Herbal diet pill ”can reduce appetite by a fifth”

March 25, 2010 By Leave a Comment

London, Mar 25 (ANI): Can’t resist cravings for those fries and cake? Well, a herbal supplement has been found that can reduce appetite by a fifth and even stop the longing for treats, according to researchers.

A study of 58 healthy to slightly overweight young women found that Zotrim – a formulation of the plant extracts Yerba Mate, Guarana and Damiana ­ can cut calorie intake by an average 17.6 per cent over a mealtime.

Researchers at the University of Liverpool invited participants to eat as much as they wanted at a buffet lunch, either after taking the formulation or a placebo before breakfast and again before lunch.

It was found that Zotrim could reduce calorie consumption by an average of 132 calories at lunchtime.

In addition, the researchers observed a decrease by over a quarter in the selection of high fat, sweet items when taking Zotrim.

The volunteers also finished their meal on average three minutes earlier, indicating an earlier onset of satiety.

The researchers also saw a trend of reduced hunger and reduced desire to eat before lunch by subjects when taking the diet aid.

“These findings suggest that the ingredients contained in the Zotrim formulation produce a robust acute effect on caloric intake,” the Telegraph quoted Dr Jason Halford, who led the study at the Kissileff Laboratory for Ingestive Behaviour at the University, as saying.

“If sustained, such changes could benefit weight control, as observed in previous studies on the formulation,” she added.

The scientists even conducted another key weight loss study on continuous use of the Zotrim herbal formulation – tested without any dietary changes or advice.

They found that the overweight participants lost 11.5 pounds in 45 days, compared to a rate of just 0.5 pounds in a placebo group.

In a separate study on overweight health care workers, volunteers felt better able to resist snacking, control portion sizes and avoid emotional eating when taking Zotrim.

Zotrim costs around 21.95 pounds for a month”s supply of 180 tablets.

The findings will appear as in the peer reviewed international research Journal Appetite. (ANI)

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Eggs are your best buddies when it comes to calorie management

April 21, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, Apr 21 (ANI): Eating eggs for breakfast can help adults manage hunger and reduce calorie consumption throughout the day, according to a new research on breakfast choices.

On the other hand, teens who choose a protein-rich breakfast are less hungry and eat fewer calories at lunch.

In one study, Maria Luz Fernandez, Ph.D., professor in the department of nutritional sciences at the University of Connecticut, investigated the differences in post-meal hunger and daily caloric intake when eating a breakfast of either protein-rich eggs or carbohydrate-rich bagels.

It was found that men who consumed eggs for breakfast consumed fewer calories following the egg breakfast compared to the bagel breakfast.

Also, they consumed fewer total calories in the 24-hour period after the egg breakfast compared to the bagel breakfast.

In addition, they reported feeling less hungry and more satisfied three hours after the egg breakfast compared to the bagel breakfast.

The study supports previous research, which found that eating eggs for breakfast as part of a reduced-calorie diet helped overweight dieters lose 65 percent more weight and feel more energetic than dieters who ate a bagel breakfast of equal calories and volume.

The study found no significant difference in blood levels of LDL- and HDL-cholesterol and triglycerides between the individuals who ate the egg breakfast and those who ate the bagel breakfast.

In another study, researchers from the University of Kansas Medical Center assessed the impact of a protein-rich breakfast on appetite and overall calorie consumption among teens who traditionally skip breakfast.

They found that teens consumed fewer calories at lunch when they ate a protein-rich breakfast of solid foods compared with a protein-rich beverage breakfast.

Also, they discovered that post-meal hunger was significantly reduced when the teens ate a protein-rich breakfast of solid foods. (ANI)

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Beverage consumption plays key role in weight loss plan

April 3, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, Apr 3 (ANI): Want to shed those extra pounds? Well, then focus more on what you drink than what you eat, suggest Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health researchers.

The researchers studied the relationship between beverage consumption among adults and weight change and found that weight loss was positively linked to a reduction in liquid calorie consumption and liquid calorie intake had a stronger impact on weight than solid calorie intake.

“Both liquid and solid calories were associated with weight change, however, only a reduction in liquid calorie intake was shown to significantly affect weight loss during the 6-month follow up,” said Benjamin Caballero MD, PhD, senior author of the study and a professor with the Bloomberg School’s Department of International Health.

“A reduction in liquid calorie intake was associated with a weight loss of 0.25 kg at 6 months and 0.24 kg at 18 months. Among sugar-sweetened beverages, a reduction of 1 serving was associated with a weight loss of 0.5 kg at 6 months and 0.7 kg at 18 months. Of the seven types of beverages examined, sugar-sweetened beverages were the only beverages significantly associated with weight change,” Caballero added.

The researchers carried out a prospective study of 810 adults aged 25-79 years old participating in the PREMIER trial, an 18-month randomized, controlled, behavioral intervention. Caballero along with colleagues from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine; the National Heart, Lung, and Blood institute; Duke University; the Pennington Biomedical Research Center; the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research; the University of Alabama; and Pennsylvania State University measured participant’s weight and height using a calibrated scale and a wall-mounted stadiometer at both 6 and 18 months.

Dietary intake was measured by conducting unannounced 24-hour dietary recall interviews by telephone.

Researchers divided beverages into several categories based on calorie content and nutritional composition. They found that at 37 percent sugar-sweetened beverages were the leading source of liquid calories.

The results are published in the April 1, 2009, issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. (ANI)

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