The year end is a time of fun and festivity often marked with overindulgence. For most of us, it starts at Christmas and rolls over till the New Year with little thought of the the calorie and fat content of foods. Even the most ardent dieter will put aside their weight loss plans to indulge in the Christmas lunch, often promising to return to a healthy eating plan in the new year. Being aware of the calories in the typical Christmas meal can be useful in making careful choices before eating – not only in the type of food but also the portion size.
Most ‘natural’ weight loss products available in South Africa are herbal or nutritional supplements that are formulated to assist with weight loss. The benefits are often not substantiated with clinical trials but these all natural weight loss products are among the more popular over-the-counter (OTC) products available in pharmacies and health shops. Herbal or natural weight loss products should be used cautiously and despite claims of being ’100% safe’ or without side effects, they could cause serious medical complications.
Medical weight loss is the term used for a weight management program developed and supervised by a medical doctor in conjunction with other health professionals like a dietitian, psychologist or biokineticist. These weight loss programs are developed for the individual after appropriate tests, investigations and assessments are concluded. A medical weight loss plan will also consider your chronic conditions and medication and the impact of these factors in reaching your weight management goals.
Sibutramine is a chemical that is used in weight loss products to suppress the appetite and moderately increase the metabolism. In South Africa, this chemical is present in prescription weight loss drugs like Reductil although minute doses may be found in over-the-counter (OTC) slimming products. Since early 2000 there has been much hype in the United States surrounding the use of sibutramine in the popular scheduled drug Meridia. This prompted many consumer safety groups to petition the FDA and request a ban on the sale of this drug. (Public Citizen : Sibutramine).
Continue reading
A popular weight loss detox program doing its rounds in South Africa is the lemon detox diet. Touted as the diet of choice for the Hollywood elite, the lemon detox is another starvation diet claiming its weight loss and body cleansing benefits. While fad diets come and go, few are as dangerous as the lemon detox diet and if you are suffering with any chronic disease like diabetes, the lemon detox diet is a sure recipe to land yourself in a hospital.
Glycaemic index (US ~ glycemic) is the measure of a food’s ability to affect the blood sugar levels. This immediate effect is usually based on the type of carbohydrates within a food. Since all foods contain a mixture of carbohydrates, protein and fat to varying degrees, the glycaemic index is relevant to all foods, not only carbohydrates. Awareness about the glycaemic index (GI) of foods is important for us all, but particularly for those suffering with diabetes and obesity.
Continue reading
