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Diet Bytes
July 2005
By WLR Guest Dietitian
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Diet drink dangers?
People who choose diet soft drinks daily are more likely to
become overweight than daily consumers of regular soft drinks!
American scientists, who followed the eating habits and
weight of 1500 people over 8 years, say this surprising result
is probably explained by people switching to diet drinks when
they find themselves starting to gain weight. In their
attempts to stop gaining, they start having diet soft drinks,
but overall they haven’t made enough changes to stop gaining –
and their weight continues to go up.
Weight Loss Resources says…
Don’t let the findings of this study stop you choosing diet
or sugar free versions of your favourite soft drinks. A 330ml
can of regular cola can contain 8 teaspoons of sugar and 130
calories so a diet version offers big calorie savings. But
what this does show is that while small changes count, you
probably need to make more than a couple of changes to your
diet and exercise habits to make enough difference to either
stop gaining or lose some weight. It can also be easy to fall
into the trap of trade-off thinking - ‘I had a diet drink so I
can have some crisps with it or some pudding tonight’!
New anti-ageing advice
Move over expensive skin creams. The new word on the street
about keeping that youthful look for longer is – keeping to a
healthier weight! Not smoking is the other key tip, but no
surprises there.
This advice comes from Professor Tim Spector and colleagues
at St Thomas’ Hospital, London who is studying the chromosomes
(genetic material) of 560 pairs of twins. Apparently, the tips
of our chromosomes (known as ‘telomeres’) gradually shorten
over our lifetime as a normal part of the ageing process.
However, Professor Spector’s research found that both people
who were obese or smoked tended to have shorter telomeres and
he concluded “our findings suggest that obesity and cigarette
smoking accelerate human ageing.”
The researchers then went one step further and made the
following predictions based on their findings:
- The difference in telomere length between being a
healthy weight and being obese corresponds to 8.8 years of
ageing.
- Smoking a pack per day for 40 years corresponds to 7.4
years of ageing.
Weight Loss Resources says…
While more research is needed, this study does add to the
vast amount of evidence that shows how being very overweight
can negatively affect our health and well-being. In this case
it is thought that both
obesity and smoking put the body under
greater attack from free radicals – molecules that race around
the body with the potential to damage healthy cells – which
over time may increase the risk of problems such as cancer,
heart disease, asthma and cataracts – and it seems, early
ageing.
A healthy, balanced diet with plenty of fruit and
vegetables can not only help us to manage our weight but also
provides antioxidants that can help to mop up these free
radicals and so protect our health – and perhaps our youthful
looks, for longer!
Walk slowly for weight loss if you are very overweight
Being more active on a day to day basis is a key part of
not just losing weight but keeping it off, and
walking
is great for fitness and weight loss.
A new study from the University of Colorado has found that
for people who are very overweight (have a Body Mass Index
between 30-40, which is medically classified as obesity)
walking at a leisurely pace burns more calories than walking
the same distance at a fast pace. It may also reduce their
risk of knee or joint injuries, and in the longer term,
arthritis.
In other words, walking more slowly (around 2 miles per
hour compared to a usual pace of 3 miles per hour) to cover
the same distance but over a longer period of time can mean
burning some more calories and decreasing stress on your
joints, if you are very overweight.
Ray Browning, who conducted the research also recommended
that as well as daily walking, people regularly swim or cycle
or enjoy other forms of activity that will improve their
fitness, burn calories and not put undue stress on their
joints.
Weight Loss Resources says…
This is study is good news if you find brisk walking
difficult or hard on your knees. Walking more is a great way
to be more active. It’s free, doesn’t require special
clothing, and something we can fit in to our daily routine.
Just doing simple things like using the stairs rather than the
lift, parking further away from the supermarket doors, moving
about during TV ad breaks, can all add up to make a difference
over the day. Clip on pedometers or step counters (available
from sports shops or internet sites) are also great reminders
to keep on the move as much as you can. Building up to
10,000
steps daily is the first aim – then see if you can get up to
15,000 steps for optimal weight control benefits.
Red meat, fish and bowel cancer
There always seems to be some sort of food scare hitting
the headlines. One of the most recent was how eating too much
red and processed meat could increase the risk of bowel
cancer. This of course is a serious story, and is based on a
large, 5-year study (known as the ‘EPIC study’) of the eating
habits and cancer risk of nearly 500,000 people living in 10
different European countries, including the UK.
The researchers found that the risk of developing colo-rectal
(bowel) cancer was a third higher for people who regularly ate
at least 160g/5.7oz of red and processed meats such as
sausages, burgers and bacon, every day – compared to those
eating less than 20g/less than 1oz, per day.
On the positive side, they also found that eating fish
every other day reduced bowel cancer risk by nearly a third -
compared to those eating fish less than once a week.
Weight Loss Resources says…
Approximately 36,000 people in the UK develop bowel cancer
every year. Keeping to a healthy weight, and enjoying a
healthy diet and lifestyle can greatly reduce the risk. This
study reinforces the importance of balance and variety in our
diets. The amounts eaten in this study were similar to for
example, having 2 slices of bacon at breakfast and steak or 3
large sausages at dinner. So there is certainly no need to
avoid red meat as it is a nutritious food and important source
of iron especially for women and children. But keep it lean
and enjoy small portions. Most importantly enjoy it alongside
plenty of fish,
fruit and vegetables, and include
fibre-rich
whole grain foods in your daily balanced diet.
Can milk prevent the misery of premenstrual syndrome
(PMS)?
Last month Juliette reported on a number of health benefits
of calcium-rich foods such as milk and dairy foods, ranging
from helping to build strong bones to
weight loss. A
new study provides yet another good reason to ensure we get
enough calcium in our diet.
As part of a large ongoing US study called the Nurses’
Health Study II, scientists followed the diet and PMS symptoms
of women for 10 years. They found that women with higher
intakes of both calcium and vitamin D had a significantly
reduced risk of developing PMS. For example, those who ate
about four servings a day of low-fat milk or yogurt or
fortified orange juice had a 40% lower risk of PMS than those
who did not. Other studies have suggested that a good calcium
intake may also help reduce PMS symptoms, but the reasons why
aren’t clear and are currently being researched.
Weight Loss Resources says…
This study does not prove that getting plenty of calcium
will prevent PMS, but it does indicate that it is now worth
conducting studies to more directly test this finding out.
As Juliette so rightly said in her article about
calcium and weight loss – don’t be tempted
to ditch the dairy while you are slimming. It makes sense to
include low-fat products in your diet – aim for three servings
daily – a serving could be a glass of skimmed or semi skimmed
milk, 1 small pot of low-fat yogurt or a matchbox-sized piece
of cheese. Your taste buds, bones and waistline will love you
for it – and it may even help PMS if you suffer from it’. If
for some reason you really can’t manage dairy products then be
sure to replace them with similar amounts of calcium-fortified soya milk and yogurts instead.
Also include other calcium-rich foods and drinks such as
fortified juice, canned sardines and pilchards (great for
vitamin D too), green leafy vegetables, dried figs, tofu,
pulses and Swiss style muesli.
Vitamin D is needed to allow our bodies to properly absorb
and make use of calcium so it is just as important. Food
sources include oily fish, eggs and fortified foods such as
margarine, spreads and breakfast cereals. But most comes from
the action of some gentle sunlight on the skin - about 30
minutes exposure a day between April and October provides
enough for the year. Make sure you are ‘sunsafe’ to avoid
sunburn and look after your skin – best to avoid the summer
sun between 11am-3pm.
Quick Summer Diet Tip
Summer is finally here! Now is definitely the time to enjoy
plenty of crisp, colourful salads and the immune-boosting and
free radical-fighting benefits of vitamin C and other
antioxidants they bring. According to a study in the British
Journal of Nutrition, the best way to maximise the antioxidant
content of your salad bowl is to include a variety of raw or
lightly steamed vegetables, some fresh herbs and spices, plus
a dressing made with a little extra virgin olive oil. Enjoy!
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