Use this oil for cooking to achieve more weight loss.

Consuming 15 to 30 g of coconut oil in the daily diet can reduce belly fat, research finds.

Coconut oil can also reduce hunger pangs and appetite and this can help with weight loss.

A meta-analysis of different studies suggests that replacing long-chain triglycerides (LCTs) with medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) over the long-term can lead to weight lost and reduce belly fat.

Coconut oil, palm kernel oil, desiccated coconut and raw coconut meat contain good amount of MCTs.

Most fats and oils in our diet, such as soybean, sunflower oil, and olive oil contain LCTs.

MCTs, though, can increase the body’s ability to burn calories since they break down easily and are absorbed by the cells rapidly.

As a result MCTs are not stored as fat in the body and are sent quickly from the digestive tract to the liver to turn into energy or ketone bodies.

Belly fat

Visceral fat lies deep in the belly and is wrapped around the organs including the stomach, liver, pancreas, and intestines.

Visceral belly fat is also called “active fat” since this type of fat can build up in the arteries and also lead to dangerous health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer.

This fat is different with the subcutaneous fat that is stored under the skin and you can feel it in different parts of your body, such as the arms and legs.

If the belly is sticking out then it is likely that you have stored visceral fat.

If a man’s waist measures 40 inches or more and if a woman’s waist measures 35 inches or more that indicates an excess of visceral fat and health-related issues.

Making changes to diet and lifestyle towards losing weight can help get rid of this active fat.

The study was published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (Mumme & Stonehouse, 2015).

The hours of fasting suitable for most people who want to lose weight but keep their energy and mood high.

Eating within a ten-hour time frame is feasible for most people and they feel less hungry, more energetic and have a better mood, a study suggests.

Intermittent fasting is an umbrella term for dietary restriction plans that follow different meal timing schedules for a period of time.

In recent years, restricted eating set within a specific time window has become a popular weight loss plan.

Ten-hour window

Researchers from King’s College London, evaluated the health benefits gained from intermittent fasting.

They noticed that most people can adhere to eating meals within a ten-hour window of the day and fasting for the remaining 14 hours.

In that case, if your first meal is at 9 am, your last meal must be by 7 pm, then you avoid eating until the next morning at 9 am.

While some recommend a six-hour eating window for an intermittent fasting regime, this study shows that restrictive eating within a ten-hour time frame offers several health benefits such as reduced hunger, increased energy, and positive mood.

Furthermore, they found that participants who stuck to their eating window consistently benefited more than others who changed their daily eating schedule.

Dr. Sarah Berry, the study’s senior author, said:

“This is the largest study outside of a tightly controlled clinic to show that intermittent fasting can improve your health in a real world setting.

What’s really exciting is that the findings show that you don’t have to be very restrictive to see positive results: a ten-hour eating window, which was manageable for most people, and improved mood, energy levels and hunger.

We found for the first time that those who practiced time-restricted eating, but were not consistent day to day, did not have the same positive health effects as those who were dedicated every day.”

Feeling satiated

For this study, about 38,000 participates were assigned to use the ‘ZOE Health’ app for a period of three weeks.

For the first week, subjects followed their usual diet and then for two weeks they had to eat within a ten-hour window.

The health benefits were also greater for those who had adapted to a longer eating window prior to the study.

Dr Kate Bermingham, study co-author, said:

“This study adds to the growing body of evidence showing the importance of how you eat.

The health impact of food is not just what you eat but the time at which you choose to consume your meals, and eating window is an important dietary behaviour that can be beneficial for health.

Findings shows that we don’t need to be eating all the time.

Many people will feel satiated and even lose weight if they restrict their food to a ten-hour window.”

Related

• Portion control is a better strategy for weight management than intermittent fasting.
• Continuous dieting and intermittent fasting can lead to the same amount of weight loss.
• A 14-day break from dieting helps increase weight loss by 50 percent.
• Pesco-Mediterranean combined with time-restricted eating is ideal for improving heart health.

The study was presented by King’s College London researchers at the European Nutrition Conference in Belgrade, Serbia (Berry et al., 2023).

The vitamin deficiency linked to increased belly fat.

Higher levels of vitamin D are linked to reduced belly fat, research shows.

The conclusions come from a study including thousands of people.

The researchers measured people’s total body fat and abdominal (belly) fat, along with their vitamin D levels.

The results showed that for both men and women vitamin D deficiency was linked to increased belly fat.

However, for women, low vitamin D levels were linked to both increased belly fat and increased total body fat.

For men, though, low vitamin D levels were linked to more belly fat and more liver fat.

More than half of people around the world may be deficient in vitamin D.

Dr Rachida Rafiq, the study’s first author, said:

“Although we did not measure vitamin D deficiency in our study, the strong relationship between increasing amounts of abdominal fat and lower levels of vitamin D suggests that individuals with larger waistlines are at a greater risk of developing deficiency, and should consider having their vitamin D levels checked.”

It is not yet known if low vitamin D levels are causing more fat to be stored or are a result of it.

Dr Rafiq explained:

“Due to the observational nature of this study, we cannot draw a conclusion on the direction or cause of the association between obesity and vitamin D levels.

However, this strong association may point to a possible role for vitamin D in abdominal fat storage and function.”

Vitamin D deficiency has also been linked to cardiovascular diseases, autoimmune diseases and a higher chance of getting colds.

Foods that are rich in vitamin D include oily fish and eggs, but most people get their vitamin D from the action of sunlight on the skin.

That is why levels are typically lower in the body through the winter months in more Northern climes.

The study was published in the journal Clinical Nutrition (Rafiq et al., 2018).

These weight loss drugs have been found to increase the risk of pancreatitis and other serious digestive disorders.

Semaglutide (Wegovy, Ozempic, and Rybelsu) and liraglutide (Victoza and Saxenda) are GLP-1 agonists drugs which have been lauded for their weight loss effect.

However, a study has revealed that these popular antidiabetic drugs increase the risk of severe gastrointestinal disorders.

Semaglutide and liraglutide belong to a class of medications that copy the glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) hormone in order to control blood sugar levels and reduce hunger in people with diabetes.

Despite their anti-obesity effects, increased risk of gastrointestinal problems such as bowel obstruction, stomach paralysis, and pancreatitis is concerning.

Mr Mohit Sodhi, the study’s first author, said:

“Given the wide use of these drugs, these adverse events, although rare, must be considered by patients thinking about using them for weight loss.

The risk calculus will differ depending on whether a patient is using these drugs for diabetes, obesity or just general weight loss. People who are otherwise healthy may be less willing to accept these potentially serious adverse events.”

Unaware of side-effects

GLP-1 drugs are designed to help treat type-2 diabetes, but in the United States there were 40 million prescriptions for weight loss in 2022.

The clinical trials focused only on the drug’s effectiveness for weight loss and so many are not aware of the gastrointestinal side-effects.

Dr. Mahyar Etminan, the study’s senior author, said:

“There have been anecdotal reports of some patients using these drugs for weight loss and then presenting with repeated episodes of nausea and vomiting secondary to a condition referred to as gastroparesis.

But until now, there hasn’t been any data from large epidemiologic studies.”

The study used the records of 16 million American patients, comparing the incidence of gastrointestinal adverse events in liraglutide or semaglutide users with those using bupropion-naltrexone (a weight loss medication sold under brand name Contrave).

The data analyses showed that for the GLP-1 drugs:

• the risk of pancreatitis was 9.09 times higher compared to bupropion-naltrexone,
• the risk of bowel obstruction was 4.22 times higher,
• and the risk of gastroparesis or stomach paralysis was 3.67 times higher.

Severe abdominal pain

Pancreatitis is inflammation of the pancreas followed by severe abdominal pain: sometimes hospital admission and surgery is required.

Bowel obstruction is a disorder in which food can’t pass through the small or large intestine, causing symptoms such as vomiting, nausea, bloating, and cramping.

Gastroparesis, or stomach paralysis, is a disorder in which the movement of food slows down from the stomach to the small intestine causing symptoms such as abdominal pain, vomiting, and nausea.

Despite the rarity of side-effects (since millions are taking the medications), hundreds of thousands of people could still experience these issues.

Mr Sodhi said:

“These drugs are becoming increasingly accessible, and it is concerning that, in some cases, people can simply go online and order these kinds of medications when they may not have a full understanding of what could potentially happen.

This goes directly against the mantra of informed consent.”

Related

• Semaglutide could be an effective weight loss medication.
• Ozempic lowers blood sugar and increases weight loss.
• GLP-1 agonists that treats obesity may also help to destroy cancer cells.

The study was published in Journal of the American Medical Association (Sodhi et al., 2023).

Studies have linked a range of natural supplements to increased weight loss.

A number of different natural supplements have been linked to weight loss by research.

Drinking from two to four cups of green tea per day has been repeatedly linked to weight loss.

Those drinking four cups a day lost 5.5 pounds across eight week in one study.

Adding additional exercise on top may boost weight loss even further.

Green tea may be effective because it helps to regulate glucose levels.

The active ingredient is a type of flavonoid called gallated catechins, also known as EGCG.

However, if you are going to take a green tea supplement then beware of the side-effects, such as liver toxicity.

Dr Josh Lambert, the study’s first author, said:

“No person can sit down and drink 16 cups of green tea all at once.

However if you take a supplement you can get that type of green tea extract dose, so there is some indication that the dosage form has an influence on the potential to cause liver toxicity.”

One way of reducing the chance of liver toxicity from taking too much green tea is to begin drinking green tea weeks before taking the supplement.

The conclusions come from a study that compared two groups of mice.

One group was pretreated with low doses of green tea extract before being given higher doses later on.

The results showed that pretreatment with a lower dose reduced the chance of liver toxicity by 75 percent.

Dr Lambert said:

“We believe this study indicates that those who are chronic green tea consumers would be less sensitive to potential liver toxicity from green-tea-based dietary supplements.

If you are going to take green tea supplements, drinking green tea for several weeks or months ahead of time may reduce your potential side effects.”

A better option, Dr Lambert thinks is to drink green tea instead:

“Drinking green tea rather than taking supplements will allow you to realize the benefits and avoid the risk of liver toxicity.

The beneficial effects that people have reported as being associated with green tea are the result of dietary consumption rather than the use of supplements.

The relative risk of using supplements remains unclear.”

The study was published in the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology (James et al., 2015).

Reducing weight and potentially helping to fight cancer.

Semaglutide (marketed as Wegovy, Rybelsus and Ozempic) is a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist that causes the body to produce more insulin.

The drug has been found to help diabetic patients in losing weight as well as reducing blood sugar levels.

Here are the results of three recent studies showing the potential of this drug.

Click the links in each section to get a fuller description of the study and its results.

1. 20 percent weight loss

A weekly injection of semaglutide, known as Ozempic, can reduce body weight by more than 20 percent, a study has found.

Semaglutide — which is now approved by the US FDA for weight management — is known as an anti-diabetic medication and typically prescribed in 1mg doses.

For this study, participants who were obese or overweight received a higher dose at 2.4 mg alongside a low calorie diet and increased physical activity.

Participants, on average, lost over 15 kg and more than 30 percent of people lost one-fifth of their weight — an equivalent of 20 percent.

2. Destroy cancer cells

Glucagon-like peptide (GLP-1) drugs such as Ozempic are best known for their weight loss effect and their capability of keeping blood sugar levels under control in people with type 2 diabetes.

However, one study has shown that it can produce improvements in the cancer-killing effect of NK cells and this is independent of weight loss so it can be a useful drug for immunotherapy against cancer.

NK cells are part of the immune system with anticancer properties, but obesity reduces their ability of producing cytokines and killing cancer cells.

3. Increase weight loss 75%

A study has compared the effectiveness of the currently approved 14 milligrams (mg) dose in adults with 25 mg, or 50 mg per day for 52 weeks.

The results showed that taking a 25 mg or 50 mg semaglutide tablet once a day is superior to the 14 mg dosage in reducing blood sugar levels and in increasing weight loss.

At the end of study period, participants who were on 50 mg of oral semaglutide had lost 17.5 pounds (8 kg), those on 25 mg had lost 14.8 pounds (6.7 kg), and those on 14 mg had lost 10 pounds (4.5 kg).

.

People in the study lost an average of nine pounds using the diet.

People on an intermittent fasting diet lose more weight than those following the Mediterranean or paleo diets, research finds.

Broadly, there are two types of intermittent fasting.

The first type involves restricting the time of day during which people can eat.

For example, breakfast is taken 90 minutes later than usual and supper 90 minutes earlier, with nothing outside this 6 to 8 hour window.

The other approach involves only eating one meal on two days of the week, then eating normally the rest of the week (sometimes known as the 5:2 diet).

People in the current study lost an average of nine pounds using the intermittent fasting diet, more than double that of the paleo diet.

Those on the Mediterranean diet lost 6 pounds, on average, while those on the paleo diet lost 4 pounds on average.

However, people on the Mediterranean diet, while losing less weight, found it easier to follow and showed improvement in their blood pressure.

The conclusions come from a study that compared the three diets in a ‘real-world’ setting, without support from professionals.

There was evidence that all three diets could be healthy ways to eat.

Dr Melyssa Roy, study co-author, said:

“This work supports the idea that there isn’t a single ‘right’ diet—there are a range of options that may suit different people and be effective. In this study, people were given dietary guidelines at the start and then continued with their diets in the real world while living normally.

About half of the participants were still following their diets after a year and had experienced improvements in markers of health.

Like the Mediterranean diet, intermittent fasting and paleo diets can also be valid healthy eating approaches—the best diet is the one that includes healthy foods and suits the individual.”

The results showed that the Mediterranean diet was the easiest to follow.

Dr Michelle Jospe, the study’s first author, said:

“Our participants could follow the diet’s guidelines more closely than the fasting and paleo diets and were more likely to stay with it after the year, as our retention rates showed.”

The Mediterranean diet typically involves eating more fruits and vegetables, legumes, seeds, olive oil and fish, eggs, chicken and, once a week, red meat.

The paleo diet focuses on less processed foods including fruits and vegetables, animal proteins and extra-virgin olive oil.

The paleo diet prohibits legumes, grains and dairy.

However, people in the study used a modified version of the paleo diet that allows some dairy.

The study was published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Jospe et al., 2019).

Fewer small meals or intermittent fasting, which is more effective for losing weight?

Portion control or simply eating fewer calories appears to be a better strategy for weight management than intermittent fasting.

Eating less frequently and having smaller meals each day will strongly influence weight loss compared to fasting for a certain number of hours a day, a study has found.

Some studies have suggested that time‐restricted eating, also known as intermittent fasting, can boost circadian rhythms and energy metabolism.

However, the current study didn’t find that limiting meals for a specific period of time can helped anybody lose weight in the long run.

The research team examined the relationship between time from first to last meal with weight change.

For this study, 550 obese adults were enrolled, of which 80 percent were white, most participants had a college or higher degree.

The follow-up period was 6 years.

They used a mobile application to report eating, sleeping, and wake up time across 24 hours.

This information allowed the team to calculate the interval from waking to first meal, between meals, and from the last meal to sleep.

Summary of findings

• Meal timing had no effect on weight change over the long-term.
• Total daily number of large meals (more than 1,000 calories) was linked to weight gain over the six-year follow up.
• Total daily number of medium meals (between 500 to 1000 calories) was associated with weight gain over follow‐up time.
• However, fewer small meals (less than 500 calories) was linked to weight loss over the follow-up period.
• The time intervals from being awake to first meal was 1.6 hours, from first to last meal was 11.5 hours, and from last meal to sleep was 4 hours.
• Sleep duration on average made up 7.5 hours of the 24-hour window each day.
• The greatest risk factors for weight change were daily calorie intake and meal frequency rather than meal timing.

Data suggests that nearly 70 percent of Americans are either overweight or obese, a serious risk factor for cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Therefore, improving diet and lifestyle, including eating healthy foods, lower calorie intake, smaller sized meals, more physical activity, less stress, and better sleep can help people to battle obesity.

According to the American Heart Association, irregular eating patterns and changing meal frequency are not favourable for weight control and heart health.

The study was published in the Journal of the American Heart Association (Zhao et al., 2023).

The daily amount of Ozempic that lowers blood sugar and increases weight loss.

People with type 2 prediabetes don’t respond to insulin and as the condition progresses, lowering blood glucose and losing weight becomes difficult.

A healthy diet and exercise could certainly reduce the risk of diabetes but when it comes to medication there are many ups and downs.

Semaglutide (marketed as Wegovy, Rybelsus and Ozempic) is a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist that causes the body to produce more insulin.

The drug has been found to help diabetic patients in losing weight as well as reducing blood sugar levels.

While the drug keeps gaining attention, the effective dosage of oral semaglutide has been challenged.

Semaglutide dosage study

A study compared the effectiveness of the currently approved 14 milligrams (mg) dose in adults with 25 mg, or 50 mg per day for 52 weeks.

The results showed that taking a 25 mg or 50 mg semaglutide tablet once a day is superior to the 14 mg dosage in reducing blood sugar levels and in increasing weight loss.

At the end of study period, participants who were on 50 mg of oral semaglutide had lost 17.5 pounds (8 kg), those on 25 mg had lost 14.8 pounds (6.7 kg), and those on 14 mg had lost 10 pounds (4.5 kg).

Semaglutide suppresses appetite so as the dosage increases there will be less desire for eating which results in losing more weight.

Professor John Buse, the study’s lead author, said:

“Low doses of GLP-1 receptor agonists are really powerful for reducing A1C, or the average glucose in the blood.

Whereas, the higher doses that are really good for weight reduction.

On average, patients lost eight kilograms (17.5 lbs) at 50 milligrams, which is nearly twice as much weight loss that we saw with the lowest dose.”

The common side effects for semaglutide are nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, or constipation which occurred more often with taking daily dosages of 25 mg or 50 mg.

The trial involved more than 1,600 adults with type 2 diabetes who were randomly divided into three groups by the daily dosage of oral semaglutide; 14 mg, 25 mg, and 50 mg.

The haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) test reflects blood glucose levels and the A1c for adults with diabetes is suggested to be below 7 percent.

In this study, participants A1c levels were between 8 to 10.5 percent.

They found that those who received either 25 mg or 50 mg of oral semaglutide were more likely to reach the goal (A1c level of below 7 percent).

Related

• Weekly injections of semaglutide reduces body weight by more than 20 percent.
• Injection of 2.4 mg of semaglutide with a low-calorie diet can lead to a weight loss of 37 lb.
• Glucagon-like peptide (GLP-1) drugs treat obesity and may help to destroy cancer cells.

The study was published in the The Lancet (Aroda et al., 2023).