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[NovoMira]

 Remember the old grapefruit diet?

It seemed too good to be true. Eat a grapefruit, and you would lose weight. Some folks swore by it even though science couldn't prove it worked. Turns out, it does!

New research from the Scripps Clinic in San Diego, Calif., suggests that eating grapefruit really does help people lose weight. But even more important is this groundbreaking conclusion: Grapefruit can help reduce the risk of diabetes by lowering insulin levels.

Interestingly, it's all related. While this is the first study to find a link between grapefruit consumption and reduced insulin levels, the researchers speculate that weight loss and lower insulin levels are connected, reports CBS HealthWatch.

The study: Obese patients at the Scripps Clinic were divided into two groups. For 12 weeks, one group ate either half a grapefruit or drank a glass of grapefruit juice with each meal. The other group was given a placebo sugar pill. This was the only change in their diet. Everyone ate the foods they usually ate. There was minimal exercise that all participants followed.

The results: Those who ate fresh grapefruit lost on average 3.6 pounds over the 12-week period, while those drinking grapefruit juice typically lost 3 pounds. However, some participants lost as much as 10 pounds. Those who took the placebo sugar pill lost on average a half-pound. But the grapefruit-eaters also had lower levels of insulin, which is the hormone that allows the body to metabolize sugars. Their glucose levels were also lower, which suggests a more efficient sugar metabolism. The researchers think the weight loss stems from the lower insulin level.

"The data we discovered in the study was very surprising. To see more weight loss with the grapefruit and nearly none in the placebo--in all honesty, I was very surprised," Dr. Ken Fujioka, lead researcher and director of the Scripps Metabolic Research Center, explained to CBS HealthWatch. "There might be something in grapefruit, particularly fresh grapefruit, that turns off the desire to eat more food."

The discovery is exciting since it could not only develop new weight loss techniques, but also pave the way for new treatments for diabetes.