What is a healthy diet? The answer will vary depending on who you ask. Everything from the food pyramid with a “balanced” diet from all food groups, to the calorie counting Weight Watchers to the carb limited Low Carb diet. All of these groups have their own definition of what “healthy” is.

I think it’s easier to agree on what unhealthy is. Very few would disagree that fried foods (carbs + fat) or desserts/donuts/cakes (carbs + fat) are not the best food choice. But to actually agree on what we should eat is much more difficult.

We have the Food Pyramiders that insist that we have to eat from all food groups as an “unbalanced” diet is bad. They advocate a lot of fruit, vegetables and “good” grains (= high in fiber) and a small amount of “healthy” fats (= vegetable fats). Meat should be served in small portions and chicken is preferred over beef and pork due to the lower fat content.

While excessive use of sugar is not encouraged, the emphasis for low fat is more important. We can see their influence on the food industry on a daily basis. Fat free or low fat everything. Yogurt where the fat has been replaced by sugar and the end result is higher calories than plain, full fat yogurt. Or, fat free cheese that has no resemblance to the original product any more. Not to mention the oxymoron of low fat margarine.

The minimal amount of fat allowed should be “good” fats; olive oil, other vegetable oils and fish oils. Butter and lard are shunned citing the high saturated fat content. This despite that nobody has actually shown that saturated fats are bad for us. All studies looked at saturated fats with carbs, and then just blaming the fats without even considering the carbs. This fact has not yet been acknowledged by this group.

For weight loss, the Food Pyramiders recommend portion control and exercise. It’s all about calories in and calories out. We can see how well this has worked by just looking around us. This has been the mantra for the last 30 years and people have just gotten heavier.

Then we have the Lowcarbers. For many of them, anything and everything is allowed as long as it has a low carbohydrate count. Fat is not limited, nor the type of fat. Any type of meat is allowed as is low glycemic vegetables.

Many that start out on a low carb diet initially are looking for low carb versions of high carb foods. Enter Frankenfoods.  The label Frankenfood is typically given to a food item which is trying to emulate a high-carb original by replacing carbs by some chemical and/or fiber. Artificial sweeteners such as sugar alcohols is a typical example. Sugar alcohols have theoretically very low carb count and are used to sweeten coffee and make lowcarb desserts.

The food industry has responded here as well, even though there are less low carb products now than just a few years ago. I think many of them disappeared as no matter what chemical conoction they used, they just didn’t manage to make them taste good.

So what is a healthy diet for me? Now eating low carb and maintaining my weight loss for 5 years? Even though I don’t always adhere to it 100%, I try to stay with the basics; meat, fish, vegetables. No calorie counting. No limit on fats, but I don’t add any either. The only dairy I eat is hard cheese and the only grain is rye crisp bread. These last two are not good for weight loss for many people, me included, but I can get away with it in maintenance.

I don’t like processed foods. If it has a list of 30 ingredients where I only recognize two or three, it is not something I want to put in my body. I also find that it doesn’t taste anywhere near as good as home made foods.

I don’t drink diet soda or other artificially sweetened drinks. I do use splenda, davinci or stevia on occasion. Perhaps once per month at the most. It’s not because I don’t have a sweet tooth. Or, rather had a sweet tooth. I lost it after lowcarbing for some time. I used to have a serious Snicker’s bar habit. Now, fruits and berries taste sweet enough for me without any artificial addition. Diet soda is sickening sweet. I had a taste of ketchup yesterday night for the first time in years, and that was much, much sweeter than how I remember it.

If a food is sugar free, carb free and/or fat free, has no nutritional value and only contain chemicals, what would be the purpose for me to eat/drink it? For me, food implies that it will provide nutrition for my body.

But that’s my personal preference. I would never berate anybody for using artificial sweeteners or drinking diet soda. If that helps them to stay on the diet and to lose weight, more power to them. I would however suggest that if weight loss comes to a halt, it might be a good idea to limit the use of these before abandoning the diet altogether.

That is the question.

A report from 2006 by NIH (National Institute of Health) recently came to my attention. This report (Ref below) discusses the benefits (or lack thereof) of vitamins and supplements. Not surprisingly, they found little evidence (or rather, none) that they do us any good. The conclusions were (as I understand them):

• More than half of the population use multivitamin supplements
• The supplement users tend to be people that eat a healthy diet, making it difficult to distinguish between any benefits from the supplements as compared to nutrition derived from the diet itself
• Fortification of foods further confuses the matter as it makes it impossible to evaluate the actual amount of nutrients people consume
• They also found no studies that pointed towards a positive effect for treating chronic conditions, except for certain subgroups such as calcium and vitamin D for bone density

They conclude with

Finally, the present evidence is insufficient to recommend either for or against the use of MVMs (multivitamins) by the American public to prevent chronic disease

And, of course, the recommendation is that more studies are required. I have never seen a study that didn’t include this recommendation. More work for the researchers!

What the study did not address is whether the RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) for vitamins and minerals are optimal numbers. Personally, I very much doubt they are. They all seem to be based on a study treating a deficiency and the number that was required to restore the levels might not necessarily be the what is required for a person that has another composition of her diet.

So what does all this tell me? First, I’m not too worried about my inconsistency in taking supplements any more. I tend to jump on a bandwagon for a certain supplement, and then drop others. There are just so many pills I can take in a day!

I’m not even consistent with calcium. But then I read a study that taking calcium religiously for 3 years resulted in 1% (ONE percent) less loss of bone density as compared to not taking it. The study also concluded that you were better off getting the calcium from food. I have no trouble remembering to eat cheese!

The one supplement I will not drop for now is Vitamin D. I think there is enough evidence that most people can benefit from it. But I will not worry if I miss a dose a day or two as the vitamin is stored in the body and I can hopefully compensate by a higher dose the next day. Fish oil for Omega 3 and cod liver oil for Vitamin A also makes it into my mouth now and then.

Note. I do not recommend anybody to stop taking any supplements. I just present my personal opinion and I realize that what I think is good for me will not be valid for all people. I am not an expert and I don’t pretend to be. There are certainly groups that require supplementation for various reasons such as illnesses or malabsorption issues.

[Ref: National Institutes of Health State-of-the-Science conference statement: multivitamin/mineral supplements and chronic disease prevention. Ann Intern Med. 2006;145:000-000. Full report in pdf: NIH]

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced that there is a range of diet pills being sold nationwide, as well as over the internet, that are now considered unsafe.

FDA suggests to consult with your health care professional before taking dietary supplements to treat obesity or other diseases. All consumers should be familiar with the following signs of health fraud:

• Promises of an “easy” fix for problems like excess weight, hair loss, or impotency.
• Claims such as “scientific breakthrough,” “miraculous cure,” “secret ingredient,” and “ancient remedy.”
• Impressive-sounding terms, such as “hunger stimulation point” and “thermogenesis” for a weight loss product.
• Claims that the product is safe because it is “natural.”
• Undocumented case histories or personal testimonials by consumers or doctors claiming amazing results.
• Promises of no-risk, money-back guarantees.

I would like to add “studies suggest” or “extensive research indicates” or “patented.” None of these statements really say that what was studied, researched or patented actually did anything.

But when I first saw this announcement a couple of weeks back, I was under the impression that while these pills / supplements were completely useless, they might not really pose much danger. Not so. Reading closer, I find that  these “natural supplements” may “contain prescription drugs in amounts that greatly exceed their maximum recommended dose.”

The updated (01/08/2009) list includes the following products:

Contains Sibutramine

• 2 Day Diet
• 2 Day Diet Slim Advance
• 2x Powerful Slimming
• 3 Day Diet
• 3 Days Fit
• 3x Slimming Power
• 5x Imelda Perfect Slimming
• 7 Day Herbal Slim
• 7 Days Diet
• 7 Diet
• 7 Diet Day/Night Formula
• 8 Factor Diet
• Eight Factor Diet
• 21 Double Slim
• 24 Hours Diet
• 999 Fitness Essence
• BioEmagrecim
• Body Creator
• Body Shaping
• Body Slimming
• Cosmo Slim
• Extrim Plus
• Extrim Plus 24 Hour Reburn
• Fasting Diet
• Fatloss Slimming
• GMP
• Imelda Fat Reducer
• Imelda Perfect Slim
• JM Fat Reducer
• Lida DaiDaihua
• Meili
• Meizitang
• Miaozi MeiMiaoQianZiJiaoNang
• Miaozi Slim Capsules
• Natural Model
• Perfect Slim
• Perfect Slim 5x
• Perfect Slim Up
• Powerful Slim
• ProSlim Plus
• Reduce Weight
• Royal Slimming Formula
• Sana Plus
• Slim 3 in 1
• Slim 3 in 1 Extra Slim Formula
• Slim 3 in 1 Extra Slim Waist Formula
• Slim 3 in 1 M18 Royal Diet
• Slim 3 in 1 Slim Formula
• Slim Burn
• Slim Express 4 in 1
• Slim Express 360
• Slim Fast
• Slim Tech
• Slim Up
• Slim Waist Formula
• Slim Waistline
• Sliminate
• Slimming Formula
• Somotrim
• Super Fat Burner
• Superslim
• Super Slimming
• Trim 2 Plus
• Triple Slim
• Venom Hyperdrive 3.0
• Waist Strength Formula
• Zhen de Shou

Contains Rimonabant

• Phyto Shape

Contains Phenytoin

• 3x Slimming Power
• Extrim Plus

Contains Phenolphthalein

• 8 Factor Diet
• 24 Hours Diet
• Fatloss Slimming
• Imelda Perfect Slim
• Perfect Slim 5x
• Royal Slimming Formula
• Superslim
• Zhen de Shou

Contains Bumetanide

• Starcaps

FDA details what these ingredients do:

Sibutramine is a Schedule IV controlled substance and the active pharmaceutical ingredient in Meridia, an approved prescription drug to treat obesity. Some of the identified products recommend taking more than 3 times the recommended daily dosage of sibutramine. Because of this, even consumers without a history of health problems that take these high doses of sibutramine may suffer serious adverse effects if they take these products, such as increased blood pressure, tachycardia, palpitations, and seizure.

Rimonabant is the active pharmaceutical ingredient in Zimulti which has not been approved in the United States. In Europe the drug is known as Acomplia. In June 2007, the FDA Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee unanimously voted not to recommend approval of the drug because of increased risk of neurological and psychiatric side effects—seizures, depression, anxiety, insomnia, aggressiveness, and suicidal thoughts among patients. In June of 2008, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency of the United Kingdom linked rimonabant to 5 deaths and 720 adverse reactions over the past two years. In October, the European Medicines Agency recommended that marketing and sales of Accomplia be suspended due to safety concerns.

Phenolphthalein was an ingredient in some Over-the-Counter laxative products until 1999 when the FDA reclassified the drug as “not generally recognized as safe and effective” after studies indicated that phenolphthalein presented a potential carcinogenic risk. Phenolphthalein has also been found to be genotoxic in that it can damage or cause mutations to DNA.

Phenytoin is the active pharmaceutical ingredient in Dilantin, an approved anti-seizure medication.

Bumetanide is a the active pharmaceutical ingredient in Bumex, a prescription diuretic. Potential risks associated with the use of Bumetanide include serious and significant fluid and electrolyte loss and an elevation in uric acid concentrations.

TIPPING THE SCALES TO HEALTH

is now open!

The online world has a wonderful new resource
for desperate dieters and
anybody else who is determined to make health a priority in 2009.

Join old friends and new as we kick the New Year off
with a renewed dedication to health and weight loss!

What makes the diet niche so attractive for marketing?

I just received this email with tips of how to find your niche for online marketing. Very good advice if you want to make money by advertising on the internet, I think. Sound marketing principles.

1. Discretionary income – does your market have money to spend? It sure is easier if they do. This might seem like a dumb item, but most people don’t actually ask this question.
2. Ease of Communication – how easily can you target your prospects? Are there forums where they hang out? What are the common search terms for this market? What other “water coolers” does this community hang out around?
3. Customer Avatar (this is huge) – how well do you know the main customer identity of your market? Can you identify with them, speak or learn their language, and understand their pain and desires?
4. Market Vitality – how much “new blood” does your market get each year? How many new prospects can you realistically get into your pipeline every day?
5. Size of the market – how big is the market? Bigger is not always better, but it’s important to know how much you can expect to make given your estimated success level.
6. Buying Tendencies – Is your market ready to buy? What is the venue through which they buy? Some markets are still filled with prospects uncomfortable purchasing online.

I can’t think of any other single market that would fit these requirements as much as the diet niche does.

1. Dieters have money to spend. They are mainly adults with a job, and a relatively low cost product is affordable for them. Desperate to lose weight, cost for a diet also takes priority.
2. Dieters often hang out on online forums. Sock puppet type of interaction is not only possible, it’s often welcome (provided you don’t let on that you are a sock puppet, of course). It is so easy to start a thread and claim great results from a product or diet plan. Who is going to contradict you? These forums typically do not allow anybody to argue with you, as posts are supposed to be “positive” and “supportive”.
3. Almost anybody could identify with a dieter, as most of us has dieted as some point in our lives. Often tried more than one diet. Understanding the desperation of an overweight person. Knowing how they look for a magic pill.
4. No lack of new customers for diets. With the so common failure, or regain, the promise of a new diet is always welcome. It will work this time!
5. The size of the market is practically unlimited. I really can’t think of any other market that could equal it. At least not on on the internet.
6. People that spend time online and join online diet forums generally have no problem making purchases over the internet. Selling over the internet to this group is probably an advantage as compared to conventional methods.

Seems like a gold mine, doesn’t it? It’s just a matter of finding something new or different so that you will stand out from the competition. And hope that customers don’t get savvy and actually do some research before parting with their money.

What do they have in common? Nothing as far as I know. But how come all these Akai Berry blogs and sites use Kimkins as a tag? Is this Heidi Diaz’ new venture? The next internet scam?

Acai Berry is native to Brazil and is presently marketed as the new magic supplement here in the US. So what is it supposed to do? The blogs and sites using Kimkins as a tag are claiming weight loss and cleansing properties. For example:

Acai Berries (pronounced ah-sigh-ee) is an all natural diet Superfood – packed full of antioxidants. You could have POUNDS and POUNDS of excess waste built up in your system right now! This precise buildup of toxins can be the cause of your noticeable daily lower energy levels, bloating, constipation, aches & cramps, and even excess gastric discomfort. This buildup can be a severe breeding ground for harmful bacteria’s that live inside your body, increasing your chances of potentially harmful health problems. Extreme Acai Berry can help you Look Better and Feel Better by flushing your body of all that excess waste, that is weighing you down. Cleansing your system will give you Increased Energy, help you Fight Fatigue, reduce Water Retension, and  help you get a Firmer Flatter Belly. Try it Risk Free, just pay S&H!!!

The only thing I have found verified by any studies in the quote above is the antioxidant claim. There has been a study where they found that Acai Berry has a high content of antioxidants. There has also been a study that shows that Acai Berry is absorbed by our body.

I have found no other study for Acai Berry. Just a lot of speculation that studies may show benefits. Any cleansing effect is not even mentioned in the two studies. On the contrary, they state that one of the traditional uses in Brazil is to cure diarrhea.

Any weight loss benefits are also not mentioned in the two studies. I think this claim was added just because weight loss products are easy to sell to desperate dieters that are willing to try anything.

So is it then even worth while to buy this supplement for its antioxidant qualities? No, not in my opinion. I haven’t been able to find any studies that show that antioxidants are beneficial either. Just some accepted mantra that 5 daily servings of antioxidant-rich fruit prevent cancer. However, after reading Gary Taubes I do not trust studies much. What else did the “fruit group” eat or not eat that resulted in lower incident of cancer?

So what is then the benefit of the Acai Berry? Just lining the pockets of the people that sell it, it seems.

There is no magic pill! Lasting weight loss can only be achieved by finding a healthy eating plan that you can live with the rest of your life. Quick fixes, may it be acai berry or starving on Kimkins, will not do it.

After all, there are other low calorie diets out there. Just look at the latest issue of Women’s World or some other women’s magazine and I can guarantee that the recommended diet is low calorie. It may not be announced as such but adding up the suggested foods end up with 1000 cals or less. For example, egg white omelet for breakfast, 3 oz chicken for lunch, 6 oz salmon for dinner plus the rest fat free or low fat. Salads (with fat free dressing of course), a slice of whole wheat bread and half a cup of brown rice will not increase the calorie count by much.

So why is the Kimkins Diet so much worse? Especially now when there supposedly is no calorie limit on it any longer? Not that the recommended 70-90 gram protein, 3 cups salad veggies, with minimal fat easily add up to more than 500-600 cals.

What I see as the main danger with the kimkins diet is not the diet in itself. It’s the cult-like atmosphere on Kimkins “support” forum. Where people are encouraged to starve themselves. Where feeling icky is applauded.

Other crazy, fad, diets might produce the same physical ill effects (and quick weight loss), but there is nothing to motivate you to keep on doing them. You just abandon them as not doable. Another failed diet attempt.

Not so with Kimkins. When struggling to stick to the diet (and who wouldn’t?) you just log on to Kimkins.con to get support for why you shouldn’t give in to your body’s demand for nutrition. Hear people saying KUTGW (keep up the good work). Look at you! You have lost so much! Keep going! Don’t be weak!

You get inspired by the success stories on the site. Big losers. Real or not, who cares? They have pictures! They look pretty and skinny in the “after” photos.

No negativity at all on the site. Just upbeat posts. Friendly challenges where you get to know people. Checking in daily to say hello and read about your friends’ overnight whooshes. How many pounds they dropped. Hoping to do the same.

To me, that is really the danger with Kimkins. Not the diet, but the website. Without the brainwashing that goes on there, nobody could stick to the diet long enough for it to do much harm. Without the forum and people posting there (even if they are mostly sockpuppets by now) there wouldn’t be a Kimkins.con.

I have great hope that Kimkins.con will soon be gone from the internet. The site was funded by members that signed up based on fraudulent weight loss claims (Kimmer’s 198 pounds) and an article in Women’s World that had fake pictures (Kimmer’s Russian bride photo). The Class Action Lawsuit may force the shut down. Or, Heidi Diaz might decide to shut it down due to lack of new members. Sockpuppets don’t bring in any money.

One of the main concerns for people starting a low carb diet is the apparent lack of fiber in the diet. I say “apparent” because it’s really a misconception. One of those accepted “truths” that keeps on being repeated over and over again.

The FDA recommends 28 grams of fiber for a 2,000 cal diet. Using their other recommendations for servings, I fall just short of that. For example:

• 4 servings of fruit (2 cups)
• 5 servings of vegetables (2.5 cups)
• 6 oz grain (6 slices of bread)
• 5 oz meat
• 3 cups milk

add up to only 24 grams of fiber. And this is only because I used “100% whole grain wheat” for the grain servings. Whole grain bread was introduced to help increase fiber intake so it can really be compared to a fiber supplement in my opinion. If I replace it with white bread, the total fiber ends up being 15 grams.

On a low carb diet, staying at induction level carbs (<20 when subtracting fiber) I can easily achieve the same 15 grams of fiber as on the “normal” diet. My sample menu included 2 cups cooked cabbage, 1 cup cooked green beans, three cups lettuce and one tomato.

So do I need to be worried about just getting half the recommended daily fiber intake? No, I do not. Why would I need more fiber?

The FDA fiber myth claims:

• Lack of fiber causes colon cancer. This “fact” was never proved in the first place and has been shown not to be true.
• Lack of fiber causes constipation. This is just not true. Lack of fat causes constipation.

But, IF you don’t want to try a low carb diet with just these 15 grams of fiber, the problem is easily solved by fiber supplements that do not add much to your net carb count. I routinely eat Wasa rye crackers and the Bran Crispbread I order from Netrition. But that isn’t because I think I need more fiber. I just happen to like them. Actually, I have to be careful with the bran crispbread as too much fiber will give me diarrhea.

However, a NO fiber diet that is also LOW FAT is bound to cause constipation. Look at the K/E menu below. The plate has the food for ONE FULL DAY, i.e. 3 meals.

K/E is short for Kimmer’s Experiment. It was a diet devised by Kimmer/Kimkins to produce heavy ketosis (or as she calls it, “real” ketosis) and quick weight loss. Lean meats and eggs only. No vegetables. Originally suggested for 3 days to jump start weight loss, the time limit was soon removed and it was recommended for long term use.

The problem with this diet is not really related to fiber. It is LOW calorie and LOW fat. This particular menu, based on Kimkins recommendations, provides just 376 cals (only 12 grams of fat) for ONE DAY!

Kimmer, or Heidi Diaz, does not recommend fiber supplements. They are bulking and a negative reflection on scale weight before the “bulk” has been eliminated is to be avoided. Instead, she suggests laxatives. On a daily basis.

Beware of the Kimkins Diet! Don’t be fooled by its claim to be a low carb diet. It’s low everything. Low carb, low fat, low calorie.

Who didn’t start their first diet when they were just a few pounds overweight? Dropped some weight and then put it back on, plus a few pounds more? Kept on repeating this cycle with each attempt ending up at a higher weight?

This dieting pattern is called a “feast and famine cycle” and is caused by restrictive diets.

The body’s natural response to excessive calorie restriction is:

• Reduced metabolic rate. As much as 15 – 30% fewer calories are burned.
• Cravings, especially for sweets and fat.
• Increased ability to store calories as fat, whenever excess calories become available again.

The result? A binge, and/or quitting the diet. Or for the unfortunate that “manage” to fight the hunger, anorexia.

During the period of re-feeding, weight is put back on. Even worse, while the weight loss was both muscle and fat, the regain is primarily fat. We end up bigger and with lower metabolism than before the weight loss as fat doesn’t burn as many calories as muscle does.

After this episode, or a period of time, the restrictive diet is restarted. The diet works, I did lose weight. I just wasn’t strong enough to stick with it.

Wrong! If the diet is not sustainable, the diet is wrong. It’s not the dieter’s fault. It’s the diet’s fault.

So what works for weight loss then? It’s obvious that restrictive diets are not doing us any favors. I strongly believe in lowcarb and “healthy eating” which to me means to eat the right foods, but not limit how much I eat.

With lowcarb, there is no need to feel deprived. There is no need to go hungry. If hungry, then eat. It’s not a diet, it’s a Way of Eating (WOE) that can be sustained long term.

And guess what? When we are ready for maintenance, we have learned how to eat. Do yourself a favor and follow Atkins as written, climbing the carb ladder. Then there is no sudden change from “weigh loss mode” to maintenance, with the common regain and struggle.

Beware of quick fixes that promises fast weight loss, like Kimkins. Not even the founder has been successful on the diet, but still keeps on promoting it. While starvation produces weight loss, the damage done to your body in the process might be permanent even when the weight loss isn’t.

The term addiction is used to describe a recurring compulsion by an individual to engage in some specific activity, despite harmful consequences to the individual’s health, mental state or social life.

Is there such a thing as food addiction? No, not according to the author of Breaking out of Food Jail, Jean Antonello R.N., B.S.N.

People who do not eat enough food on a regular basis tend to get compulsive about food and eat without control at times. This is an adaptive response, not the result of an addiction. There is, however, an addictive process involved; it’s the addiction to dieting.

I agree with Jean. I have never known anybody that could be described as “obsessed” with food unless they were dieting. Diet addicition is a much more fitting term.

I also believe that dieting causes eating disorders, and not the other way around. Severe calorie restriction, like the starvation diet Kimkins, will surely result in an unhealthy relationship with food.

The most natural reaction to excessive food restriction is cheats or binges. Or anorexia. Neither of them is a result you want from a diet, and it will not make you any healthier. Isn’t that the most important with weight loss? Health?

What is strange is that dieters keep on going back again and again to the too restrictive diet after a cheat or binge episod. The diet works. Uh, no, it doesn’t. If you can not stay on it, it doesn’t work.

That the diet doesn’t work is not to blame on the dieters, it’s the fault of the DIET. Look for something else. Less restrictive. Higher calories typically means slower losses, but over time it will surely equal or exceed what can be accomplished on starve/binge yo-yo cycles.