruit this rather bitter taste could also help fight obesity and cut diabetes!

Naringenin makes the liver burn fat after a meal rather than store it, according to the research.

The risk of diabetes could also be cut with a dose of naringenin because it helps balance insulin and glucose levels, it was claimed.

The findings come from tests on two groups of mice who were given the same diet - but one set was fed doses of the flavonoid naringenin.

The non-naringenin mice became obese, their cholesterol levels increased and their bodies become resistant to insulin, while rodents given the chemical were fine.

Lead researcher Professor Murray Huff, from the University of Western Ontario, Canada said: ‘The marked obesity that develops in these mice was completely prevented by naringenin.'

'What was unique about the study was that the effects were independent of caloric intake, meaning the mice ate exactly the same amount of food and the same amount of fat.'

By Tasha Usefnia