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Herbal weight loss breakthrough
Do you want to lose weight? Have you tried different methods without any success? Scientists have found that drinking the leftover water from boiling sweet potatoes, eating beans, African bush mango and regular spicing of meals with turmeric could be effectively used to achieve and maintain weight loss. CHUKWUMA MUANYA writes.
Sweet potato wastewater, African bush mango seed extract, beans, turmeric validated
Japanese researchers have found that proteins in the starchy sweet potato wastewater suppress appetite and contain sweet potato peptide (SPP). SPP is produced by enzyme digestion of proteins in the water during the boiling process.
The researchers in a study published in the journal Heliyon found that after 28 days, mice fed high levels of the protein were found to have lost weight, and the experts said the results could be replicated in humans.
Japanese researchers fed two groups of mice high fat diets, giving one higher levels of SPP.
After 28 days the animals were weighed and their liver mass and fatty tissue levels measured. Cholesterol and triglyceride levels were also taken, as well as leptin, which controls hunger.
Experts from the National Agriculture and Food Research Organisation, Tsukuba, also collected adiponectin measurements, which measures metabolic syndrome.
They found the mice given higher levels of SPP had significantly lower body weight. While they also discovered the animals had lower cholesterol, triglyceride, leptin and adiponectin levels.
Lead researcher, Dr. Koji Ishiguro said: “We throw out huge volumes of waste water that contains sweet potato proteins. We hypothesised that these could affect body weight, fat tissue and other factors. Finding alternative uses for the sweet potato proteins in wastewater could be good for the environment and industry, and also potentially for health.”
He concluded: “We were surprised that SPP reduced the levels of fat molecules in the mice and that it appears to be involved controlling appetite suppression molecules.
“These results are very promising, providing new options for using this wastewater instead of discarding it. We hope SPP is used for the functional food material in future.”
It is unsure how much SPP the mice were given during their 28-day period. However, it is believed the findings could ring true in humans due to mice being very biologically similar. But the researchers were keen to point out that further research is needed to determine the link.
Also, a study claims legumes like beans and peas are the best way to stave off hunger pains. Scientists fed a group of men either fiber-rich vegetarian patties or protein-heavy veal and pork patties. They found those who ate legumes at 12 percent fewer calories at their next meal.
The study published in the scientific journal Food & Nutrition is one of the first to compare how meat and legumes affect our hunger levels.
As a result, there has been scarce scientific evidence to support claims that vegetables help maintain weight loss. In the study, 43 young men were served three different meals, mainly consisting of patties. Some had patties filled with beans and peas, others with veal and pork.
When participants ate a protein-rich meal based on beans and peas, they consumed 12 percent fewer calories in their next meal than if they had eaten a meat-based meal.
The authors added that their study provides welcome evidence to support a vegetable-based diet, given that meat production is a far greater burden on our climate than vegetable cultivation.
Meanwhile earlier studies had shown that Ogbono soup help overweight persons shed some kilos, reduce abdominal fat, lower their cholesterol and chances of developing diabetes, heart diseases, cancer, stroke, kidney failure, and high blood pressure.
A study published in Lipids in Health and Disease found that an extract derived from the seed (Ogbono/Irvingia gabonensis) of West African mango could help overweight people shed kilogrammes, lower their cholesterol and chances of developing degenerative diseases.
Botanically called Irvingia gabonensis, West African mango or Wild mango is a fruit commonly eaten in Nigeria, and indeed the whole of West Africa. It is also called native mango, bush mango, dika nut tree, and dika bread tree.
In Nigeria, it is pekpeara in Nupe; ugiri (tree or fruit) or ogbono (kernel or seed) in Igbo; oro (the tree) or aapon (the kernel) in Yoruba; ogwi (the tree or fruit) in Benin; goron or biri in Hausa; uyo in Efik .
According to the current study, researchers at the University of Yaounde in Cameroon randomly assigned 102 overweight adults to take either the plant extract or a placebo twice a day for 10 weeks. The study participants did not follow any special diet and were told to maintain their normal exercise levels.
By the end of the study, the extract group had lost a significant amount of weight, an average of roughly 28 pounds, while the placebo group showed almost no change.
At the same time, they showed declines in “bad” Low Density Lipo-protein (LDL) cholesterol and blood sugar levels. High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) is the good cholesterol.
Also, a United States (U.S.) study had found that eating turmeric-flavoured meals could be the best way to shedding excess kilos. Turmeric is a local spice commonly used for culinary. It resembles ginger with its near-yellow colour. It has been effectively used in pain, wounds, diabetes and heart disease.
Turmeric, an Asian spice cultivated in Nigeria and found in many curries, has a long history of use in reducing inflammation, healing wounds and relieving pain, preventing diabetes and heart failure, but can it induce weight loss?
According to results from animal model study by U.S. Agricultural Research Service (ARS)-funded scientists and colleagues, a compound in turmeric stopped the spread of fat tissues in animal model.
The study published in the Journal of Nutrition theorised that dietary curcumin could stall the spread of fat-tissue by inhibiting new blood vessel growth, called angiogenesis, which is necessary to build fat tissue.
Curcumin is a bioactive component in curry and turmeric that has been consumed daily in Asian countries for centuries without reported toxic effects.
Turmeric is a spice that comes from the root of Curcuma longa, a member of the ginger family, Zingaberaceae.
In Nigeria, it is called atale pupa in Yoruba; gangamau in Hausa; nwandumo in Ebonyi; ohu boboch in Enugu (Nkanu East); gigir in Tiv; magina in Kaduna; turi in Niger State; onjonigho in Cross River (Meo tribe).
The study found that supplementing the animals’ high-fat diet with curcumin reduced body-weight gain and total body fat, even though food-intake was not affected, when compared to the non-supplemented high-fat-diet group.
Meanwhile, a herbal weight loss product developed by a Nigerian firm, the International Centre for Ethnomedicine and Drug Development (InterCEDD), makers of Intercedd Health Products (IHP), with its international partners is making waves in Europe.
How to weight loss with herbs
Herbs for weight loss, which are used as an additional means of losing weight, are quite popular because they are completely natural and affordable. About what herbs are used for weight loss, how they are used, the benefits and harms, read on.
WHICH PLANTS WILL HELP YOU LOSE WEIGHT
Today pharmacies offer a huge selection of herbs that work to reduce weight. Conditionally, they can be divided into three groups: the first will help reduce appetite, the second group of herbs has a diuretic effect, and the third helps to cleanse the intestines.
If you suffer from increased appetite throughout your diet, then flaxseed, corn silk, or spirulina algae can help reduce it. Apply them as directed on the package; these funds are harmless enough, but still do not exceed the indicated dosage. You can take arjuna chaal for weight loss
Diuretic herb for weight loss, you can brew parsley, burdock or bear ears, remove excess fluid from the body, relieve swelling in the morning. But the use of these funds has a lot of contraindications. First, you run the risk of dehydration and imbalance in the water-salt balance, which is sometimes life-threatening. Secondly, diuretic herbs should not be used if you have any kidney disease, especially in the acute stage. Thirdly, remember that you still remove water from the body, and not excess fat, so do not abuse herbs in the hope of losing weight, they are an additional, and not an independent, means in a set of weight loss measures.
The slimming herbal collection that is used to detoxify the body often contains a combination of both diuretic and laxative herbal ingredients. The active ingredient is most often senna (or cassia of Alexandria, which is the same), and the addition can be lotus, hawthorn, ginger and others. Tea helps to normalize metabolism, tones, helps the proper functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. According to doctors, senna herb for weight loss cannot harm the body if you take its decoction in the recommended dosage and for a short time – one, maximum two weeks. It is a mistake to believe that if you drink laxative tea after every meal, or even instead of it, you can lose a significant amount of weight in a short time.
CAUTION – LIFE-THREATENING
8-10 years ago, an advertisement appeared in which the hellebore herb for weight loss and preparations from it were declared a panacea, helping to significantly reduce body weight without diets and any additional efforts. What can I say, this remedy really works, but it has a huge list of side effects, it is toxic, has a negative effect on the cardiovascular system (up to possible cardiac arrest), internal organs and skin.
Moreover, in Russia it was banned for sale long ago, but unscrupulous dealers still offer an illegal remedy to those desperate to lose weight. But before purchasing a hellebore, think about whether it is worth risking your life and health for the sake of losing extra pounds.
HOW TO BREW HERBS CORRECTLY
It is not necessary to purchase ready-made tea, you can prepare decoctions yourself. For example, you need to brew senna like this: dilute one teaspoon of raw materials with a glass of cold water (this must be done in order to avoid abdominal cramps), let it brew for a day and drink. The drink will take effect in 6-8 hours. Those who use effective herbs for weight loss recipesnot kept secret. Usually brewing with hot water is required, senna is an exception in this case.
For example, you can make a decoction of bear ears as follows: 5 grams of leaves is one tablespoon, pour half a glass of warm water, and then boil in a water bath for half an hour, drain. Take 5-6 times a day, one tablespoon. If you do everything according to the instructions, bearberry (another name for bear ears) will not only remove excess water from the body, but also normalize kidney function.
Fresh parsley is an excellent and affordable diuretic, 2 teaspoons of finely chopped greens should be brewed with a glass of boiling water, let it brew for 10 minutes, and then taken in the morning before meals, half a glass. This broth also suppresses hunger, so you can drink it when you are hungry, and before the next meal is far away.
Weight loss on herbs is receiving positive reviews. If you do not abuse and use raw materials in the right dosage and in combination, for example, with a diet, then herbs will help fight hunger – it will be easier to endure dietary restrictions, they reduce swelling and help cleanse the body. It is known that with the well-established work of the gastrointestinal tract, the use of any diet for weight loss more effective.
But remember that herbs that promote weight loss, although they are completely natural raw materials, still require careful use, the recommended dosage cannot be exceeded. Side effects such as dehydration, diarrhea and other bowel disorders, weakness, headaches and even poisoning can be obtained with the uncontrolled use of diuretic or laxative preparations. Carefully follow the recommendations of your doctor or pharmacist at the pharmacy, and then you will not only get the desired shape, but also not harm your body.
Herbal and diet supplements ‘have no effect on weight loss’
There is insufficient evidence to justify recommending herbal and dietary supplements to help people to lose weight.
That is the emphatic view of researchers who will present studies on the effectiveness of supplements at the European Congress on Obesity (ECO) to be held online this week.
“Even though most supplements appear safe for short-term consumption, they are not going to provide weight loss that is clinically meaningful,” said lead author Erica Bessell of the University of Sydney in Australia.
Herbal supplements contain whole plants or combinations of plants, while dietary supplements contain naturally occurring single compounds. They can be purchased as pills, powders and liquids and have become increasingly popular as aids to losing weight.
One recent estimate has suggested that 15% of Americans have tried a weight-loss supplement in an industry worth $40bn (£29bn) worldwide. Yet there have been few recent attempts to review the scientific literature on all available herbal and dietary supplements.
Herbal supplements include green tea, white kidney beans, ephedra (a stimulant that increases metabolism), African mango, yerba mate (a herbal tea made from the leaves and twigs of the Ilex paraguariensis plant), liquorice root, and others.
To study the effectiveness of these supplements and others, the Australian researchers did a systematic review of all previous randomised trials in which the weight-loss impact of herbal supplements were compared with the impact of placebos. Data was analysed for 54 studies involving 4,331 healthy, overweight or obese adults – and revealed that only one single agent, white kidney beans, resulted in a statistically greater weight loss than a placebo.
In a separate study, the group analysed previous trials that compared the effect of placebos with dietary supplements that included chitosan (made from the hard outer skeleton of shellfish); glucomannan (found in the roots of the elephant yam, or konjac); fructan (a carbohydrate composed of chains of fructose); conjugated linoleic acid (which claims to change the body composition by decreasing fat); and others.
Analysis found that chitosan, glucomannan, and conjugated linoleic acid resulted in weight loss but not at levels that were clinically significant. In addition, some other dietary supplements – including modified cellulose (a plant fibre that expands in the stomach to induce a feeling of fullness) and blood orange juice extract – showed promising results but had only been investigated in one trial. Much more evidence was needed before they could be recommended as aids for weight loss, the researchers concluded.
“Herbal and dietary supplements might seem like a quick-fix solution to weight problems but people need to be aware of how little we actually know about them,” said Bessell. “Very few high-quality studies have been done on some supplements, with little data on long-term effectiveness.
“What’s more, many trials are small and poorly designed, and some don’t report on the composition of the supplements being investigated. The tremendous growth in the industry and popularity of these products underscores the urgency for conducting larger, more rigorous studies to have reasonable assurance of their safety and effectiveness for weight loss.”