Scientists have claimed that sugar is so toxic that it should be regulated like cigarettes and alcohol.

The astonishing claims, published in the journal Nature, say that sugary food and drinks lead to obesity, cancer, heart disease, liver problems and contribute to up to 35 million deaths each year.
It is so poisonous that it should be controlled through legislation and taxation, they say.

The U.S.-based authors say that obesity is now a bigger worldwide problem than malnutrition, and state that there are now more obese people across the world than malnourished ones. They link this to the fact that sugar consumption has trebled in the past 50 years and stress that sugar not only makes us fat but changes our metabolism.

The result of eating too much sugar – raising blood pressure, damaging the liver, unsettling hormones – mirrors the impact of drinking too much alcohol which, they stress, is made from distilling sugar.

As such, their article, The Toxic Truth About Sugar, complains that sugar is too easily available, easily abused and is toxic to society.

They say: “A little is not a problem but a lot kills – slowly.”

The scientists say it is now time to turn attention to sugar as once we did smoking and airbags in cars in order to protect the public health and the next generation.

Led by Robert Lustig of California University, a childhood obesity expert, the scientists recommend doubling the price of fizzy drinks via taxation, restricting their sale to the over 17s or 18s only and introducing new regulations to deal with school vending machines.

They favour such draconian measures as opposed to education or teaching children about diet and exercise as they believe the latter is likely to be ineffective.

That’s perhaps not surprising when you consider that most people don’t know that a mars bar, for instance, contains 60g of sugar per 100g (the recommended daily allowance of sugar for women is 90g) or that Heinz tomato ketchup contains 23.7g per 100ml. Likewise, a can of coca cola contains 10.1g while a Starbucks skinny peach and raspberry muffin can contain as much as 43.6g of sugar.

Says Dr Laura Schmidt, of California University: “We’re not talking about prohibition. We’re not advocating a major imposition of the government into people’s lives. What we want is actually to increase people’s choices by making foods that aren’t loaded with sugar comparatively easier and cheaper to get.”

The article stresses that responsibility primary lies with the food companies to make healthier products, though the food and drink industry claim the focus on sugar is demonizing and unrealistic.

For decades, women have worried about their appearance and weight and it now seems that men are equally as body conscious.

According to a new survey, four out of five British men are unhappy with their bodies and are concerned about their beer bellies and lack of muscles in particular.

The online study from the University of the West of England (UWE) questioned 384 British men with an average age of 40 and discovered that at least a third of them would trade one year of their life if they were able to get an ideal weight or body shape.

Almost two thirds of men who took the survey – 63 per cent – complained that their stomachs, chests and arms weren’t muscular enough; in a shocking reversal of gender roles, however, a quarter of those wouldn’t go to the gym to exercise because they were too embarrassed by their appearance.

The desire for more muscles may well explain why one in five men was on a high protein diet, and nearly one in three were using protein supplements.

The findings from the UWE’s Centre for Appearance Research also revealed that men now talk to one another about their body issues. Eighty per cent of respondents said they regularly talked about their bodies with male friends.

Dr Phillippa Diedrichs, from the Centre for Appearance Research, nicknamed these male peer discussions as ‘body talk’ and said: “Body talk reinforces the unrealistic beauty ideal which reinforces leanness and muscularity. This is traditionally seen as an issue for women but our research shows that men are feeling the pressure to conform too.”

Central YMCA commissioned the survey and chief executive, Rosi Prescott, added: “Historically conversation about your body has been perceived as something women do, but it is clear from this research that men are also guilty of commenting on one another’s bodies; and in many cases this is having a damaging effect.

“The high levels of body talk that we have found in men are symptomatic of a growing obsession with appearance.”

Experts in eating disorders have since called for men to be included in body image programmes as well as women.

If you want to lose weight, stay away from greedy friends.

That’s the advice from Dutch researchers who say the amount of food you eat is influenced by the people you’re eating it with.

Women who eat with a friend tend to copy their dining companion bite for bite and eat at the same pace, say researchers from the Radboud University in the Netherlands. That means that if you’re eating with someone with a bigger appetite than you, you’ll end up eating more in a bid to match them.

Observed during a study of 70 women volunteers, it was not clear whether this mirroring was intentional or subconscious, say researchers, but it does imply that women in particular tend to imitate other women in an attempt to be liked.

In the study, the volunteers were paired with a female partner, an actress, and their eating habits carefully scrutinised. Each was given the same dinner with water and told to eat what they wanted, but the actress was also secretly instructed to eat a specific amount of food and to not talk about it during the meal.

It was noticed that the women tended to keep pace with one another – even taking a bite of food within five seconds of the other person doing so – perhaps in an effort to ingratiate themselves.

Author of the study, Roel Hermans, says: “If we want to be liked, we imitate more, without being aware of it. In our study, two previously unknown women were interacting with each other, and it is possible that their motive to get along with each other, or their motivation to be liked, might have increased their likelihood of mimicry.

“We found a really strong correlation between how many bites the young women took. When the other person ate a lot they also did, and when the other person ate less, they followed them too.”

The findings build on previous research that claims women use other people as a guide for determining what is appropriate eating.

The women were three times more likely to mirror their eating companion at the beginning of the meeting than later, another indication that they were doing so to build a relationship or win the approval of a new acquaintance.

More research is needed to establish whether this mirroring effect also occurs among friends and family as opposed to a new acquaintance, and whether men are equally as vulnerable.

Previous research examining the latter seems to suggest that while men do copy each other’s eating to a certain extent, they are less likely to be influenced by worries over food-related social norms. When it comes to alcohol, however, it’s a different story, with men more likely to follow the pace of a companion when it comes to drinking.

We already know that we should be drinking up to two litres of water a day.

As well as the health benefits, water can be a dieter’s best friend. It can help us to feel fuller so we don’t reach for the snack waiting for us in the fridge, and it’s calorie-free. That means we’re going to consume a lot fewer calories drinking water than we would if we drank a soft or sweetened drink with our meals.

It may sound obvious but our appetite for liquid doesn’t vary whether we drink water or cola, so we’re lying to ourselves if we say that we’ll drink less of the sugar-laden soft drink.
The good news, however, is that now there’s even more of a reason to drink water – it could actually help us to burn fat.

According to a year-long U.S. study carried out at the Oakland Research Institute, California, women who drank more water than their dieting counterparts lost more weight. Those overweight women who drank at least one litre of water a day lost 2.2kg more in weight than similar women doing the same diet but who drank less than a litre of water a day.

Scientists theorised that the increased water consumption helped burn fat.

Likewise, dieters who drank water as opposed to calorific drinks burnt off 40% more fat in total than those who stuck to drinks containing sugar or even artificial sweetener. That’s because drinking sweet drinks raises our insulin levels, which prevents fat break down.

Even orange juice will hamper your diet, so if you’re truly dedicated to losing weight, put down the sweet drinks, close the fridge door on the orange juice and opt for a glass of water instead.

Good For: Online weight loss if you have the motivation to go it alone.

Overview:

Brought to you by Tesco Diets, in association with National Magazine Company, this diet club seems to be a smaller branded version of the popular Tesco Diets website. Just like its bigger counterpart, UK Diet Club offers 15 meal plans to choose from, based on health and weight loss concerns. Plans include low fat, low Gi, cholesterol-lowering, Mediterranean, healthy eating, dairy free, gluten free, heart smart, high fibre, lower salt, low sugar, total wellbeing and the Totals plan.

On top of that, the plan offers weekly meal plans, shopping lists based on those meal suggestions, weekly online weigh ins and more. Plans allow you to enjoy three main meals and a snack each day.

Pros:

• The Tesco diet brand behind it is a bonus.
• Weekly meal plans takes the hassle out of having to plan your meals ahead of time.
• Shopping list is customisable.
• Focus on portion size helps to educate members about overeating.
• Online support is available from other members in forums
• Additional fitness programmes are available.
• Weekly newsletters and emails help you stay on track.
• Option to change to a convenience plan if you are too busy to cook offers flexibility within the diet plans.
• Special meal plans for those with diabetes, gluten intolerance and lactose intolerance.

Cons:

• Need to be motivated enough to diet on your own.
• Portion control can be fiddly.
• You still have to go out and shop for your food.
• Knowing that Tesco Diets is behind it, the biggest question is why you wouldn’t just join www.tescodiets.com direct – which seems to offer more than its little sister.

Sample Meals:

On the Healthy Eating Plan:
Intended to help you reach and maintain your target weight, reduce your risk of stroke, diabetes and heart disease, learn to enjoy healthy meals that include your favourite foods and eliminate negative emotions association with dieting.

Breakfast: Muesli with milk and fruit scone
Dinner: Sweet and sour chicken with rice and crispy vegetables
Lunch: Pitta pocket with Greek salad and yoghurt
Snack: Fruit mousse.

On the Low Fat Plan:
Intended to reduce your cholesterol, help you lose weight, boost your heart and improve symptoms from conditions associated with a high fat diet, such as indigestion, gallstones and acid reflux.

Breakfast: Cereal with toast and fruit
Dinner: Chicken with chargrilled vegetables and rice
Lunch: Cottage cheese and tomato baguette with fruit and low fat yoghurt
Snack: Fruit sorbet.

Exercise:

There is the ability to sign up for additional fitness programmes, but again you need to have the motivation to do them alone.

Health warnings:

Not suitable for anyone underweight, pregnant, breastfeeding, under 18 or with any medical condition which impacts on diet.

Summary:

With a choice of 15 different meal plans that offer something for those with health conditions as well as those simply wanting to lose weight, the UK Diet Club is off to a good start. Presumably taking some of the content/ plans from Tesco Diets, a trusted and popular weight loss resource, you could do worse than signing up if you’re prepared to go it alone and have strong willpower. However the biggest question we couldn’t help asking throughout this review was: why choose UK Diet Club and not go direct to the real source, Tesco Diets? We still don’t have an answer to that question.

Where to Buy:

http://www.ukdietclub.com/dietprofile2/dietprofile.cfm?code=28000

Discounts/ Offers: A third off if you sign up now (based upon 12 weeks for the price of 8; price is £14.95 per month after the initial membership term). Find out more here: http://www.ukdietclub.com/dietprofile2/dietprofile.cfm?code=27998

Good For: Reducing the calories your body absorbs from certain carbohydrates if the maker’s claims are accurate.

Overview:

Another product from the XLS-Medical range (alongside its Fat Binder and Appetite Reducer ranges), the XLS-Medical Carb Blocker is intended to help those who just can’t give up eating their carbohydrates.

If you’re a big fan of pasta, potatoes, cereals, bread and rice, you’re likely to be eating a lot of carbohydrate calories; that’s something that traditional fat binder tablets – which focus on the calories absorbed from fat only – can’t help you with.

Now the XLS-Medical Carb Blocker promises to reduce the calories absorbed from dietary carbohydrates, slow sugars in particular. While the carbohydrates we eat are primary used for energy, in today’s less active world it is easy to eat more carbohydrates than we need for the energy we expend. As such, the remaining carbohydrates turn to fat.

Fewer carbohydrates digested means less glucose absorbed and therefore less glucose stored as fat. Non-digested carbohydrates are relinquished in the stools. Take two to three tablets two or three times a day but do not exceed six in a day.

Pros:

• Many diet pills work on fat intake and not carbohydrates; this product is specifically targeted towards those people who struggle with their carb intake.
• The makers claim a 66% reduction in the carbohydrate absorption of slow sugars.
• Tablets feature a non-Genetically Modified vegetable source.
• Allows you to continue eating the foods you want, although a balanced diet is recommended.
• No dramatic side effects reported.

Cons:

• You are encouraged to reduce portion size at the same time so some effort will still ideally need to be made if you want to lose weight and keep that weight off
• XLS-Medical Carb Blocker only acts on slow sugars (bread, pasta, rice, potatoes) and does not act on the Monosaccharide carbohydrates. That means that if you typically get your calories from sugar, biscuits, chocolate or pastries, this product will not help you.
• Carb blockers also won’t prevent the absorption of fat or protein calories, so if you traditionally consume fatty or high protein foods, this won’t help you either.

Ingredients:

XLS-Medical Carb Blocker contains PhaseLite™, microcrystalline cellulose, fructo-oligosaccharides, calcium triphosphate, magnesium stearate.

Health Warnings:

Not recommended for children under 12, pregnant or breast-feeding women, and people whose BMI is below 18.5.

Summary:

If XLS-Medical Carb Blocker lives up to its claims, it could help those people who love their carbs and don’t want to give them up. Ideally you will use the tablets in conjunction with portion control and use them to help you cut down little by little if you want to keep the weight off in the long term.

A test on the official XLS-Medical website at http://www.xlsmedical.com/site/int/test can help determine which XLS-Medical product is best for you.

Good For: Reducing your appetite and allowing you to stay full, according to claims.

Overview:

The makers of XLS-Medical Appetite Reducer say that it helps to control the appetite by fostering a feeling of satiety with no undesirable side effects. The appetite suppressant is aimed at people who struggle to limit their portions or who constantly feel hungry between meals and need to snack or eat sweet or salty foods such as nuts, crisps, chocolate or cake after meals to feel replete.

XLS-Medical Appetite Reducer is a fibre complex that absorbs water to swell and form a thick gel which cannot be digested; as a result, you should feel full.

You should take two to three capsules, two to three times a day (but no more than nine in one day), 30 minutes before meals or between meals in order to avoid snacking. Take with a large glass of water as it is important to drink plenty of water while using these tablets.

Pros:

• Hunger is often one of the most common reasons why people fall off a diet or healthy eating plan. If the XLS-Medical Appetite Reducer does as it promises, it should reduce your appetite, banish hunger and eliminate cravings – meaning your diet has a much better chance of working.
• The fibre complex in XLS-Medical Appetite Reducer can swell up to 50 times its normal size.
• According to trials, those people who were given XLS-Medical Appetite Reducer in a placebo controlled double blind study lost 2.5kg within two months.
• While the amount of weight lost in these trials seems relatively little compared to other wonder claims, studies show that a slow and steady weight loss is likely to be more successful in the long run – and less stress on the body – than rapid weight loss.
• If used as an aid to portion reduction, using the tablet’s appetite suppression to slowly reduce the size of the meals you eat, your weight loss should be easier to maintain after you finish with the tablets.
• It is made of natural ingredients.
• No known dramatic side effects.

Cons:

• For best results, this appetite suppressant should be used alongside a low calorie diet and regular exercise.
• While it should help to reduce cravings and feelings of hunger, you will also need to actively work to reduce portions and snacking in order for it to have the best effect.
• As it is just an appetite suppressor, it doesn’t promise to reduce the absorption of the calories you do eat, like its fellow XLS-Medical products, Fat Binder and Carb Blocker. Therefore you will still have to pay attention to the type of food you eat as well in order to lose the most weight.

Ingredients:

Redsure 500 mg, magnesium stearate.

Health Warnings:

Not suitable for children under 12, pregnant or breast-feeding women or anyone whose BMI is below 18.5.

Summary:

The best thing about appetite suppressants such as XLS-Medical Appetite Reducer is that they can help to retrain and change our eating habits for good; using an appetite suppressant can mean the difference between staying on a new regime or falling off it due to hunger. Appetite suppressant should only need to be used for a number of months before our bodies are used to the new portion size, making it easier to keep control of our appetites for the longer term. As such, they can be a valuable weapon in your dieting arsenal.

Good For: Restricting carbohydrates and helping you to lose weight fast, according to its promotion.

Overview:

Celebrity Slim is a meal replacement system developed by nutritionists and biochemists to optimise your metabolism in order to help you lose weight. It restricts the carbohydrates and kilojoules in your diet, stimulating your metabolism to burn fat. The system encourages you to eat five to six smaller meals throughout the day as opposed to the traditional two or three, claiming it will boost your metabolism.

As well as reducing the carbohydrate in your diet, Celebrity Slim is intended to help your body handle glucose, a type of blood sugar, in order to reduce food cravings. Similar to the popular SlimFast range, aside from the fact that it is carbohydrate-controlled as opposed to calorie-controlled, it contains additional ingredients which it says should boost fat loss, such as green tea extract and whey protein.

You are told to replace two meals a day with the Celebrity Slim shakes, meal replacement bars or soups and to eat one normal balanced meal a day. You are also allowed to snack on ‘allowable foods’ such as half a cup of berries; half an apple, pear, orange or peach; a small block or slice of cheese; a small handful of nuts such as peanuts, brazils or walnuts (avoid salted or coated nuts), two sticks of celery with peanut butter or low-fat cream cheese or a small tin of tuna.

While some carbohydrate is allowed and included in the programme, it is about a quarter of the amount of a usual Western diet.

Pros:

• No need to count calories.
• By following the plan, you’re automatically cutting back on the carbohydrates you eat and your overall calorie consumption as well.
• The number of flavours available for shakes, meals and snacks is comparable with its competitors.
• The emphasis on natural allowable snacks (fruit, tuna, cheese etc…) means you don’t have to buy expensive snacks all the time if you don’t want to. The list of snacks it allows is a little greater than its competitors.
• Eating regularly throughout the day helps to tackle hunger.
• Gain support from forums and from experts on email, day or night, weekdays or weekends.
• Claims that ‘correcting’ your abnormal body chemistry via the programme helps to remove the craving for sweet and fatty foods.
• Unlike some of its competitors, it does try to educate you on selecting the right foods and changing poor lifestyle habits.
• Encourages an active lifestyle and helps to show you how to make the subtle changes needed to have longer term effects.

Cons:

• Not suitable for lactose intolerants – its shakes, soups and bars use ‘skim milk powder’ which contains lactose.
• Not suitable for anyone with gluten intolerance.
• Hasn’t been scientifically proven to work.
• Expensive when compared to what many would see as its main rival, SlimFast. A single Celebrity Slim 55g powder shake is £1.99, whereas you can buy a 438g box of SlimFast powdered shake for £ 2.99.
• If you don’t continue to reduce your carbohydrate intake when you are at your chosen weight and finished with Celebrity Slim, you may well put the weight back on.
• Doesn’t encourage family-friendly eating.

Health Warnings:

Not suitable for anyone under 16, pregnant or breastfeeding women. Anyone with type I diabetes should not use Celebrity Slim; people with type II diabetes may benefit but will first need written clearance from their doctor and will need to be closely monitored throughout.

Summary:

This relative latecomer to the UK meal replacement market has already proved very popular in Australia and has generated a significant number of positive reviews. While Celebrity Slim’s diet plan and products have not been clinically proven, they should still encourage weight loss by virtue of controlling the amount of carbohydrates and calories you eat.

The biggest complaint about Celebrity Slim, however, is likely to be its price tag. Unless you specifically want a product that reduces your carbohydrate intake (as opposed to calories generally, such as SlimFast), some may question why you would pay a significant amount of extra money to the Celebrity Slim brand as opposed to its cheaper competitors.

Where to Buy:

Available from Lloyds Pharmacy, Superdrug, Rowlands Pharmacy and more. See a list of the nearest stockists to you on the official Celebrity Slim website at www.CelebritySlim.co.uk.

Buy online at Lloyds Pharmacy,  Amazon.co.uk.

If we’re honest, we women may admit to telling the odd little untruth about our diets.

Perhaps we inaccurately claim that we always eat five portions of fruit and veg a day, or we say that we only treat ourselves once in a while when, in reality, we allow ourselves an indulgence a little bit (or a lot) more often than that. We may even deny eating those chocolates, crisps, the cake, wine, cheese or bread in order to not be embarrassed in front of our other halves.

The harsh fact of the matter is, however, that while we may think we tell the odd harmless little white lie every now and again, women tell a whopping 474 lies a year about their eating and drinking habits, according to a new survey by Timex – nine lies a week on average. Women even lie to themselves.

The most common falsehood is those immortal words, ‘It was only a small portion’. Other typical fibs include ‘I’ll have a big lunch so I won’t eat much after this’ and the tall tale that we’re only eating the kids’ leftovers. Saying we only drink one glass of wine a day isn’t quite as accurate as we’d perhaps like it to be either.

While many women stretch the truth a little in order to save embarrassment in front of others, it’s not helping us be honest or to keep our weight down.

While it seems women don’t see the lying as problematic, with nearly 63 percent believing food-related lies are harmless, it could actually be responsible for weight problems down the line, according to experts.

Says Dr Cassandra Maximenko: “Studies show that keeping a food diary can double weight loss but it seems that rather than being honest about the food and drink which passes our lips, many women are lying about it, or completely denying it altogether.

“But while this might save them some embarrassment in front of their partner or friends in the short term, it’s not going to help them reach their health and weight loss goals in the future.
By lying to their loved ones, women are also lying to themselves and could easily see their weight creep up.”

She added: “This study proves we live in a nation of denial where image takes a higher priority than honesty and no one wants to be seen eating food they shouldn’t, or even in larger quantities than is socially acceptable.”

If you want to keep the faith with your diet, keep away from food advertising on television or in magazines.

That’s the message from researchers in Germany who have found that simply looking at a picture of tasty food can make you hungry. A picture of tempting food causes a change in the level of hormones that control the appetite; the hormones are so powerful that a photograph can make you want to eat cake even if you just had breakfast two hours ago.

The German researchers theorise that the delicious images may even be part of the reason for Britain’s growing obesity epidemic.

They tested their theory by monitoring the reaction of healthy men to images of food. They showed them pictures of mouth-watering treats and inedible objects and measured their hormone levels in reaction to both. The results revealed that the levels of ghrelin – the hormone which controls appetite – increased when the men saw the food pictures.

Petra Schüssler, author of the study at the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Munich, said: “The findings of our study demonstrate, for the first time, that the release of ghrelin into the blood for the regulation of food consumption is also controlled by external factors.
Our brain processes these visual stimuli, and the physical processes that control our perception of appetite are triggered involuntarily.”

The study is the first to prove a link between seeing a simple photograph and changes in appetite; previous studies have, of course, established connections between smelling food or seeing cake in person and an increase in appetite, for instance, but had never examined the impact of a still photograph.

The researchers took their findings even further to suggest that the frequent food photographs seen in Britain could be causing our weight problems.

Said co-author Axel Steiger: “We have proven something scientifically for the first time that people have always known: the mere sight of delicious food stimulates the appetite. Thus, the pervasive presence of appetising food in the media could contribute to weight increase in Western populations.”

Their advice to dieters or anyone wanting to control their weight was to avoid looking at tempting food photographs as much as possible.