Frequently Asked Questions

Q. My eating plan asks me to eat half a grapefruit before each main meal, but I can’t eat grapefruit. Is there an alternative?

A. Research has shown that grapefruit may lower levels of insulin in the body. Insulin is an important hormone that regulates blood sugar and fat metabolism. This is why the SlimBuddy programme encourages the eating of grapefruit. Unfortunately some people don’t like grapefruit. In some other people, grapefruit interacts with certain prescription drugs (particularly some cholesterol-lowering statins). Unfortunately there isn’t an alternative to grapefruit in the way it is used in the SlimBuddy programme but don’t let that discourage you. Even without grapefruit, you will still lose weight provided you follow the plan Claire and I have recommended to you.

Having said there isn’t an absolute alternative, it’s been known for several years that vinegar or lemon juice in a salad dressing accompanying a meal lowers blood sugar levels. Just four teaspoons of vinegar in a vinaigrette dressing (that’s four teaspoons of vinegar with two teaspoons of oil) with a typical meal lowers blood sugar by up to a third. And lemon juice has a similar blood sugar lowering effect. This is to do with their acidity. What happens is that the acid slows down the emptying of food from the stomach, so that food takes longer to arrive in the small intestine. This leads to a slowing down of the digestion of carbohydrate in the food. And the result? Much lower blood sugar levels. And of course lower blood sugar levels mean lower blood insulin levels – and that means less fat stored in the body, which means less weight gain. Research also shows that acid in vinegar and lemon juice may encourage the storage in the muscles and liver of glycogen - the form that blood sugar is stored for future energy needs.

Recent research has shown that a couple of tablespoons of apple cider vinegar at bedtime may help to lower high fasting blood sugar levels the following morning in people with type 2 diabetes. This suggests that vinegar may be a useful complementary therapy for people with diabetes. And whatever helps blood sugar levels in diabetics can also have an important benefit for slimmers too.

Yet another recent piece of research has found that vinegar may help dieters eat less and reduce cravings brought on by rapid high blood sugar levels after meals. The more vinegar consumed - up to 2–3 tablespoons before a meal - the more satisfied people feel.

And the type of vinegar is unimportant. You can use raw or unprocessed vinegar. Or you can go for apple cider vinegar, red or white wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar. And don’t forget that, because it’s the acidity that has the beneficial effects, lemon juice or lime juice are very effective too. So are some salad dressings and even pickled vegetables