Weight-loss patch
I recently received some literature about a weight-loss patch which promises to help the wearer lose weight very quickly. Of course, this is a very tempting prospect for a lot of us who want to lose weight but can it really work?
Since there have been a number of reports in the past of people being ”conned” by so-called weight-loss patches, and since you give no details of this particular one, I can only say when it comes to losing weight, you need to remember there is no such thing as a quick fix. So, if you want to slim down, you are going to have to put a little effort in.
That said, once you have managed to lose some weight, there is a fantastic supplement that works more to keep the weight off, than to help you lose weight in the first place, but which has been shown to help people change their entire body shape for the better.
I have been writing about Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) for several months now and last month, it finally hit the headlines after the American Chemical Society reported the results of three separate clinical trials all showing it really does work to improve the ratio between fat and muscle in the human body.
CLA is, in fact, the collective term for the different chemical variations of linoleic acid - one of the Omega 6 essential fatty acids that the body cannot manufacture but must glean from the diet. It occurs naturally in meat and dairy products and actually increases when these are cooked. That said, most people only average 1g a day and since you need 3g to get the weight maintenance benefits, supplementation is the answer.
It works by acting on the enzymes that control fat metabolism. It increases the activity of an enzyme called lipoprotein lipase which works to break down fat globules in the blood and, at the same time, increases the action of a second enzyme called heparin-releasable lipoprotein lipase which works to decrease the uptake of fat into cells.
Normally, weight is regained after a diet in the proportion of 75% fat to 25% muscle. In trials where dieters were given CLA, this ratio changed to 50:50. Also, CLA has been shown to bring about an average 20% reduction in body fat if you take it for three months. No wonder then, this has become the top-selling supplement in South Africa since its debut launch there last year.
*For more information about CLA, including an up-to-date listing of all current CLA literature visit www.wisc.edu/fri/clarefs.htm. BioCare has launched two new CLA-based products in the UK. LipoTone intensive costs £44.95 for 28 one-day sachets and includes carnitine and hydroxycitric acid, both of which work synergistically to enhance the action of CLA. LipoTone Maintenance is a two-a-day capsule which can be used alone or as a follow-up to LipoTone. It costs £9.25 for 60 capsules. This new supplement is now available from the Revital health shops (0800-252875)) and other selected independent health stores.