Cellulite Breakdown and Essential Detoxification part 2

Beware the Heavy Metals

Whether or not you go for music of the same name, heavy metals in your body are something you want to get rid of. These elements, the concentration of which has increased dramatically in our air, foods and water since the Industrial Revolution, can seriously interfere with your body's metabolic functioning and thus challenge its wellbeing. Mercury tends to suppress the levels of white blood cells involved in the immune response. Cadmium displaces the essential element zinc needed for a great many of your body's enzyme systems and renders them inefficient and even inactive (including those that build new collagen and elastin for skin and connective tissues). In the West we now have a concentration of lead in our bodies some 500 to 1,000 times that of our pre-technological ancestors. High levels of this heavy metal age us prematurely, interfere with our mental processes, suppress immunity and contribute to depression. Aluminium, another heavy metal, detrimentally affects the central nervous system. It has recently been associated with the development of pre-senile dementia or Alzheimer's disease.

The presence of all of these elements in excessive quantities (and their concentrations in the human body appear to be increasing with each passing decade) generally interferes with the metabolic processes on which good body ecology and therefore the absence of cellulite depends. It is important to do everything you can to eliminate them from your body. (The alginates, forms of fibre found in seaweeds, also chelate heavy metals and adding sea plants to your diet on an ongoing basis is a good idea, after your applefast is finished.) You also need to be aware of ways you can protect yourself from allowing heavy metals to build up in the first place. Here are a few suggestions:

• Steer clear of tobacco smoke and exhaust fumes
• Don't buy fruit or vegetables from shops in the street where they have been exposed to leaded exhaust fumes
• Don't cook in aluminium pans
• Eat plenty of fibre and nutrient-rich vegetables and fruits.

More Than An Apple A Day

Now let's get down to the programme. An applefast can be done by any healthy person provided of course your doctor agrees. It was taught to me twenty years ago by Dr Gordon Latto, a British medical doctor who uses nothing but food and breathing and a few herbs to heal even the most complex and chronic conditions. He is almost 80 and one of the most remarkably healthy and vital men I have ever met. The applefast lasts for two or three days (never more, except under doctor's supervision). You eat only raw apples — as many varieties as you want — for breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as in between. Eat all you want, but chew well and always crunch up the seeds too. They contain valuable nutrients that help the process.

During the applefast you need to give up all tea and coffee although you may have as much mineral water or herb tea made with mineral water as you please, sweetened with a little honey if you prefer. The best herb tea of all for The Breakdown is solidago or golden rod which you can get from a good herbalist. Like nettle, it has natural diuretic properties to help shift some of the stored water in your tissues but, unlike nettle, it actually tastes pleasant.

Don't be surprised if you suffer the odd headache during this dynamic two or three days clear out. (Especially if you have been a dyed-in-the-wool coffee or tea drinker.) This is a sign that the whole process is happening rapidly. If you do, then take a 20-minute epsom salts bath and lie down in a darkened room to rest for 15 minutes afterwards. (More about this in a moment.)

External work on your body is important too to trigger the detoxification process. Start now to incorporate skin brushing into your daily routine. After the applefast is over continue doing it but begin to use other techniques as well to enhance lymphatic drainage, to help break up hardened connective tissue, and to keep the detoxification process going while you are rebuilding new, strong connective tissue and ground substance.

Cellulite Breakdown and Essential Detoxification part 1

Waist Disposal

`Excess fat is nothing less than a poison depot in an over-acid organism.' These words were uttered half a century ago by Danish physician Kristine Nolfi — an expert in healing the body through diet. They lie at the core of the cellulite phenomenon. One of your body's most effective ecological mechanisms for protecting itself from excessive poisons taken in through food, air and water or produced from within as a by-product of metabolism is to lock these toxic materials into fat cells. In the case of cellulite this natural protective mechanism goes one stage further — encasing these wastes in the interstitial fluids and ground substance by binding them within hardened connective tissue. There they sit year after year producing jodhpur thighs.

Personal Energy Crisis

This whole self-protective process is perfectly normal and, all in all, functions rather well, except for two things. First, in the presence of a high level of female hormones it tends to turn intocellulite. Second, it tends to deplete your energy — not only on a cellular level so metabolic processes don't function in an optimal way but overall so you are prone to fatigue and need stimulants such as coffee to get you going and to keep you going. For in any body which has a high level of waste stored in its cells, much of the available energy is channelled into trying to cope with these wastes instead of being used to keep metabolic processes functioning at a high level of efficiency. In broad terms you sense a lack of overall vitality and over the years develop a tendency to become chronically tired — sometimes so much so that it can even become very difficult to make the effort to help yourself. To shed cellulite you need first to help your body detoxify itself and eliminate the pockets of static tissues where, like stagnant ponds in a meadow, toxicity has been allowed to accumulate.

A lot has been written in recent years about detoxification. Some of it can sound quite mystifying. But the whole process is really quite simple. The reason you have built up these pockets of wastes is simply that your body is continually having to cope with more poisons than it can eliminate in the normal day- to-day course of events. Remove some of the burden of what is creating this excess toxicity in your system by laying aside coffee, alcohol and over-processed foods complete with chemical additives for a time, and you are halfway there. Add to that a very simple and temporary regime designed to trigger rapid detoxification, some movement and some external help, and quite naturally you trigger your body's own mechanisms for clearing out the junk. This is the first step in the Cellulite Revolution. There are lots of ways you can do it but the simplest of all to begin with is to go on a two-or-three-day applefast.

Applemagic

The apple has long been valued as health tonic, medicine, cosmetic and bowel-regulator all in one. Apples are low in acidity to help balance stored bodily wastes which tend to be acidic. They stimulate the flow of saliva in the mouth and clear away debris from the teeth. Eating raw fresh apples stimulates circulation in the gums too. In folk medicine the apple was traditionally used for eliminating obesity (in part no doubt because of its detoxifying ability) as well as for the treatment of skin problems, bladder inflammation, anaemia, insomnia, intestinal parasites and even bad breath. In recent years we have come to appreciate the kind of fibre apples contain. In addition to cellulose (the most common variety of fibre such as that in bran which binds water and increases faecal bulk), apples are also rich in pectin — a special form of fibre with exceptional detoxification properties. Unlike cellulose, pectin does not bind water. It is water-soluble. Pectin has no influence on faecal bulking, but it can be an excellent substance to help lower cholesterol and for eliminating bile acids from the intestines. Also, and in many ways most important of all for keeping cellulite away, pectin is a natural chelating agent for binding dangerous heavy metals in the body such as aluminium, cadmium, mercury and lead, and eliminating them.

Carbohydrates, good or bad for dieting

Another distinction that some nutritional counselors make is between refined and unrefined carbohydrates. In dieting index weight loss, we prefer to classify carbohydrates as low-, medium-, or high-dieting. However, because you're bound to hear carbohydrates defined as refined and unrefined, this section discusses how the terminology relates to the dieting index.

Refined carbohydrates are more highly processed than unrefined carbohydrates. Processing includes such activities as cooking, milling, and separating the whole food into parts. Examples of refined carbohydrates are white bread, white rice, most packaged breakfast cereals, donuts, cakes, cookies, bagels, fruit and vegetable juices, fruit drinks, soda, and candy. The list goes on. Refined carbs are usually high-dieting, but some can be low, as in vegetable juice and some fruit juices.

Unrefined carbohydrates are those kept in their natural state. In general, the unrefined carbohydrates tend to contain more fiber. Examples of unrefined carbohydrates are whole vegetables and fruit, whole grains, dried peas and beans, and nuts and seeds. Some foods are processed more than others. For example, fruit juice is not processed as much as fruit drinks. Usually unrefined carbs are low-dieting, but not always, so be sure to check the dieting index listings before you eat them.

Pastas

Even though regular pasta is a highly refined, processed carbohydrate, its dieting value can be low, medium, or high, depending on how you cook it. If you cook spaghetti for only 5 to 6 minutes, its low-dieting. Other types of pasta may need slightly more or less cooking time. If you open a can of prepared spaghetti in sauce, those noodles will have a higher dieting index because they're mushy.

Cook pasta just until it softens and you'll be eating a healthier meal. The longer pasta is cooked the more available the starch in the pasta is for quick digestion—exactly what you don't want.

The Good and the Bad

Carbohydrates aren't good or bad; the difference is in how you eat them and how much of them you eat. This is one of the reasons why dieting index weight loss works so well. You don't need to give up your favorite treat food, whether it's white bread, bagels, or candy bars. But you do need to eat them in such a way that you don't cause a quick rise in your blood sugar levels, and you do need to watch portion sizes.

The dieting index gives you a way of managing your blood sugar and insulin levels, thus assuring that you aren't storing fat and also that you continue to lose weight.

One way to do this is to manage your dieting load by meal and by day. You'll be balancing the low-dieting foods with some high and some medium, and overall, you can keep your insulin levels low.

Now's the time to give up the notion of bad and good carbs and of fattening and nonfattening carbs. Instead, accept all carbs as okay, based on how you eat them.

Easy or Hard to Digest

The faster your body can digest a carbohydrate, the higher its dieting index value. There are two major types of digestible polysaccharides or complex carbohydrates: amylose and amylopectin. Both contain many glucose units, but the foods with more amylopectin raise the blood glucose levels much more readily than foods containing more amylose. The branches in amylopectin starch have many surface areas, which make it easier for digestive enzymes to break it down faster.

These easy-to-break-down starches include foods such as most breads, white potatoes, white flour, and snack foods such as pretzels, donuts, and cookies. Most of these foods are also processed or refined carbohydrates, but some natural unprocessed carbohydrates have higher amylopectin levels, including parsnips, russet potatoes, and rutabagas.

Starches that contain more amylose include some whole grains and legumes (lentils, dried peas, and beans) and some of the starchy vegetables such as yams and sweet potatoes. These foods are best for your dieting index weight-loss program.

Dietary Fiber

Most dietary fiber is not digestible. In other words, you might consume the fiber, but there's a good chance most of it will not be digested such that the nutrients enter your bloodstream. Instead, the fiber is excreted in your stool. There are two major types of fiber: soluble and insoluble. Mostly it is the insoluble fiber that does not get digested, but both types of fiber slow the rate of carbohydrate breakdown into blood glucose. Because of this, it's great for you to eat lots of dietary fiber. Ideally, you should consume 25 grams or more every day.

Don't overdo the fiber. But you'd need to consume a virtually unpalatable amount of fiber supplements, such as psyllium husks, to eat too much fiber—such as 4 or 5 tablespoons a day. With too much fiber, you could actually block the absorption of important vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and more. Overeating fiber can, in essence, make you undernourished. (And undernourished doesn't equate to being thinner.) More than 45 grams of fiber a day is generally too much for most of us.

Eat more and more, do you know chemicals in foods blow you appetite?

In a very real sense, everybody has direct reactions to foods. Direct reactions are reactions caused directly to cells by chemicals in foods. Among the most obvious direct reactions are those caused by alcohol. If you drink alcohol, you are almost certain to experience sedative effects, due to the direct effect of alcohol on your brain cells.

Often, people with Asian heritage react quite negatively to alcohol, and the common belief is that they're allergic to it. Technically, though, they don't have an allergy; they have a sensitivity — because this is a direct reaction, which doesn't involve the immune system. I believe that it's clearer and more sensible to say simply that Asians often have a food reaction to alcohol, since food reactions include both allergies and sensitivities.

Direct reactions, however, can eventually involve the immune system, because sooner or later the immune system is called in to repair the mess that direct food reactions cause. Therefore, the symptoms of direct reactions can feel much like allergies. Because of this, direct food reactions are sometimes called false food allergies.

Alcohol has obvious direct actions, but most direct food reactions are more subtle. Often, direct reactions occur when chemicals in foods bind with the cells that produce histamine; these cells are called mast cells. When this happens, it can cause the release of histamine. The food chemicals that are most likely to do this are lectins, which are most often found in wheat, peanuts, and beans. Another cause can be certain partial proteins, or peptides, that are found in tomatoes, strawberries, shellfish, pork, chocolate, and eggs.

Other foods that often seem to cause direct food reactions are mustard, pineapple, papaya, buckwheat, and sunflower seeds. Ironically, one patient of mine had terrible digestive symptoms, including severe heartburn, and took large amounts of digestive enzymes to help the problem. However, his enzymes were full of papaya, which he later found he was reactive to. When he stopped taking the digestive aids, his digestion improved immeasurably. Moral of the story: don't trust common knowledge about what's healthy — trust your own experiences. Everyone is different.

Other foods that sometimes cause direct reactions are those that contain high levels of natural histamines. Histamines are formed in foods that are allowed to age and ferment. Therefore, histamines are often found in aged cheese, sausage, and salami.

Other foods that can cause direct reactions are those that contain the partial proteins tyramine, phenylethylamine, and octopamine. These chemicals, like histamines, can cause blood vessels to expand and contract, which causes tissue swelling. In the head, blood vessel constriction and expansion can cause migraine headaches. That's why people who get migraines often shun the foods that are high in these partial proteins, such as wine, aged cheese, citrus fruit and yeast.

Another common foodstuff that often causes direct reactions is the artificial sweetener aspartame. Aspartame is mostly composed of the partial protein, or amino acid, called phenylalanine. In some people, it acts directly on brain cells, causing symptoms such as agitation and depression. In other people, it causes blood vessels to contract and expand, triggering migraines. In most people, though, it causes no reaction at all.

Many people also react to MSG, or monosodium glutamate, with headaches, nausea, dizziness, heart palpitations, and confusion. Others react to various additives, including nitrates, sulphites, and artificial food colours.

Another name for direct food reactions is pharmacologic reactions. That's a good description, because it implies an important point: foods, like drugs, are chemicals. Not all drugs are good for you — and not all foods are, either.

Now let's look at the last type of food reaction: immune complex reactions. This type of reaction is not well known. But it should be. It can be a killer.

Foods, like drugs, are chemicals. Not all drugs are good for you, and not all foods are, either.

Taking pills and supplements

Pills and supplements both have their uses, but only in moderation and only as long as strict guidelines are followed.

Over-the-counter (OTC) diet pills

The 1991/2 Weight Loss Practices Survey, sponsored by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, found that 5 per cent of women and 2 per cent of men trying to loseweight use diet pills. Products considered by the FDA to be OTC weight- control drugs are primarily those containing the active ingredient phenylpropanolamine (PPA), such as Dexatrim and Acutrim. PPA is available over the counter for weight control in a 75mg controlled-release-dosage form. The medicine should be used in combination with a restricted diet and exercise.

Using diet pills containing PPA will not make a big difference in the rate of weight loss, says Robert Sherman of the FDA's Office of OTC Drug Evaluation. 'Even the best studies show only about a half pound (250g) greater weight loss per week using PPA combined with diet and exercise,' he adds. Sherman cautions that the recommended dosage of these pills should not be exceeded because of the risk of possible adverse effects, such as raised blood pressure and heart palpitations.

Supplements

To rely on taking pills as a way of supplying nutrients is not ideal, for in a perfect world such nutrients should come from our food. But when you consider the quality of some of our food — fruit and vegetables grown in mineral-depleted soil, picked before they have ripened and shipped over vast distances in refrigeration, then put into long-term storage; meat full of hormones; grains stripped of most of their nutritional content — then taking a good multivitamin supplement and possibly extra vitamin C can benefit most people. And while you are trying to balance your blood-sugar levels, reduce body fat and rebuild lean muscle tissue, there are a few supplements that may help.

Key supplements

Magnesium

A fundamentally important mineral that counters insulin resistance.

It is hugely deficient in the Western diet. Consider taking 230-600mg per day, unless you have suffered kidney failure or have a high degree of AV heart block.

Quercetin

A flavonoid with powerful anti-inflammatory properties that helpsto control high insulin levels and inhibit fat production. Take 200-400mg three times a day before meals.

Omega-3 fats

If you don't eat fish, take 1,000-3,000mg of fish oil daily in capsule form. Vegetarians can use flaxseed oil or crushed flaxseeds instead of fish oil capsules. Try flaxseed oil in salad dressings (or even in smoothies) to ensure you get enough of this health-enhancing fat.

Chromium

A trace element that plays an important role in carbohydratemetabolism and regulating blood-sugar levels. It has proved useful in treating diabetes and shown to be effective in encouraging the body to lose fat, not muscle, when dieting. Take 400-600mcg of chromium picolinate or chromiumpolynicotinate a day.

L-carnitine

Used extensively by athletes to ensure maximum performance inendurance or aerobic sports. It is also useful for weight loss because it is involved in burning fat in muscle cells. Take 1,000-3,000mg per day.

DIETARY MYTH

Myth: I will get quicker results if I use diet pills.

Fact: there are no shortcuts — no magic pills. Losing weight sensibly and safely requires a multifaceted approach that includes setting reasonable weight-loss goals, changing eating habits and getting adequate exercise. Appetite suppressants (diet pills) may help some people in the short term, but they are not a substitute for adopting healthy eating habits in the long term.

Successful Dieting

The informationon how many diets fail and how people of all shapes and sizes do not seem to lose weight is quite disheartening. Yet some people still seem to lose weight. Readers' success stories in magazines have to come from somewhere. Are these dieters in some way different? Are there factors which distinguish failed and successful dieters?

One factor which is a good predictor of weight loss is sex — not how much you have but whether you are male or female. Men have more success at both losing weight and maintaining any losses than women. As one spokeswoman from Slimmer Clubs said, 'Men tend to arrive at the clubs weighing more than most of the women there, they diet, lose weight and leave before most of the women who were there before them.' So why is this?

There are many factors which seem to predict weight loss and these are more likely to be characteristic of men than women.

So what are these factors?

The most obvious is the number 'of previous attempts at weight loss. Men seem to diet only once. They have not spent a lifetime trying to lose weight and this is a good predictor of weight loss. The fewer diets tried, the more likely you are to lose weight. If you diet, lose weight and then regain the weight, further weight loss becomes more difficult. This is because of changes in metabolic rate and the percentage of fat in the body and a process called weight cycling. Men diet once, have a high metabolic rate and a higher percentage of body muscle, and find it easier to lose weight.

Repeated dieting has other detrimental effects. Diets which result in no weight loss or regained lost weight create disillusionment. One of the best predictors of weight loss is believing that you can do it. Men who have never dieted before have not suffered the feelings of failure associated with constant dieting, and are therefore more likely to believe that dieting is easy and that they will succeed. This belief in their own success increases the likelihood that this success will occur.

The availability of food also predicts success or failure in dieting. Men are not usually surrounded by food, they do not have to cook and shop for the family, and are not constantly tempted to eat. When they decide to lose weight they can detach themselves from food and concentrate only on eating less. For women it is a different story. When women decide to diet they still have to cook and shop for the rest of the family and provide high calorie food for everyone else whilst they try to eat less.

Finally, men are not pressurised to be thin to the same degree as women. Men decide to diet at a much higher weight than their female counterparts. They therefore have an additional motivation to lose weight: health.

Of course, not all successful dieters are men and these factors which predict weight loss can also exist in women. Yet men are the embodiment of many of the factors which predict weight loss.

However, there are additional characteristics associated with success in dieting which are not necessarily characteristic of men.

An increase in exercise seems to predict success in weight loss. A recent study carried out in America showed that dieters who exercised were more likely to lose weight than dieters who just reduced their caloric intake. It was originally believed that exercise caused weight loss by using up calories. Exercise does burn up calories but only surprisingly few compared to an average meal. Professor Kelly Brownell has devised a chart to explain how many calories are used up in physical activity. He suggests that for a person who weighs 125 lbs, sleeping for ten minutes uses 10 calories, running at 5.5 miles per hour for ten minutes uses 90 calories and walking upstairs for ten minutes uses 146 calories. The average lunch probably takes about twenty minutes and probably consists of about 400 calories! Until recently it was also believed that exercise could raise your metabolic rate. However, recent evidence suggests that, although the metabolic rate may increase temporarily, this results onlyfrom prolonged and intensive exercise.

However, exercise still seems to predict weight loss, so why isthis?Exercise has many other effects which indirectly influenceweight loss. Primarily, it helps to maintain muscle tissue whilst the body is losing fat. In addition, exercise can be fun and enjoyable and can provide a diversion from the problems of everyday life. Increased self-confidence contributes to a general feeling of self-control and can aid attempts at losing weight.

But for the Majority...

For most people dieting does not work. Whether they are obese, overweight or simply see themselves as being fat dieting does not help them to become thinner. Initial weight loss may occur but this is very often regained, making further weight loss more difficult.

The large majority of dieters are not obese nor are they overweight; they just see themselves as being overweight. And yet they persistently diet with the desire to be thinner. Their own experience of previous attempts at dieting tells them that they won't lose weight and yet we are constantly led to believe that 'this time it will be different'. But for the majority, this time it will be exactly the same.

For the obese and the overweight maybe there are additional reasons to persist, to try out the new programmes and to read the most recent literature, but for the majority of women, why continue doing something that does not work?

What is the best way to treat overweight? Continue…

Tad' diets - the short-term losers

There are numerous diets on the market which appear to be successful, but in fact very often result in short-term weight reduction only. Such diets usually bring about high protein and water losses (from muscle tissue) - which do cause temporary weight loss - but also result in unnecessary decreases in basic energy expenditure. This in turn 'sets you up for failure' because maintaining your weight after initially losing the kilograms is much more difficult. Diets such as these also tend to encourage poor, unbalanced eating patterns instead of improving already harmful eating habits. By doing this, they increase the possibility that the weight problem will recur once you revert back to your original pattern.

Fluid intake should be at least 6-8 glasses per day.

• Sugar, sweets, cake, chocolate and cooldrink etc. are not allowed.
• A sedentary person is defined as somebody who engages in the following activities most of the time:
• Reading, writing, watching television, movies, sitting, sewing, playing cards, typing, office work done while sitting and standing, light housework (cooking, washing, dusting etc.), walking slowly, personal care. No participation in any form of physical exercise.
• A moderately active person is defined as somebody who engages in the following activities most of the time: heavy housework (making beds, scrubbing, mopping, sweeping, polishing, load washing, large articles, hanging out clothes), walking moderately fast to fast, climbing stairs, gardening, carpentry work. Participation in physical exercise occurs at least once a week.

The following are characteristics of unbalanced, fad, or unsound reducing diets. Any diet which:

• propagates the belief that certain foods, nutrients, or other substances have unique, previously undiscovered or magical properties to facilitate weight loss (novelty diets).
• claims that a low intake of carbohydrate accompanied by an unrestricted intake of total kilojoules (calories) from protein and/or fat will induce weight loss and that the excretion of by-products of fat metabolism (known as ketones) accounts for high weight loss in spite of a high kilojoule intake.

• claims that a certain meal pattern (which could vary from one day to the next) and/or certain combinations of foods and/or the exclusion of certain food groups are prerequisites for health and weight reduction.
• provides less than 4200 kJ (1000 cal) or less than 50% of an individual's average energy requirements per day (including very low calorie diets and total or intermittent fasting).
• promises fast weight loss (in excess of 2 kg per week or 1% of total body weight per week)
• promises that fat will melt away without increased exercise, hunger pains, or restrictions on favourite foods and with no restriction of food intake.

While diets such as these abound, it should be mentioned that good, balanced weight loss programmes are provided by some slimming clubs (such as Weigh-Less and Ideal Weight Club) and by some books, reputable magazines, pamphlets and registered dietitians.

What is the best way to treat overweight?

The answer to the above question is, first and foremost: Treat the cause as well as the symptoms!

A good starting point for any serious attempt at weight control is analysis of the factors which contribute to your particular situation - a case of identifying the enemy before you draw up a battle plan! It probably goes without saying that successful longterm weight loss is only possible if factors such as those listed below are recognised and dealt with in a determined fashion.

Choosing a weight reduction programme

Whether you intend to 'go it alone' or enlist the aid of an organisation or qualified person to help you lose weight, there are certain criteria which should be met by any weight reduction programme. Any such programme should include all the following:

• a balanced reducing diet
• a moderate amount of exercise aimed at enhancing weight loss and ensuring long-term weight maintenance
• the identification and changing of behaviour patterns which contribute to over-eating and weight gain
• recognition of (and determined efforts to resolve) any psychological problems which aggravate the problem

These are fundamentals in any serious attempt to lose weight on a longterm basis and you may need professional help to achieve your aims. Let's examine each of the above aspects in more detail:

The 'which diet?' dilemma

The last few decades have seen a boom in the diet industry, mainly because there are thousands who continue to believe that someone, somewhere is eventually going to come up with the magic formula that will solve their particular weight problem. And so every year a rash of formula diets, novelty diets, books and medications find their way into the lives of thousands of 'diet junkies' who can't resist yet another variation on an old theme. Generally speaking, the only long-term loss most of these methods incur is the money spent on them! What's more, many of these diets are basically unsound and could cause important nutritional deficiencies.

So how do you tell a good diet from a bad one?

Quite simply, a reducing diet that is worth its salt must:

• satisfy all nutrient needs except energy - in other words, it must include minimum daily amounts recommended for each of the five food groups
• supply at least 4200 kilojoules (1000 calories) per day - or no less than 50% of an individual's average energy requirements
• include a balanced eating pattern which does not alter significantly from day to day
• fit in with your individual tastes, habits and lifestyle
• be practical (in other words, it must include foods that are readily available) and socially acceptable
• promote balanced eating habits and encourage you to establish a long-term healthy eating pattern
• improve your overall health.

Diets that promise a weight loss of more than ¹/₂ to 1¹/₂ kg per week (or more than 1% of total body weight per week), or which have you feeling faint with hunger most of the time, should be avoided.