I just saw this article about diet lies. I think some of you might want to check it out.. :)
1. Coffee
Claim: Coffee is a weight-loss drink. Drinking two cups a day can reduce appetite and make workouts feel less taxing, helping you exercise longer and burn as much as 31 percent more fat.
Truth: “Caffeine or coffee alone has not been demonstrated in rigorous trials to reduce appetite,” says Dr. Saper. Research shows, though, that drinking caffeine can increase endurance, helping you exercise longer. Researchers aren’t sure why.
2. Fitness Water
Claim: Water and “fitness water” prime the body for weight loss. Drinking water boosts metabolism, staves off hunger and prevents fatigue, protecting you from overeating when tired. The vitamins and minerals in fitness water also help keep your body’s fat-melting systems functioning well.
Truth: “Ha, ha, ha,” says William Rumpler, Ph.D., a research physiologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Diet and Performance Laboratory. Translation: If just drinking regular or fitness water did all that, we’d all be thin.
3. Yeast
Claim: Eating less yeast can help you lose up to five pounds a week. Too much yeast in the system can cause bloating, fatigue, mood swings, cravings, lower metabolism and weight gain. Getting yeast levels under control through a diet low in sugars and high in yogurt, broccoli, garlic and other vegetables and protein can reverse these effects and speed weight loss.
Truth: It’s nonsense to claim that lowering yeast levels causes the body to shed fat, says Jack Sobel, M.D., chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit. It’s also silly to claim that eating alkaline vegetables, yogurt or garlic can retard yeast growth. Taking antibiotics can trigger yeast infections. Taking birth control pills can also cause them on rare occasions. “A diet high in sugar can trigger them in women who are already susceptible,” says Dr. Sobel. “But for everyone else, sugar consumption has no effect on yeast. And it’s nonsense to say that yeast infections cause weight gain, carb cravings, low energy or mood swings.”
4. Selenium
Claim: Taking selenium revs metabolism, helping you drop pounds. Stress, illness or bad nutrition can overwork the thyroid and adrenal glands, causing low energy, slow metabolism and weight gain. Taking 200 micrograms of selenium daily can dramatically improve glandular function and increase energy and calorie burn.
Truth: Low thyroid function can result in slower metabolism and weight gain. But it isn’t caused by stress, illness or bad nutrition. It is usually caused by an autoimmune disorder, congenital defect, hormonal problem or damage to the thyroid. As for selenium, “We know it is an essential component of enzymes that activate and deactivate the thyroid hormone,” says Wayne C. Hawkes, Ph.D., a research chemist with the USDA/ARS Western Human Nutrition Research Center. “But there’s no evidence that taking supplements will improve thyroid function and help you lose weight.” In one study Dr. Hawkes found that men taking high levels of selenium (297 micrograms daily) began gaining weight, while those taking low doses (14 micrograms) began to lose. This suggests that taking high doses, if it has any effect, may cause a mild form of low thyroid function, the condition it’s supposed to cure.
5. Cranberry Juice
Claim: Cranberry juice is high in antioxidants that help maintain the skin’s connective tissue and prevent cellulite from forming. Drinking eight ounces daily can significantly diminish dimpling in just three weeks.
Truth: Cranberries are rich in a class of antioxidants called proanthocyanidins that help prevent bacteria from sticking to cells. “This means less dental plaque, fewer ulcers and fewer urinary tract infections,” says Amy Howell, Ph.D., a research scientist at Rutgers University’s Marucci Center for Blueberry and Cranberry Research. Proanthocyanidins also help maintain connective tissue. “But there are no studies of any kind showing any relationship between cranberries and cellulite,” says Dr. Howell. Drinking 10 ounces of cranberry juice daily can help prevent bacterial infections, but it won’t do a thing for your thighs.
6. Ingesting HCA
Claim: Ingesting HCA can reduce fat-cell formation by 70 percent for up to 12 hours after a meal. A compound called hydroxycitric acid (HCA) found in the juice and rinds of citrus fruits inhibits the action of an enzyme that converts blood sugar to fat, reducing the body’s ability to create new fat cells.
Truth: HCA can impede the formation of fat cells in a test tube, but it’s unclear whether it works the same way in humans. “At this point the evidence is contradictory,” says Dr. Saper. It’s also unclear whether most citrus juices and rinds even contain HCA, which is found primarily in the purple Malabar tamarind, a tropical fruit native to India.
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