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Probably the most important things people want to know when they think the
time has come (again) to cut some of the daily food intake is which diet
is the best. Although we are all different beings, we all share the same
goal: a diet that can make us thin in no time at all. Some sort of miracle
pill or eating plan that makes fat go away and never ever return. That’s
actually the second part of the big wish: how to make sure that all the
weight lost through dieting stays lost through the years.
The more diets published in magazines and on the Internet, the more
people are confused about what dieting really means and about the right
way of bringing your body back in shape. The growing number of overweight
people has turned weight loss into an industry like never before and the
market is growing every year. It seems that nowadays all one needs is a
fashionable idea and a flair for marketing in order to make a lot of money
or garner a lot of popularity by proposing some sort of weird diet,
despite the lack of professional expertise in this field.
And there is a
LOT of diets out there. We’re going to go here only
through the best-known diets, since a review of all the diets floating
around the industry would be beyond the scope of this article.
So let’s start with one of the latest fads of the dieting world: the
Atkins diet. Pretty much everybody’s heard of the Atkins diet, largely due
to the flood of articles praising the extraordinary results, not to
mention the loads of good mail from satisfied customers. The biggest thing
in favor of this diet is that it lets you eat high fat dairy products like
cheese and butter. However, the Atkins diet has fallen from its lofty
perch over suspicions of increasing the risk of heart diseases, not to
mention the proved fact that bigger number of followers complain of
diarrhea, weakness, muscle cramps and rashes. The debate over the
scientific fundamentals of this diet is still raging.
Next comes the Zone diet; another well-known eating plan. This diet is
the brainchild of Barry Sears and it’s all about eating the right mix of
foods in order to reach the proper hormonal balance. This state of
balance, which is called the “Zone”, lets the body take in calories and
use them through the day without putting anything aside as fat.
Unfortunately, this diet does some serious discrimination among foods
without any scientific basis. Starchy vegetables, whole grains and beans
are banned, although these foods are not in conflict with the principles
of the diet. The American Heart Association says the Zone diet lacks
essential nutrients while promoting high-protein foods.
Summary Of Pilot
Clinical Study Of a Patented Fibre Complex of
Opuntia Ficus
Indica
On Fat Binding
Purpose:
This clinical study was aimed at
observing the effects of a patented fiber complex from
Opuntia ficus indica
on fat binding. The patented complex has a fiber
content that is on
average eleven times higher than
generic extracts from the same plant.
Ten healthy volunteers (5 women and
5 men with a Body Mass Index of 23.3 kg/m2; standard
deviations 3.1) participated in a
mono-centric double-blind placebo-controlled crossover study.
Methods:
The test participants were randomly
divided into two groups, one receiving the test material
(patented fiber complex of
Opuntia ficus indica) and one receiving placebo. All the volunteers
consumed 1.6g of test material per
meal; during one week and placebo during the same time
with a washout period between these
two test periods.
A strict, standardized meal diet was
observed by the volunteers to ensure a standardized intake
of lipids. The effect of the product
dose in intestinal absorption was evaluated by measuring
steatorrhea in 3-day-old faces, at
the end of the two 7-day product consumption periods.
Results:
The quantity of fat content excreted
compared to the quantity ingested increased on average
by 27.4% in-group volunteers with
the dose of test material compared with the placebo. No side
effects or particular discomfort
were observed with the dose of test material.
The results indicate the patented
fiber complex from Opuntia ficus indica affects the
assimilation of fat following a
heavy meal and causes an increase in elimination of fat in faeces
in subjects having a normal BMI
(Body Mass Index).
Conclusion:
These results suggest effectiveness
for an application of the patented fiber complex from
Opuntia ficus indica
within the framework of meals rich in fat content.
As you can see from this short review, there are a lot of diets out there,
dozens more than we’ve been able to cover here. The best thing to do when
choosing a diet is to do as much research about it as possible. See what
people who tried it have to say. Then see what doctors and dietitians have
to say about it. Between those singing praises and those trying to prove
the diet wrong you can probably get the truth yourself. Still, pay special
attention to what the doctors have to say. If they tell you a certain diet
will put your body to risk then think twice before trying it. |
