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Diet Bytes
June 2005
By WLR Dietitian
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Not a patch on low GI meals
While the Glycaemic Index or GI diet continues to take the
UK by storm, a company called Indigo Health has jumped on the
bandwagon and launched a ‘GI patch’. Just like a nicotine patch,
it looks like a plaster and is worn on the skin. It contains
an ingredient called 5-HTP or 5-hydroxytryptophan, a
derivative of the amino acid (protein building block) tryptophan.
When you wear the patch, 5-HTP is absorbed through the skin
into the blood where it’s transported to the brain. Once
there, it’s converted into a chemical called serotonin, high
levels of which have been linked to boosting mood, increasing
tolerance to pain, treating insomnia and reducing appetite and
cravings.
According to the manufacturer, the patches help to
keep serotonin levels high in people following a GI diet,
which in turn helps to prevent cravings for sugary carbs that
result in binge eating! A pack of 30 patches costs £19.99.
Weight Loss Resources says…
This product seems to ignore the fact that GI diets work by
causing fewer carb cravings in the first place – low GI foods
help to prevent the lows in blood sugar levels that leave us
feeling hungry, tired and in need of a sugary snack to pick us
up again!
Meanwhile, more research is needed to prove the
effectiveness of 5-HTP in helping to prevent carb cravings,
especially when it’s administered in the form of a patch.
Added to this, protein-rich foods such as chicken, fish, beef
and dairy products are naturally rich in the amino acid
tryptophan (which the body uses to make 5-HTP). It’s far
easier, cheaper and tastier to boost levels by eating more of
these foods.
Rather than forking out for this product, we suggest you
save the £s in your purse and lose the lbs from your waistline
by focussing on eating a healthy, balanced diet that’s based
on fibre-rich, starchy foods, five fruit and veg, low-fat
dairy products and lean, protein-rich foods.
Staying slim helps beat dementia in later life
A ground-breaking study published in the British Medical
Journal has shown for the first time that being obese or
overweight in middle age increases the risk of dementia in
later life.
Researchers studied more than 10,000 people aged
40 to 45 in the 1960’s and 1970’s and followed them up until
1994. They found that obese people (BMI over 30) were 74
percent more likely to suffer with dementia than normal weight
people. Overweight people (BMI 25.1-30) were 35 percent more
likely to have dementia.
The researchers suggest that fatness
may directly affect the breakdown of neurons – cells that
transmit nerve impulses – in the brain, although it’s unclear
quite how it does this. The authors say, “If these results can
be obtained elsewhere, perhaps treatment of obesity might
reduce the risk of dementia.”
Weight Loss Resources says…
It’s clear than more research needs to be carried out
before any definite conclusions can be made, but this new
study shows yet another potential reason for reaching – and
staying at – a suitable weight for our height.
Beat cholesterol by vegging out
New research from Stanford University in America shows we
can double the cholesterol-lowering effects of a low-fat diet
by eating more veggies. The study, published in the Annals of
Internal Medicine, gave 120 adults with raised cholesterol, a
standard low-fat diet or a low-fat diet containing
considerably more vegetables, pulses and wholegrains. Within
four weeks, both diets had lowered total cholesterol and LDL
or ‘bad’ cholesterol. But while the standard low-fat diet
produced, on average, a 4.6 percent reduction in LDL
cholesterol, the diet with extra veg achieved, on average, a
9.4 percent decrease.
Weight Loss Resources says…
Here’s yet another reason to eat five different fruit and
veg each day! Most vegetables are low in fat and calories and
high in fibre, making them a great choice if you’re trying to
lose weight or look after the health of your heart. They’re
also packed with a range of vitamins, minerals and
phytochemicals – naturally-occurring plant compounds – that
help to keep us healthy and prevent problems such as heart
disease, cancer, eye conditions and even wrinkles!
Fighting fit or fighting fat?
A new study published in the Journal of the American
Medical Association suggests that carrying a few extra pounds
might not be as harmful as we think. Scientists have analysed
recent data looking at people’s weights and their risk of
dying. They discovered that people who were overweight (Body
Mass Index or BMI of 25-29.9) actually had a lower risk of
dying early than those people who were a normal weight (BMI
18.5-24.9). In fact, 87,000 fewer people in the overweight
category died! But it’s not good to be obese (BMI over 30) –
there were almost 112,000 more deaths than expected in obese
people. Perhaps most surprising, was the fact that being
underweight (BMI under 18.5) caused almost 34,000 extra
deaths!
Weight Loss Resources says…
It might sound like a good excuse to forget about losing
those excess pounds, but health experts suggest the figures
need to be interpreted with caution. So many studies show that
being overweight increases the risk of diabetes, cancer, heart
disease, high blood pressure and osteoporosis and it would be
naïve to ignore them. WLR recommends you aim to achieve a
‘normal weight’ BMI of 18.5-24.9 – you’ll find your current
BMI by clicking on ‘goals and results’.
New illegal dye found in food
Earlier this year, hundreds of products were removed from
our supermarkets and restaurants after health experts found
they were contaminated with an illegal red dye called Sudan 1.
Now it appears history is repeating itself!
This month, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has issued
warnings over Para Red, another chemical dye that’s illegally
been found in a range of products. Once again, the culprits
are contaminated spices, which have been used as an ingredient
in a range of products, including cooking sauces, pâtés,
pizzas and crisps. At the time of writing, 69 products had
been recalled.
This new illegal dye scare has left health experts and
consumers reeling in shock. Para Red, which is chemically
similar to Sudan 1 and typically used in printing, may
increase the risk of cancer, although it’s not known how much
is considered to be unsafe.
Fortunately though, the FSA believe that at the levels
found in food, Para Red is unlikely to harm health. But to be
on the safe side, it recommends avoiding any products
containing it. In the meantime, if you’ve eaten a contaminated
product you’re unlikely to have damaged your health and
there’s no risk of immediate illness.
The FSA has been working around the clock with the food
industry, catering suppliers and local authorities to make
sure all affected products have been removed from supermarket
shelves and catering establishments. And now the Agency has
set up a task force to reduce the possibility of future
contamination scares. Julia Unwin, acting chair of the FSA
says, “In the light of recent Sudan 1 and Para Red food
withdrawals, we need to find practical ways of reducing the
number of incidents of food contamination. When they do occur,
we need quick, effective and appropriate action from all those
involved.”
Meanwhile, the European Commission has asked the European
Food Safety Authority to carry out a risk assessment of these
illegal dyes. The Director of Food Safety at the FSA, Dr
Andrew Wadge, says, “We are pleased the European Commission is
going to develop a European-wide approach to tackling this
issue. Concerted action across Europe is the most effective
way forward.”
Weight Loss Resources says…
After Sudan 1, we recommended you used the scare to
reconsider your eating habits with the aim of using more fresh
ingredients rather than relying so heavily on processed foods.
It’s exactly the same advice with Para Red. Most of the
contaminated foods aren’t an essential part of a healthy,
balanced diet and many are likely to be packed with calories,
fat, salt and additives, while containing few vitamins and
minerals. When it comes to losing weight, your waistline will
almost certainly benefit from eating fewer processed foods.
In the meantime, if you have any products at home that are
contaminated with Para Red, don’t eat them and return them to
the store where you bought them for a refund. A full list of
affected foods is available on the FSA website,
www.food.gov.uk/parared
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