Hoodia--the next weight loss miracle cure--Not! How many times can the American public be hoodwinked, or should I say, hoodia-winked?? Hoodia, a cactus extract that purportedly tricks the brain into believing that the stomach is full, is now being touted as the new weight loss miracle potion. Credible TV shows like 60 minutes have given positive reviews. Even the O magazine has given it a thumbs up. However, studies are spotty, in fact, almost non-existent. The American public seems to want to latch onto anything in its effort to beat the battle of the bulge, especially if it’s an herbal, all natural product. Somehow, that seems to make it okay, maybe more believable.
According to Dean Kapsalakis, holistic health expert and author of the Let’s Eat Cake diet, a biological theory of nutrition, there’s no such thing as a ‘miracle cure’ or, in this case, a magic weight loss bullet. His book discusses how different foods have been touted as wonder foods in the past. An apple a day…..garlic….bananas…and lately, ephedra.
“It’s not that these foods don’t have beneficial properties. It’s just that one food is not the source of all beneficial properties. Human beings are designed to be omnivorous, and it takes a wide variety of foods to include all of our nutritional requirements”, says Dean.
Weight loss is similar in that people want an instant fix. But Dean cautions, “You didn’t get overweight overnight. Super quick weight loss may put your body and mind under stresses that, over the long haul fail.” And that’s been proven time and time again. How many people do you know that have quickly lost weight, then gained in right back shortly thereafter, regardless of the diet??
In The Cake Diet book, Dean suggests that slow, safe weight loss will automatically happen by eating the foods that are made for the human body, rather than worrying or focusing on weight loss. He suggests that a person can eat the same amount of food as before, because by choosing the best foods available, they will be about 25% less calories.
A straightforward example would be hamburgers. Lean meats are biologically sound and made for the human body. Four oz of 10% lean hamburger is 265 calories. The lower grade 30% fat hamburger is 351 calories, a 25% difference.
The biological formula shows how better choices can be made across the board, and this reduction in calories will result is slow, steady weight loss, even by eating the same amount of food! This way of eating includes great tasting, healthy snacks like cakes and cookies, too (hence, the cake diet!)
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