Every year, as summer hits full swing and the prospect of beach-side holidays comes up, we start seeing all sorts of quick-fix diets to get you “bikini body ready ”, or to use a phrase that seems to be doing the rounds on social media at the moment, it’s time for “hot girl summer” detoxing. So this seems like an appropriate moment to do a bit of myth-busting. Firstly, to clear up any confusion, to get a bikini body ready you need to put on a bikini. That’s it. Job done. And for those wishing for a hot girl summer, just turn the aircon off for a bit. However, some people take it a bit less literally than me and start promoting all kinds of fads and quick fixes, so let’s dive in. MYTH-BUSTING #1 ACTIVATED CHARCOAL This is often touted as a detox supplement, supposedly drawing toxins out of your intestines so they can be flushed out of the body, and also as a weight loss supplement that apparently binds to fats and sugar to prevent you from absorbing them. Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? Only it doesn’t do any of those things. So where has this idea even come from? A derivative of activated charcoal is sometimes used in A&E departments to help rapidly absorb certain types of drugs in people who have overdosed. Under those circumstances, it could be described as a kind of detox. However, that’s not all charcoal absorbs.
. It also binds onto several important minerals and lots of other useful phytochemicals which prevent their absorption. It doesn’t bind to any fats or sugars though! In short, outside the very specialised context of A&E, it doesn’t prevent absorption of the not so helpful stuff, but it does prevent absorption of the good stuff. MYTH-BUSTING # 2 - Apple Cider Vinegar Primarily promoted as helping with weight and fat loss, apple cider vinegar has actually been studied quite extensively. It does seem to have a moderate effect on reducing appetite and reducing fat mass, however, the vast majority of the research has been done on rodents. If there is one thing I’m always going on about with nutrition, it’s the importance of context! You are not a mouse. Of the studies done in humans, most were of incredibly poor quality (the scientists had not adequately controlled for the influence of factors other than the vinegar on the outcomes they were measuring) so we can’t really draw any firm conclusions from them. The bottom line, if you like apple cider vinegar go on ahead and use it in salad dressings and cooking wherever you like, just don’t think you need to down a spoonful of it before every meal. There aren’t currently any proven benefits, but if taken without being mixed into foods/dressings it can erode tooth enamel and in extreme cases, there have been reports of damage to the oesophagus due to the acidity.
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker