Lose Weight without Losing Your Life
by Leon Tan, B. Sc. Nutrition USA
Look around your neighbourhood…slimming centres are springing out like shoots after the rain.
Walk into any pharmacy…you have a mind-boggling choice of diet/slimming pills.
Visit a Bookstore…you will be overwhelmed with the number of books advocating different types of diet programmes.
Many products claim that you can lose weight without any effort. "Eat all you want, no need to exercise, painless, effortless, just pop it in and you will slim down" or so they say.
Some probably do work in the short term. However, as soon as you stop going to the slimming centres or popping the diet pill, the pounds will soon return to you, and probably more. And do you know some may be detrimental to your health and at worst even cost you your life?
DIET PILLS KILL!
The recent newspaper article on the death of a school teacher after she consumed diet pills should be a wake up call for all of us to the potential life-threatening dangers of consuming diet pills. What makes diet pills so dangerous?
Ingredients Damaging to The Human Body
Phenylpropanolamine, ephedrine and caffeine are three common ingredients found in diet pills that are known to cause complications. Let us see what adverse complications these ingredients have caused.
Phenylpropanolamine (PPA)
PPA is an ingredient found not only in many Over the Counter (OTC) diet pills but also in cough-cold and allergy products. The USA Food & Drug Agency (FDA) is concerned PPA may possibly increase the risk of a type of stroke (haemorrhagic) caused by bleeding into the brain, as was suggested by reports of some such cases among young women who were on diet pills. This possible risk could be further increased if a person took more than the recommended dose of PPA, which might inadvertently occur from taking a cough-cold product whilst on diet pills. Scientists at Yale University School of Medicine began a five-year study and confirmed that PPA does increase the risk of haemorrhagic stroke. Because of this, the USA FDA strongly recommends that consumers do not use products containing PPA.
Ephedrine & Caffeine
Caffeine pills and/or Ephedrine should never be taken for weight control, and should not be taken continuously.
Ephedrine is a medication used occasionally to treat asthma, but more commonly allergies and hayfever – it is a bronchial dilator.
Ephedrine, is a substance derived from the plant Ephedra. There are many common names for these evergreen plants, including squaw tea and Mormon tea. It is also called Ephedra & Ma Huang. Indigenous to China. India and parts of Southeast Asia, products containing ephedrine extracts have, according to the FDA, caused hundreds of illnesses, including:
- Heart Attacks
- Headaches
- Seizures
- High Blood Pressure
- Strokes
- Chest Cramps
They are amphetamine-like compounds with powerful and potentially lethal stimulant effects on the central nervous system and the heart. Ephedrines act in a simitar way as that of adrenaline. It dilates the bronchial muscles, contracts the nasal mucosa, raises the blood pressure and is a cardiac stimulant. Further these compounds often cause psychological Side Effects such as:
- Depression
- Psychosis
- Nervousness
- Anxiety
- Insomnia
- Rapid Heart Rate
When taken in combination with caffeine, also under the name of Guarana in many diet pills, ephedrine can over-stimulate the central nervous system, leading to potentially life-threatening results. Ephedra or Ma Huang may not show up on product labels as you would expect. Other known terms used in labelling include: yellow horse, yellow astringent, epitonin, joint fir, sea grape, popotillo and desert tea.
Some diet pills or slimming supplements claim to have the ability to block all fats. This does sound very appealing but take a moment and think. All fats mean ALL good and bad fats. Every living cell in the body needs essential fatty acids (EFAs) (good fat) for rebuilding and producing new cells. EFAs are also used by the body for metabolism and the production of prostaglandins (hormone-like substances). Diet pills or slimming supplements that block all fats if taken continuously will cause serious health problems.
HIGH PROTEIN, LOW CARB DIET???
A famous diet programme that advocates a low carbohydrate and high protein diet, is based on the assumption that fat people eat too much carbohydrates. The idea is that our body first burn carbohydrate and then only the fat. By considerably reducing the carbohydrate content in the diet and replacing it with protein and fat, this diet claims that we can begin burning fat more efficiently.
However, the long term safety and efficacy to this diet remain questionable. This diet tends to be low in fruits, vegetables and whole grains, but high in meat. As a result, one who starts on this diet will naturally lac phytochemicals and fibre. Research shows that phytochemicals may have protective benefits against cancers and other diseases. Furthermore, most followers of this diet reported experiencing constipation, bad breath, and lethargy.
Also, acidity from the typically high protein intake can cause uric acid, gout, osteoporosis, etc.
A Healthy and Safe Alternative
There are no short-term, quick and easy fixes to lose weight that do not produce adverse side effects. A healthy and safe alternative is to first understand the basic body functions and the causes of being overweight.
Once you understand them, you have to work towards removing the causes. Only then you can achieve permanent weight loss, AND emerge stronger, leaner, with more energy and vitality, WITHOUT losing your health.
No. 1: Over Eating
You don’t have to be a mathematician to know this: if you eat more calories (every food contains calories, except for water) than you burn (energy intake more than energy used), you will gain weight. In other words, anytime calories are restricted or decreased, you will lose fat.
No. 2: Sluggish Metabolism
Our basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the rate at which our body burns calories to maintain its functions at rest. It is affected by our gender, age. diet, activity level, thyroid function, amount of sleep, amount of body fat, body temperature, weight, and likely, by our genes.
What we really need to look at is our thyroid glands. One of its functions is to secrete hormones that control the metabolic pathways. Our thyroid needs iodine, which can be found in seaweed (Nature’s Gift Kelp is 100% seaweed), to produce thyroid hormones. These hormones are essential to maintain optimum metabolism.
However, due to consumption of highly processed foods, excessive salt and drinking of fluoridated and chlorinated water we have been robbed of iodine. As a result, many people suffer from sluggish thyroid function. So when your metabolic rate decreases, your weight increases.
No. 3: Sluggish Liver vis-a-vis Toxic Body
The liver cleanses the blood and removes metabolic wastes out of our body. A sluggish liver will contribute to the build up of toxins and poisons in the body that hinder many other body functions. These will affect our energy level and reduce the capabilities of caloric burning capacity, thus increasing fat storage.
No. 4: Edema (Water Retention)
Modern lifestyle overloads the body with salt, causing water retention and weight gain.
No. 5: Malnutrition
Malnutrition is a general term for the medical condition caused by an improper or insufficient diet. It is the result of inappropriate dieting, overeating or the absence of a "balanced diet" as often observed by increasing levels of obesity. Most commonly, malnourished people do not eat a diet that gives sufficient protein, vitamins, or trace minerals. Many are consuming foodless food (refined, processed and junk food), resulting in malnutrition. When the body is malnourished, starving cells cry out for nutrients. The fact is if we have sufficient nutrients, hunger signal and cravings will lessen.
No. 6: Lack of Exercise
These days people lack exercise (when was the last time you exercised?). Most of the modern day jobs do not require a lot of physical works. Unfortunately, most people are "too busy" to exercise.
Outcome: energy intake more than energy expenditure and metabolism become more sluggish
"Understand the basic body functions and the causes of being overweight, then work towards removing the causes."
