Holiday Battle of the Bulge: Minimizing the Damage

By the editors of Mothernature.com News

Belt getting tighter as seasonal lights grow brighter? Feel like you're ready to be fitted for a Santa suit? Overeating is a recreational hazard of the holidays! What if you're already losing the battle? Take heart, all is not lost! Harkening back to my days of health-fitness instruction, I recall the comforting words I whispered in clients' ears as they glumly stepped on the scale: "...it's not your weight that's important it's your body composition." They eyed me dubiously, of course, and muttered something about that last stupid bagel.

First, do some damage assessment. Ever hear the phrase "pinch an inch?" The American College of Sports Medicine recommends using skin fold measurements to assess body fat levels because they are fast, reliable, inexpensive and reasonably accurate. So grab a trainer to see if things are really as bad as they appear.

Forget fad diets and their advice to eat more protein and fewer carbohydrates. Studies continue to show that such diets foil attempts to control weight, only working when they require a calorie restriction that would result in weight loss no matter what the ratio of fat to protein to carbohydrates. In fact, high protein diets tend to discourage the urge to exercise, whereas diets relatively rich in unrefined carbohydrates such as whole grains, vegetables, tubers and fruits stimulate activity and calorie burning while sparing muscle.

Garcinia: India's Promising Herbal Helper
When it comes to weight control, modern pharmacy has focused on unhealthful, synthetic nervous system stimulants like dexedrine. But traditional healing practices like Ayurveda have much to offer. For centuries, Asian peoples have seasoned their foods with the berry rind of an evergreen shrub called Garcinia cambogia (Malabar tamarind). Since 1965 Garcinia has been the focus of exciting research examining lipogenesis, the metabolic processes by which fat and cholesterol are produced and stored in the body. Based on evidence from animal studies, it appears that Garcinia may be an extraordinarily attractive adjunct to a weight management program based on sound nutrition and regular exercise.

The active principle in Garcinia's tart berry is a close relative of citric acid called hydroxycitrate, or HCA. This well-researched nutritional factor inhibits internal production and storage of fat and cholesterol, but only when caloric consumption exceeds optimally healthful levels. Remarkably, Garcinia also promotes storage of excess dietary calories as glycogen rather than as hard-to-lose body fat. Glycogen is a carbohydrate instantly available to meet the body's energy needs. As a consequence of its effects on dietary carbohydrates, Garcinia may also help keep insulin levels in check.

In India's Ayurvedic tradition the sour flavors of Garcinia are said to activate digestion, and it is considered to be effective in making meals more filling. A recent clinical trial found no weight-loss benefit from taking the herb. However, the study used very small doses per pound of body weight, compared with the per-pound doses used in successful animal studies. The question is, can it work effectively in humans? We won't have a firm answer until trials are conducted using much higher doses of extracts from this common South Asian fruit.

Thermogenic Herbs
Thermogenic supplements are those containing constituents - primarily caffeine or ephedrin - that can help you to trim down or limit fat storage by boosting your metabolic rate, which is the rate that you burn calories. The administration of ephedrine and caffeine promotes weight loss by increasing energy expenditure and decreasing food intake.

Coffee is the most familiar of all thermogenic foods, and it tastes pretty good, too. Just be sure not to boil or percolate it or make it in one of those fancy melior beakers. All these brewing methods produce substances that raise cholesterol levels. Instead, the drip method makes safer, perfectly savory coffee. By the way, dark roasted coffees and the cheaper robusta beans used to make supermarket brands contain more caffeine than the pricey arabica beans.

Ma huang (Ephedra sinensis) is widely used in China as a bronchial dilator for asthma. Ma huang is the subject of potential abuse by teenagers seeking a "buzz". In fact, coffee provides much the same sensation! However, when used moderately and infrequently by adults, it remains a useful aid to weight control. Do not take ma huang or caffeine-containing herbs if you have high blood pressure or arrhythmia or if you suffer from anxiety.

Guarana (Paullinia cupana) and Kola nut are thermogenic herbs rich in caffeine and associated alkaloids. Guarana forms the basis of the popular tonic drink made in Amazonia and in Brazil's most popular soda drinks and may help with weight loss. Guarana is considered an ideal crop for supplementing the incomes of peasant farmers in the Amazon basin, so you can also feel good about using it.

Fibers
The soluble fibers found in certain foods bind with water in the stomach to increase feelings of fullness, balance blood sugar and possibly reduce the absorbtion of up to 180 calories a day. The best sources of soluble fiber are beans, oats, barley, fruits, vegetable/fruit gums such as guar gum and pectin and psyllium seed. You will not get much soluble fiber from wheat products, rice, rye or most vegetables, except carrots and squash. My particular favorite soluble fiber supplement is psyllium because it mixes well into liquids and hot cereals and is affordable.

A more exotic, maybe more effective form of fiber from the shells of crabs is called chitin (pronounced chy-tin). In rodents, chitin binds (locks up) two to five times more dietary fats than other fibers. Its effect is enhanced by vitamin C (ascorbic acid), with which it is often combined in supplements. Experts recommend you take fibers with plenty of water, and gradually increase the dose from one to five grams (up to two grams for chitin)