Top Dieting Strategies: New & Old

Posted by Raena Morgan:

The on-going research in the field of healthy dieting and weight loss is exciting to say the least. It turns out that the fruit of the hot chili pepper, known as capsicum, can stimulate thermogenesis—stoke your metabolism in other words. Who would have thought? I know peppers make you sweat, but I had no idea they could really help with weight loss.

I had the opportunity recently to interview Dr. Richard Bloomer, who is the Associate Professor and Director of the Cardio-respiratory/Metabolic Lab at the University of Memphis. He is an exercise physiologist specializing in sports medicine, a program that also includes dietary manipulation and the use of nutraceuticals to improve cardiovascular risk factors. 

New Diet Supplement: Capsimax

For those of us who are diet veterans, we know that the more calories we can burn off as heat, rather than storing them as body fat, the trimmer we will be. This new product, Capsimax, has been shown in Dr. Bloomers test studies to burn more calories not only when eating, but after exercising too. That means that if you’re trying hard to lose weight or control current weight, you have a little tool to help you—plus the capsules are enterically coated so that the capsicum doesn’t burn upon exiting the body!

Old Diet Strategy: The Daniel Diet

That’s the cutting edge news. However, Dr. Bloomer was equally, if not more excited about a study he has been conducting at the University of Memphis called “The Daniel Fast,” which covers many areas of health in addition to weight control/reduction. And this dietary wisdom hails from an unlikely source—the Bible.

The story takes place in Babylon under King Nebuchadnezzar, who was grooming some of the best young Israelites to serve in the palace. They were to be fed on the royal food and wine. But Daniel refused to eat this rich court food, asking the guard to: “Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food.”

It was agreed and Daniel and his companions were to be compared accordingly. “At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food.” ((Daniel, 1:12, 13, 14, 15, Thompson Chain –Reference Bible).

Modern Testing of the Daniel Diet

Dr. Bloomer decided to take up the challenge in the laboratory. Not only are the participants in Dr. Bloomer’s study looking better externally, there’s a good deal of improvement internally as well. In the preliminary study that he has done so far, (and he is working on another study right now), some of the results he has seen are as follows: there was a 24% reduction in total cholesterol with a 29% reduction in LDL; there was a 39% reduction in HOMA-IR, which is insulin resistance; and a major marker for inflammation, C-reactive protein, was reduced by a whopping 75%! That spells improved heart health in a big way.

Now you can Google the “Daniel Diet” and find a great deal of information, whether you’re dieting, detoxifying or both. Many versions include fruits, grains, legumes, nuts and seeds too—more of a vegetarian style of eating. There are books, recipes and discussions about the spiritual component to this diet/fast as well. What stands out to me most about this plan, however, is its simple but dramatic healing potential. And the diet comes from a time when there was no such thing as a diet! An ancient solution to modern day diet madness? It has possibilities!

Posted by Raena Morgan