Trust Me, I'm a Doctor, Series 4: Episode 2

Sweeteners friend or foe? Just catching up with 'Trust me I'm a doctor' episode 2, some really interesting topics were covered...... Saccharin vs Stevia In a small study with 12 participants, 6 people had stevia (natural sweetener) and 6 had a saccharin (artificial sweetener) for 1 week. Saccharin caused an increase in blood glucose levels where as natural stevia did not. The increase occurred as Saccharin changed gut microbiota (bacteria) in certain individuals and the increase pushed them towards becoming diabetic. The study also believes this effect may occur in all artificial sweeteners (so check your labels as theres artificial sweeteners in many products, especially 'diet' products). This was a very small study for a small time frame and in no way conclusive until further research is undertaken. However, in my opinion, if you have the choice stick to the natural sweetener Stevia. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b06wp7jc/trust-me-im-a-doctor-series-4-episode-2

New Year, New you! Its that time of the year, after weeks of over eating and a few too many tipples its time to 'eat clean' and a join a gym, right? Or not??????! I wanted to share my experience of diets with you all, because there one thing I know for sure, DIETS DONT WORK. Over the next few weeks we will see every diet/cleansing/detox/nourishing etc product trying to be sold to us, and guess what, non of them work! Im aware this is a long post, but please read on and hopefully you can gain an insight into some of the science behind this........ Have you ever wondered why the dieting industry is worth billions of pounds each year? Its because people diet, lose a bit of weight, stop the diet (as its usually very unrealistic to follow and usually expensive!) put more weight back on, then repeat the diet (or a different diet or product), this a cycle that goes on and on. I have worked with overweight and obese people for many years, I often look at a timeline of their weight over the years and one thing is almost always evident is that their weight increases with each diet that they do. Dieting plays havoc with you metabolism, many diets have a calorie value below your basal metabolic rate (BMR), your BMR is the amount of energy you need a day to sustain your vital functions, e.g breathing and your heart to pump. When you go below this your body needs fuel, firstly you will use up your glycogen stores, this is stored carbohydrates in your muscles and your liver. Around the glycogen is water, so when you lose the glycogen stores, you lose water and this can can result in a substantial weight loss, usually around 1/2 stone. Ever wondered why on the first week of a diet/cleanse/detox so much 'weight' is lost, well this is why. And just for information, as soon as you eat carbohydrate again you will store glycogen and therefore water again, causing 'weight gain'. Once your glycogen stores are used up your body will start to use some of your protein stores, so basically your muscle. When you lose muscle mass your BMR reduces, this is because muscle is very 'metabolically active' which basically means it burns lots of calories! So losing muscle not only has a negative impact on your ability to lose weight but also because muscle is vital for daily living such as good posture. There is also no such thing as a 'cleanse' or 'detox', our bodies have an amazing ability to do this already, its called the liver. So unless a detox refers to someone under medical supervision for alcoholism, its a marketing term! So considering all of the above, I hope this gives an insight into why diets don't work. My advice, make one simple change at a time, it doesn't have to be anything spectacular, it could be to walk 10 minutes each lunch time, drink an extra glass of water each day, whatever it is make it relevant and realistic for you and what you want to achieve. Once you have made this habit you can look at your next simple change. Remember weight loss doesn't equal health, having healthy long term habits equals health. Heres to a happy and healthy 2016! Laura x