Autonopedia

OVERWEIGHT

YOU'VE DECIDED THAT YOU WANT to lose weight. Maybe you're heeding the warnings of health practitioners who tell you that being overweight is bad for your heart, blood pressure and other body systems, or maybe you just want to get rid of a persistent kilo or two. When you decide to try products whose names imply that they'll help you slim down and shape up fast, you get frustrated. While such products claim they'll help you burn fat, build muscle and regain the body of a 20-year-old, they often fail to live up to their promises.

That's because the sleek, muscular bodies of youth are, for the most part, the result of a youthful metabolism. With age, your metabolic rate drops, along with your activity level and your ability to burn fat and build muscle. There's no product that can completely reverse that process.
If someone offers to sell you a pill that will reshape your body without exercise - whether it's a drug or a herb - your first instinct should be to walk away. That said, there are some pharmaceuticals that can support a long-term weight-loss programme, though many of them have side effects. There also are some herbs that can help.

If you are taking a drug for weight loss and you want to try some natural remedies as well, you must consult your doctor. In both the supplement and the pharmaceutical industries, the weight-loss market is gigantic. New products come out rapidly and their interactions with other substances may not be known until someone has a serious reaction.

Doctors throughout Europe will no longer prescribe drugs that were designed to stimulate the metabolic rate and suppress the appetite. The side effects of such drugs, which included damage to the heart, are so severe that the European Union has concluded that none of these pharmaceuticals is safe. Doctors may still precribe other treatments, such as bulking agents, to help weight loss but only in cases of true obesity, and then only as part of a wider treatment, which will include a monitored diet and, perhaps, an exercise programme.

What if you have only 2, 4 or 8 kilograms to lose? Can herbs alone help you get the trim, toned physique you want? Many health experts believe they can't. Most herbalists and naturopathic doctors approach body composition from a more holistic perspective, examining diet, exercise level, overall build and other factors before planning a weight­loss programme.

So if you want to incorporate herbs into a weight-loss plan, do your research carefully, avoiding products with outlandish claims and sticking with reputable producers. If you have a lot of weight to lose, don't let anyone tell you it's going to be fast or easy.

THE SECRET OF SPICES
Fat `metabolism' refers to something a little different than how many calories you burn. In this case, metabolism refers to your body's ability to process fats. Lipotropic herbs, such as cinnamon and ginseng, promote the exportation of fat from the liver, which helps the body use fat for energy.
There's good research that these two herbs lower triglycerides and `bad' LDL cholesterol, say some herbalists. When those two measurements go down, it usually means you're metabolising fats better. It doesn't, however, mean that these herbs will cause your body to release stored fat, nor will they necessarily increase metabolism. Normalising the burning and digestion of fat can, however, make a difference in your health.

Some spicy herbs, such as mustard, black pepper and cayenne, are also marketed as thermogenics. Again, they won't help your body release stored fat, but they do have a real benefit: aiding digestion. They're stimulating, warming and invigorating. This means you'll get more nutrients from the food you eat. More nutrients means more energy, more metabolic efficiency and better overall health - which may make it easier to stay on a diet.

DRUG TREATMENT

Antidepressants
Fluoxetine (Prozac), sertraline (Lustral). Function: increase the amount of serotonin, a mood-controlling chemical, in the brain, decreasing depression and thereby food intake. Side effects: anxiety, insomnia, tremor, sweating, fever, confusion, rashes.

Non-Prescription Appetite Suppressants
Phenylpropanolamine. Function: decreases appetite. Side effects: irritability, headache, sweating.

Other Drugs
Orlistat (Xenical). Function: reduces the amount of fat absorbed in the digestive tract. Side effects: abdominal pain, fatty stools, possible decreased absorption of vitamins.

WHEN IT COMES TO WEIGHT LOSS, IT'S BUYER BEWARE
Stimulants, including some herbs, can help boost a sluggish metabolism by stimulating adrenal hormone production, suppressing appetite, increasing heart rate, improving blood flow to muscles and fat - all activities related to a process called thermogenesis.

Thermogenesis is the process by which the body generates a heat energy that burns fat. The best-known thermogenic herb is ephedra, or ma huang. Studies show that ephedra stimulates thermogenesis. These findings led to the creation of many over-the-counter weight-loss products. They also led many people to abuse and overuse them, resulting in deaths and heart attacks. Because of the concern about overuse and the resultant health risks, you may find that some reputable health food stores refuse to sell such products. Even if you do locate weight-loss products that contain ephedra, remember that they shouldn't be used by anyone younger than 18 or for more than seven days.

Other thermogenic herbs include cordyceps, yohimbe and bitter orange. All should be treated with as much respect - and caution - as ephedra. In fact, the Herb Research Foundation recommends that use of stimulant herbs should be supervised by a health-care professional.

Here are some tips to help you avoid the potential danger zones in the weight­loss product maze:
Avoid stimulant laxatives and diuretics. These include senna (Cassia acutifolia or C. senna), buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica), cascara sagrada (Rhamnus purshiana) and aloe (Aloe vera). These herbs may help with the occasional bout of constipation, but they won't help reshape your body, and long-term use can cause serious health problems.

Realise that you're a guinea-pig. Few weight-loss products have undergone rigorous scientific research and most don't have a long tradition of use for body enhancement, so you're experimenting on yourself if you use them. As for specific ingredients, many herbs, especially the culinary kind, are mild. But there are a few to treat with respect, in particular stimulating herbs such as ephedra and caffeine-containing herbs such as guarana (Paullinia cupana).

Buy carefully. `You do have to be careful with some of these products - they may actually have drugs in them, such as over-the-counter amphetamines,' says nutrition consultant and herb expert Leigh Broadhurst, PhD. `Go with a brand name. You've got to pay a little more for something from a big company, but, if you buy from somebody you've never heard of over the Internet, it's more likely to be doctored up with an amphetamine.'

HERBAL REMEDIES

Garcinia (Garcinia cambogia)
This is the primary herb sold for enhancing weight loss and boosting your amount of lean muscle. Also known as hila or brindall berry, garcinia is touted as an appetite suppressant that also prevents the body from making fat. Conclusive research is still lacking, however. A single human trial combined garcinia and chromium, resulting in a slightly greater weight loss in obese volunteers than a low-fat diet alone, but the study's design has led some experts to question whether it's conclusive.

Garcinia is the source of an extract, hydroxycitric acid (HCA). In rats HCA blocks an enzyme that converts carbohydrates into body fat, but experts point out that this doesn't prove anything about how it works in humans. On the other hand, many herbalists swear by garcinia and, so far, it appears to have no harmful side effects, perhaps because it isn't a stimulant. Typical dosage: 1,000 milligrams three times daily, between meals, for the first four weeks of a weight-loss programme.

Psyllium (Plantago spp.)
If you're looking for appetite suppression, don't forget the less glamorous herbs that provide fibre. Psyllium can help you eat fewer calories and still feel full. It also has other health benefits, such as lowering cholesterol and fighting constipation. Be sure, though, to drink plenty of water with dietary fibres such as psyllium or glucomannan - without sufficient liquid, these can swell up in your intestine, causing the constipation that they're sometimes taken to cure. Typical dosage: up to six 600-milligram capsules per day with a full glass of water; or up to 1 teaspoon of husks or 2 teaspoons of powdered seed in a glass of water (drink immediately). For other fibre products, follow package directions for dosage. Caution: take 30 minutes to an hour after meals or taking other drugs.

Siberian Ginseng (Eleutherococcus senticosus)
If you're charging into a new exercise programme, even if it's only mild walking, a class of herbs called adaptogens may well be helpful. Siberian ginseng is among the foremost of these herbs. It can help your body adapt to the stress of unaccustomed changes. While it won't resculpt your body, you may feel less tired, so you're more likely to stick to your new exercise routine. Typical dosage: up to nine 400- to 500-milligram capsules per day; or 20 drops of tincture up to three times per day.