Slimming to boost your immune system

Your immune system is one of the most important parts of your body, so you should look after it!

Your immune system is the way that your body protects itself against invasion by disease. It is your immune system that stops you disintegrating every time a harmful bacteria comes your way. It’s important that we look after our immune system and don’t damage it. Any damage could result in us becoming prone to potentially harmful, if not fatal conditions.

We only really notice the effects of our immune system when it’s not working; otherwise, we take it for granted. It is your immune system that heals cuts and scratches and is responsible for most of the amazing recoveries we can make. When you think that your body is assaulted by millions of bacteria, viruses and potentially harmful poisons every day, you realise that it’s really important that you pay attention to the things that help to keep it running smoothly

Research suggests that the average diet is missing some of the key nutrients that the immune system needs to function properly. That means that our food choices could come back to haunt us one day. It is also thought that yo-yo dieting, where you lose weight and then put it back on, and then lose it another way, can contribute to the weakening of your immune system.

The best way to protect your immune system from harm is to change your eating habits so that you enjoy a healthy, balanced range of foods. Eating fresh fruit and vegetables that are rich in vitamins and minerals will help to boost your immune system, counteracting the negative effects of the toxins and bacteria that you come into contact with every day. Eliminating the toxins that you put into your own system is also important, as caffeine, alcohol, sugars, salt and fat can all have a detrimental effect on your immune system.

At SureSlim we can provide you with a personal eating plan that will not only help you to reach your slimming target, but will provide you with the nutrients you need to keep your body healthy and make your immune system work as well as it can. If you think you have damaged your immune system by eating and drinking the wrong things, we can help you to fix it.

To find out more, ask for your free SureSlim Weight Loss information pack at www.Sureslimuk.com/.

Next slimming craze, what will it be?

Slimming crazes come one after the other, with celebrity endorsements thrown in. Whatever the next slimming or diet craze is, the chances are that it is unlikely to help you to lose the weight you need to and keep it off in the long term.

 That’s because sustainable weight loss is a combination of medical expertise advising on what you should eat, and your own willpower and determination to achieve your goals. No slimming plan can work on its own; you have to take the central role in your success.

Cynics would also say that slimming crazes seem to come at around the same time each year - planned to release in time for those key periods when people want to lose weight - after the Christmas celebrations and before the summer holidays.

Nevertheless, you have to decide what sort of slimming plan you want to follow. At SureSlim, we use the results of your blood test to determine which foods will work best with your body to help you achieve your weight loss goals, and give you the support to help you get there. This service is unique to the individual and we have had great successes with some fabulous testimonials to prove it! Log onto http://www.sureslimuk.com/ to find out more!

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Should you be looking for better quality food?

Slimming isn’t just about losing weight, it’s about learning a new lifestyle, one that will help you to maintain your new weight whilst enjoying the health benefits of better food and an eating plan that works for you.

Part of this lifestyle change is getting used to buying different foods. Even fresh foods can differ in quality, and you body will react better if your food isn’t veered in toxic substances, damaged in transit or left lying around in the sun when it should be in the fridge.

What do we mean by better quality food? Well, we have gone through a cycle in recent years of abandoning seasonal foods and looking at the foods we get all year round. The main problem with this approach is that the year-long demand for strawberries, for example means that during their non-seasonal growth period, they need to be grown in artificial conditions, and sometimes with the help of chemicals. Some fruits are picked before they are ripe and then artificially ripened so that they can reach the supermarket in the right condition, no matter what the time of year.

People who chose certified organic fruits and vegetables do so because they can be sure that they are eating food that has been grown in natural conditions and not forced to grow in any way. Organic fruit and vegetables are available in the supermarket, from your independent grocer, or over the internet and, in general, it is better to concentrate on eating these higher quality seasonal foods. Moreover, because they are seasonal, you will have a variety of fruits and vegetables in your diet that you might not have experienced before.

Pay the same attention to the quality of meat you are eating. Whilst supermarket meat should always reach food safety standards, you may prefer to get your meat from a butcher or organic supplier. Like the fruit, this means that you know where your food has come from and, especially if you are slimming and need small amounts of meat, you will be able to get exactly what you need for the meals ahead.

Concentrating on the quality as well as the range and quantity of your food can lead to a healthier system as well as the success of your diet plan.

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Concentrating on quality as well as range & quantity of food can lead to a healthier system as well as the success of your slimming plan.

Sureslim promotes weight loss and wellness and helps you lose weight the right way and permanently.

Crash Diets, Crash Dieting Plans.. Healthy?

At SureSlim we hear people talking about “crash dieting” without really knowing what they mean.

All health experts agree that a crash slimming plan is the last thing you should do if you want to lose weight. And yet, thousands of people every year embark on a sudden, quick weight loss programme which can often do them more harm than good.

The first six months of the year often see the heaviest reliance on crash dieting. This is from people who are trying to lose weight after Christmas, or embarking on a slimming programme so that they look good in the summer. What they fail to realise is that if they try to lose weight in this way, they could end up losing more than body fat, and ultimately gaining the weight back, and possibly becoming heavier than they were before.

The problem with weaning people off slimming plans like these is that they often produce the desired results in the very short term. People do lose weight. This is, however, because they have restricted themselves to a very limited range of foods, and have reduced their calorie intake dramatically. This will result in weight loss, because the body isn’t getting its usual amount of calories and so starts to use up its own stores of carbohydrate to increase energy. This type of eating plan isn’t sustainable in the long term though, because limiting your range of foods also limit’s the intake of certain vital nutrients and, in the long run, this will cause more harm than good.

On this type of plan, you will also be losing more than the body fat you were aiming for; you will be losing muscle mass as well, and this isn’t desirable because it’s a lot harder to replace. Indeed, if you lose weight through body fat and muscle mass on these types of plans, and then return to your original weight, it is likely that the weight gain will be all body fat and no muscle.

When you are considering what type of slimming plan to choose, think about what you want to achieve. If it’s long-term weight loss, combined with a healthier lifestyle and more energy, then forget the crash diet plans; they can’t deliver those results. Instead, choose a sensible, balanced eating plan that encourages you to lose weight by eating the right things in the right amounts - that can be a recipe for life.

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Adding some variety to your slimming plan

Weight loss foods should not be boring!

One of the things that discourages people from dieting is the idea that they will be forced to eat a small range of foods.

In fact, if you are following a well-balanced, healthy food plan, you will probably have a wider variety of food in your cupboards and your fridge than you’ve ever had before.

Eating a good range of the right foods is the ideal way to find weight loss success.

Often, dieticians refer to the five basic food groups:

- Bread, cereal, pasta and rice

- Vegetables

- Fruit

- Milk, yoghurt and cheese

- Meat, poultry, nuts, fish, eggs and legumes

They suggest that you should consume a variety of foods from each of these groups, with the biggest percentage of your food coming from the top group and then reducing until you reach the bottom group. This is standard dietary advice, and when you add in recent research on complex carbohydrates and the Glycemic Index of foods, then all that is taken out is those foods that will not work well with your body to promote better health and help you lose weight.

Fad Diets that encourage you to eat almost exclusively from one food group and very sparingly from others can work for some people, but for others they are dangerous, which is why we can say that one plan does not suit everyone. The difficulty comes in the cost both in time and money of experimenting with a range of diets to see which is the best for you.

At SureSlim, we make sure that your eating plan includes a wide variety of foods so that you don’t feel that you’re being restricted, whilst also ensuring that you’re eating the foods that will help you to lose weight. The results of your blood test will show us which foods you need to avoid and which you need to eat more of to get the slimming results you’re looking for. Because we believe in a healthy, balanced diet, we won’t ask you to eat from only one food group and you will have plenty of choice so that you feel like you’re eating normally. Ask for our free information pack to see how we can give you variety in your eating plan and still help you lose weight.

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Tired of the one size fits all diets, talk to one of our consultants today to find out how we can broaden your food horizons!

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Planning meals for your slimming programme

One of the most daunting things about starting a slimming programme is planning what you’re going to eat. It doesn’t have to be as hard as it seems though - a good diet is a tasty diet! Most meals are simple to make, especially if they are using healthy, fresh ingredients. Forget boiling your vegetables to death and eat them raw, or lightly steam them if you want them to be hot. Don’t peel fruit that doesn’t need peeling, it saves time, and allows you to get the full benefit of the fibre content. There are lots of ways to plan your meals that will help you to achieve your weight loss goals.

Eat fish

Fish is good for you, particularly oily fish like salmon and mackerel. The other bonus is that fish is quick to cook. You can buy it ready-prepared from the supermarket or the fishmongers and most fish will grill in just a few minutes. It’s also easy to bake in foil, and you can even add some vegetables such as leeks, peppers or tomatoes into the foil so that it all cooks at the same time. Even poaching fish in a little seasoned water doesn’t take long. Plan to eat fish at least twice a week and you have an easy, healthy meal that requires little preparation and little cooking time.

Get used to salads

Provided you have the ingredients, you can make a wide range of salads in a short amount of time. Green salads made with romaine lettuce, cucumber, celery and avocado are healthy and can be prepared in 10 minutes. Carrots, fruit and lemon juice with sesame or sunflower seeds makes a quick and easy salad to serve with chicken or fish.

Steam, don’t boil

Boiling vegetables like broccoli and cabbage reduces the effectiveness of their nutrients and makes them less appetising. Steam broccoli and other vegetables for just a couple of minutes for vibrant, crunchy vegetables and sauté cabbage in some lemon juice.

Although you have to change your eating habits when you are trying to lose weight, you don’t have to plan your meals a week in advance to make sure you’re eating properly. As long as you’re buying the right foods, cooking them well and not over-eating, you should find your weight loss plan is easy and fun.

For more information why not contact one of our Weight Loss Clinics that are near you now!

Eating for energy while you’re slimming

Many overweight people cite lack of energy as one of their main problems. Lack of energy is a key issue for many overweight people. If you are eating the wrong types of food, then your body is not in a position to provide you with any energy, and the more overweight you become, the less likely you are to feel the inclination to move around and exercise.

The only way to improve your energy levels is to embark on a slimming programme. This will help you to lose weight and rejuvenate your metabolism so that it produces more energy when you eat. You can do this with an eating plan made up of natural foods, without resorting to energy drinks or foods.

If you have a motivation for being more energetic, such as playing with your children or grandchildren, achieving a sporting ambition, or wanting to join a club or society, then you’re already halfway there. Wanting to lose weight and gain energy, and making a commitment to do it is an important part of your slimming plan, and will make it much easier for you to see it through.

Becoming more energetic comes naturally with properly-managed slimming, but there are some foods that can give you an energy boots without being high in sugars or saturated fats.

- Green vegetables. Leafy green vegetables are a great source of minerals and vitamins and can be eaten raw in salads, or lightly steamed. They can provide you with additional energy as well as keeping your body healthy.

- Seeds. Some types of seeds and nuts are good sources of energy and, because they’re small and portable, can be taken with you in the car, in your bag or kept in the office to give you an energy boost during the day. They’re much more effective than a chocolate bar.

- Grains. All non-refined grains are good for slow energy release, which will keep you going throughout the day. Eating brown rice with vegetables for lunch, for example, could help your energy levels throughout the afternoon.

At SureSlim, we make sure that your eating plan is properly balanced so that you reach your weight loss targets safely. If an increase in energy is a major focus for you, then let us know at your original consultation and we will be able to take that into account when we devise your personal diet plan.

Lose Weight by listening to your body!

Listening to your body can help your weight loss programme!

Your body knows what it’s doing; pay attention to it!

When you’re body’s tired it needs sleep. When it’s thirsty, it needs water. Whatever’s going on with your body is usually communicated to you somehow. Yet most of us ignore what our body is telling us and keep on eating unsuitable foods, drinking unsuitable drinks and then wonder why we are putting on weight, have lost the shine in our hair and are biting our nails.

You should treat your body with a bit of respect, because you want it to last a long time. It’s easy to divorce yourself mentally from your body, especially when you’re younger, when everything works and nothing hurts. At that stage of your life it’s almost impossible to imagine that your diet can have a long-term effect on the health of your body.

When your body starts to put on weight, it’s telling you that you’re eating too much and not making enough effort to get rid of the excess calories. If you neglect to give your body the nutrients it needs; the vitamins, minerals, proteins, carbohydrates, calcium and all the other things you need to survive, then you can’t be surprised when it stops functioning the way it should. The key is to recognise the problems you are causing and start reversing the damage.

Smoking, excess alcohol consumption, non-prescription medicines and illegal drugs can all damage your system and you should consider giving them up to get your body back to the way it should be. But the key area where you can make a difference is by changing the way you eat.

If you are overweight, lethargic, and your hair and skin isn’t in the condition is once was, then stop eating junk food, processed food, ready meals and things that are high in saturated fat, sugars and salt. Replace them with more fruit and vegetables, beans, pulses and wholegrain carbohydrates. Drink water instead of fizzy drinks, coffee and tea, and you’ll begin to feel a difference. Using a personalised plan, you can follow a slimming programme that works, and your body will thank you by reducing weight, improving your hair and skin and putting you in a better mood altogether. By listening to your body, you can change your health for good.

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Good Carbs, Bad Carbs?

There are lots of weight loss plans that promote “good carbs”, which one is right for you?

The word “Carbohydrate” means Carbon with Water, and foods that have carbohydrate content are an important part of our eating habits - it is thought that carbohydrate foods are the most widely eaten foods in the world.

Along with protein, fibre, fat and vitamins, carbohydrates provide an essential part of our diet, largely because they are easily turned into energy. The simplest carbohydrate is glucose, which is essential for the healthy functioning of the brain. Fluctuating glucose levels is one of the reasons we put on weight, which is why such attention has been paid to the types of carbohydrates we eat (Good Carbs above).

The Glycemic Index (GI) classifies foods on the effect they have on our glucose levels. The foods that have low GI values are those that release their energy into the bloodstream slowly, and these are the ones that are deemed to be better for us. Many of our everyday carbohydrates do not have a low GI value. This is because many of them are made with refined ingredients, so white bread, flour, rice and pasta all have higher GI values than their unrefined counterparts. These low GI carbohydrates are known as Good Carbs (example of obvious Bad Carbs below).

The other thing to consider when you are looking at including carbohydrates in your slimming plan is that you can get good carbohydrates much more easily than you think. Choosing brown rice, wholegrain breads, new or sweet potatoes and grains such as rye or barley can all contribute to your good carb intake.

There are a lot of slimming programmes that encourage a low carbohydrate intake. Because the right carbohydrates are so important to your diet, you need to consider seriously if these are the right types of diet for you. Often you will need to take supplements to replace the nutrients that you’re missing by cutting out the carbohydrates and it is far better, in the long run, to eat from a balanced range of foods that promotes your health as well as helping you to lose weight.

We know so much more now about the foods we eat and how they react with our bodies, that it should be easy for us all to eat healthily and maintain a natural weight. Unfortunately, the benefits of eating well can’t compete with the marketing powers of those companies who sell us fast, junk or processed food and we need to have the willpower to avoid the foods that are bad for us and concentrate our slimming plan efforts on those foods that will help us to achieve our aims.

Contact SureSlim now to find your nearest Weight Loss Clinic

DIET Talk - YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT – Why?

Appetite

Appetite is the desire to eat food. The appetite centre is situated in the brain and regulates the amount of energy intake (from food and drink)) needed to keep the bodies metabolism working normally. When the metabolism is increased e.g. through exercise more food is needed and vice versa. Hunger is the physical sensation experienced when blood sugar levels start to fall because the liver stores are being depleted. The two terms are interrelated.

Steady state

In the steady state, that is, in somebody who is neither losing nor putting on weight, the intake of energy through food/drink will balance the utilisation of energy by the body. Thus a fat and a thin person, leading similar life styles will have similar needs for food to keep to a steady state and one will remain fat and the other thin. On the other hand, a physically more active person of the same weight as a sedentary person will need a higher intake of calories in order to maintain the weight in the steady state.

Control of appetite

Appetite is controlled through the action of many hormones and other substances mostly in the brain, nerves and gut. Their cooperation ensures that we eat when we need to. When one or more of those mechanisms fail, one overeats or loses appetite and therefore gains or loses inappropriate amounts of weight. Unplanned or unexplained weight loss is usually due to a medical disorder. Obesity however, is much more commonly due to habitual overeating of high calories foods and a sedentary file.
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Why do we put on weight?

Every molecule of energy containing foods not needed, is stored. Thus every molecule of sugar, in whatever form it is ingested, will be stored as fat if taken in excess of what is needed. It is said that a daily intake of even a half a biscuit in excess of what the body needs as energy will result in an extra stone in weight within 6 months.

How to lose weight healthily?

If one eats less than is needed for providing appropriate amounts of energy for maintaining the body metabolism, once the glucose stores in the liver (glycogen) are used up (this occurs within a few hours of starvation) the body will start to utilise it’s own fat for energy. Thus, in order to lose weight, the intake of energy must be less than the expenditure of energy, the balance being made up from one’s own fat. Further, if the reduced calories intake is combined with increased calories expenditure as with exercise, the fat utilisation will be speeded up. However, there are dangers in this if the weight loss is too sudden or drastic because high fat utilisation also leads to the production of certain acids (ketones) which are broken down slowly and which can, if they accumulate too much in the body cause medical problems including heart failure.

The healthiest and safest way to lose weight is to change one’s dietary habits and eat a consistently moderately less calorific diet, in smaller quantities as well as combining it with foods higher in fibre, vitamins, minerals and proteins and doing more exercise. This is the hall mark of ‘healthy living’. For the effects on weight reduction to have a lasting effect, this healthier living has to become the new habit, replacing the old. For many people this is very hard and they go from one crash diet to the next one with rebounds in weight when they stop. Further, as metabolism also slows down with crash diets, in time, the diets become less effective.

Dr Yvette Lolin, Clinical Advisor
FRCPAth, PhD
Consultant in Metabolic Medicine and Chemical Pathology

Weight Loss Foods - Beans and pulses are excellent sources of nutrition.

There is a wide range of beans and pulses - sometimes known as legumes - that can be beneficial in improving your health and promoting your weight loss. These foods contain virtually no fat, but are great sources of protein, which is why they are popular with vegetarians who are replacing the proteins that they’re not getting from meat.

Beans have many other positive effects. They are believed to reduce cholesterol and prevent the production of toxins, helping to lower the risk of conditions such as heart disease and cancer. They are also categorised as good carbohydrates, which means that they release energy to the body slowly, helping your diet to control your metabolism and keep your body working at a regular level.

There are many different types of beans and pulses, which can be used in everyday cooking.

Examples are..

Kidney Beans

Available from supermarkets in both canned and dried form, kidney beans are one of the most frequently bought in our shops. They are incredibly rich in fibre and carry high levels of folate and magnesium, and help to revitalise your iron supply. The kidney beans we are used to are dark red in colour; white kidney beans are known as pinto beans.
Lentils

Lentils are popular for adding to soups and casseroles because they absorb liquid quickly. Again, they are full of nutrients, including fibre, protein and folate, and they help to lower cholesterol and prevent heart disease. Like kidney beans, lentils are good foods for promoting iron production in your body.

Soybeans
It’s likely that you’ve never considered buying soybeans, yet they have a good nutty flavour and can be used in a variety of recipes. A staple food in China, it has been used mainly by vegetarians to provide them with the levels of protein, vitamins and minerals they need to stay healthy. A recent study has suggested that some of the compounds found in soy beans encourage us to produce smaller fat cells, resulting in leaner figures.

People are often afraid of including beans and pulses in their slimming programmes, because they are unsure how to keep, prepare and cook them. At SureSlim, we have a number of recipes including beans so that you can reap the health benefits whilst also reducing your weight.

SureSlim provide diet plans that suit your meatbolism and help you lose weight fast!

Twas the month after Christmas - Festive Weight Loss Poem

Happy New Year from SureSlim UK!

‘Twas the month after Christmas and all through the house
Nothing would fit me, not even a blouse.
The biscuits I’d nibbled, the champagne I’d taste
At the holiday parties had gone to my waist.

When I got on the scales there arose such a number!
When I walked to the store (less a walk than a lumber)
I’d remember the marvellous meals I’d prepared;
The gravies and sauces and beef nicely rared,
The wine and the rum balls, the bread and the cheese
And the way I’d never said, “No thank you, please.”
As I dressed myself in my partners old shirt

And prepared once again to do battle with dirt
I said to myself, as only I can
“You can’t spend all summer disguised as a man!”
So-away with the last of the sour cream dip,
Get rid of the fruit cake, every cracker and chip
Every last bit of the food that I like must be banished
‘Til all the additional ounces have vanished.

I won’t have a biscuit – not even a lick.
I’ll want only to chew on a long celery stick.
I won’t have hot scones, or cake, or fruit pie,
I’ll munch on a carrot and quietly cry.

I’m hungry. I’m lonesome, and life is a bore
But isn’t that what January is for?
Unable to laugh, no longer a riot
Happy New Year to all and to all a good diet!

A belated Christmas rhyme from SureSlim...
 
Helping people with their weight loss and to lose weight all year around!

Weight Loss Tips: Falling foul of the office vending machine.

Tips for day to day Healthy Weight Loss 

Not many offices provide fresh fruit or healthy snacks, as it is not a cost-effective option, although most will have a vending machine! Surprisingly though, those firms that do take the time to encourage their staff to eat healthily are viewed as good places to work, which shows that employees appreciate a bit of variety.


The key to eating healthily during your workday is your planning. If your routine in similar everyday, you can plan when and what to eat. If you have a canteen and it serves something healthy that fits in with your eating plan, then take the time to go away from your desk and eat properly. Eating on the go is one of the most common problems at work, closely followed by the lunch meeting that often comprises sandwiches, crisps and sticky buns. Use your lunch hour to take some exercise and eat properly, and this will help with your slimming plan.

When you are trying to lose weight the main problem with the office is snacking. In a large open plan office, there will inevitably be people snacking all the time; this will make it difficult for you to abstain. If you put your mind to it though it shouldn’t be as much of a problem as you think, because if you’re feeling hungry, you should have a snack. The rule to remember is to not dig in your pocket for 50p and go for a bag of crisps. Snacking on healthy foods such as nuts, seeds, fruit and vegetables is a healthier alternative; you can prepare a small container of snack food to keep in your desk drawer. Pretty soon, it will become second nature and you’ll forget where the vending machine is!


At SureSlim, we take your working day into account when we prepare your personalised eating / diet plan, so that you can follow your usual routine, but eat healthy foods that help your slimming programme rather than giving into the temptation of the chocolate machine. If you’re concerned about slipping off the plan while you’re at work, we can give you plenty of advice on how to stay on track.

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DRUGS AND WEIGHT LOSS

There is no magic bullet, pill or potion for weight loss though slimming potions of some sort or another have been around for a very long time. The earliest records are nearly 2000 years old and describe mixtures of purgatives and laxatives. Similar types of preparation remained the mainstay of weight reduction until the beginning of the last century when hormones such as thyroxin (to fasten metabolism), followed by amphetamines (to suppress appetite) and their derivatives were introduced. Although their dangers were recognized early on, for several decades they continued to be used and amphetamines were only banned as diet pills in 1979.

Today, slimming pills are divided into those which suppress appetite i.e. trick the body into thinking it is full or reduce absorption of certain nutrients. Some also speed up metabolism.

Drugs which suppress appetite act on the brain or block certain receptors or hormones, decreasing the need for food. Some also delay gastric emptying, thus prolonging the feeling of fullness. They are serious drugs. Some similar to amphetamines can have stimulant effects and are potentially very dangerous. Any sort of diet pill should only be prescribed by and supervised by health care professionals experienced in their use. They should only be used on a temporary basis after all other life style measures have been explored and according to the defined guidelines and recommendations. Only Sibutramine (Brand names Meridia or Reductil) is recommended for use by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE). Some, such as Rimonabant (brand name Acomplia), are either not recommended or have been withdrawn because the benefits do not outweigh the side effects.


An example of a ‘drug’ which tricks the body into thinking it is full is Appesat (known as the Seaweed diet pill). There are a number of other preparations on the market working on a similar basis. Appesat, made from sea weed expands in the stomach thus reducing the volume available for food. This means that one will feel full on less food. However, the effect will last only as long as one continues taking the pill with every meal, it does not prevent snacking or comfort eating and works only as long as the pill is taken and if efforts have been made to also lose weight naturally. Further, it does not solve the long term problem of habitually overeating and or of eating ‘wrong’ foods. It is also expensive.

An example of a drug that reduces absorption of certain foods is Orlistat, available on prescription (or Alli, its equivalent at a smaller dose and available to the general public). Orlistat reduces the absorption of fats. This means that on a ‘normal’ diet, most of the calories that are taken in will be from carbohydrates. However, since most of the dietary calorie intake is from carbohydrates in any case, Orlistat works only if there is also dietary carbohydrate restriction. According to NICE, Orlistat should be prescribed only in conjunction with lifestyle changes (dieting and exercise) and continued for more than 3 months only if there has been a documented 5% decrease in body weight. With Alli, since it is weaker, that is even more important. Further, Orlistat and Alli have also side effects ranging from the inconvenience of having fatty stools and fatty diarrhoea to malabsorption of fat soluble vitamins. The latter can in the long term lead to osteoporosis, undue bleeding and may other problems. Orlistat and Alli and also very expensive. Also, as with all other diet pills, unless one changes ones dieting habits during the treatment and continues to so do thereafter, the weight will simply come back

In summary, we are what we eat and what we do. If the calorie intake matches the output, we neither lose nor gain weight. If the intake is higher we will put on weight. Exercise will increase the calories output, thus combining a sensible, long term dietary regime with exercise will help in both losing weight and then maintaining it. Remember, there is no magic bullet, pill or potion to counteract excessive eating, eating calorific food, comfort food, snacking and a sedentary life style. Any gains through drugs that suppress appetite, increase metabolism, ‘trick’ the body or reduce absorption are an expensive and potentially dangerous short term option which should be reserved only for those where there is no other option and where it is medically justified.

Dr Yvette Lolin, Clinical Advisor

FRCPAth, PhD

Consultant in Metabolic Medicine and Chemical Pathology

Vitamin D's importance in a Healthy Diet

Vitamin D deficiency is being increasingly recognised and may be reaching epidemic proportions in otherwise apparently healthy populations.

What is it and what does it do

Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin essential for normal calcium metabolism and normal bone production and maintenance. It promotes calcium absorption from the gut, normal blood calcium levels and normal mineralisation of bone. Bone is not static but is constantly being remodelled and for this adequate supplies of calcium are needed. Vitamin deficiency is associated with reduced blood levels of calcium (and through various mechanisms, phosphate) leading to tiredness, muscle and bone pains and aches, muscle twitching and weakness. The low calcium levels eventually lead to malformed, soft and brittle bones and bone cysts, that is, rickets in children and osteoporosis and osteomalacia in adults. Vitamin D is also involved in the maintenance of the normal immune system and chronic deficiency is thought to increase predisposition to insulin dependent diabetes, multiple sclerosis and other disorders where the body immunity becomes abnormal. There are also suggestions that vitamin D deficiency may predispose to cancer, particularly cancer of the bowel and breast and that it may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure. It is thus a very important vitamin.

What are the sources

The term Vitamin D includes a number of compounds which have the same original structure but which are progressively changed from the least to the most active form. It is produced by all plants and animals but mostly in small amounts and with the help of ultraviolet light .. Thus, there is no single sufficient source although in parts of the world with lots of sunshine, humans can synthesise the majority of their required Vit D.

Vitamin D synthesis

The synthesis of Vitamin D is complicated. In animals and humans, a precursor, 7-dehydrocholesterol, is produced in the skin from cholesterol. Through the action of ultraviolet light this in turn becomes previtamin D3, which is converted to vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol). Plants synthesize ergosterol, which is converted to vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol), also by ultraviolet light. Thus, if there is insufficient sunlight, our Vitamin D must come from the diet. However, plant vitamin (Vitamin D2) may be less active than the animal one (D3). D2 and D3 are biologically inactive and must be metabolized further, first in the liver to 25 hydroxy vitamin D (25, OH Vit D) and, finally, to the most active form in the kidney, 1, 25 dihydroxy vitamin D (1,25 Vit D).

The vitamin D measured in laboratories is usually 25 Vit D.

Daily requirements and food sources

The daily requirements of vitamin D are variously suggested at 200 iu/day in babies and children and up to 700 IU/day or more in old people. However, an average diet in the Western world often contains no more than 100 IU/day, with potential Vitamin D deficiency further exacerbated by lack of sunshine or insufficient exposure to sunlight. It has been suggested that in certain situations even up to 10,000 IU/day may be needed.

The best dietary sources of Vit D are oily fish, followed by eggs (egg yolk) and mushrooms (partly because of exposure to U/V light to make them whiter!). However, many food products are also fortified with Vitamin D and can be easily included within a healthy diet such as breakfast foods, baby foods, some fruit juices and margarines.

Causes of Vitamin D deficiency

There are many causes of Vitamin D deficiency, starting with nutritional deficiencies (particularly vegetarians), inadequate exposure to sunlight, liver or kidney disease, gastrointestinal diseases causing fat malabsorption (eg pancreatic disease, coeliac, Crohn’s) and very low fat diets. Some medicines also cause Vitamin D malabsorption such as Orlistat. Others, such as antiepileptics, are associated with increased breakdown of the vitamin in the liver as is alcohol abuse. A potentially major cause of Vitamin D deficiency in the Western world is obesity because Vitamin D is stored in fat and in obese individuals this leads to slower release and thus availability in blood.

Vitamin D replacement

As in the majority of individuals Vitamin D deficiency is the result of life style, changes in diets (particularly eating more oily fish), more exposure to sunlight and weight loss can improve blood levels. Supplements , such as cod liver oil (given in the past routinely to babies and children particularly) can also be beneficial. It should not be though forgotten that the main action of Vitamin D is to promote calcium absorption and normal bone formation and growth. Thus, for Vitamin D to be effective, there must be also adequate dietary calcium. The best sources of dietary calcium are milk (in the water part), followed by dairy products, small fish (such as sardines if eaten with bones) followed by eggs, pulses such as beans and white flour products.

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