Obesity

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277.   Diet plays a dominant role in any weight reduction programme. There are specific foods, which contain certain compounds helpful in weight reduction. The following foods, not in any order of importance, in addition to the super foods described in the section headed “Super Foods for Good Health” – namely fruits and vegetables, wholegrains, sprouts, nuts and seeds, food enzymes and fibre should be considered in any weight management plan.

 Grapefruit

278.   Grapefruit, orange, sweet lime, lemon, tangerine, satsuma are all fruits of the citrus family with their abundance of vitamin C (ascorbic and folic acids) in the form of pectin – a kind of soluble fibre that lowers bad cholesterol LDL and reduces the narrowing of arteries. In addition to excellent source of vitman C (just ½ a grapefruit will give you a full day’s supply), the luscious grapefruit also contains potassium, magnesium as well as B-vitamin inositol. By eating the red and pink fleshed varieties, you will also benefit from lycopene (a carotenoid that gives the fruit its colour) which appears to protect against several health problems, including stroke, heart disease and cancers.

279.   Best of all, grapefruit is healthy, low calorie and fat-free food and has been an important part of a weight loss plan since the 1930s as it supposedly contained a fat-burning enzyme. Grapefruit also helps in the reduction of insulin which promotes weight loss. Its high fibre content make you feel very full and results in weight loss too.

280.   Through citrus fruits are believed to be acidic, the truth is that they have an opposite effect. This makes them good for digestive complaints like heartburn, nausea and constipation.

A word of caution – In people, prone to kidney stones, grapefruit juice increases the risk of forming kidney stones. Grapefruit juice may sometimes block the absorption of certain drugs and other times it makes your body absorb the drugs faster.

 Apple

281.   There is no easier way to add a dose of nutrition to your day than by crunching on a tasty apple. Looking for a convenient, easy to carry snack packed with nutrients (vitamins and minerals) complex carbohydrates, fibre (soluble and insoluble), water, and a burst of flavour, try the original flavonoid-rich health food – an apple. Our forefathers had rightly adopted the maxim, “an apple a day keeps the doctor away.” Apples are replete with iron, calcium, arsenic, phosphorus; and small amounts of vitamins C, E, A and B complex, potassium, folate.