by
Susan Rutter: Author,
publisher, nutritionist, instructor Email: healthy.youbbies@3web.net
Feb 2003
Herbal Weight
Loss -- The Skinny on Diet Herbs
Thousands of herbs are available worldwide for a dizzying array of
diseases and disorders. And consumers are sold on them: A recent survey
found that one in three people spends an average of $54. a year on
herbal remedies.
Without question, herbs do work wonders in treating many illnesses and
improving health. But herbal medicine has a far less effective track
record when it comes to weight control. Only one herb -- ephedra --is
believed to directly promote fat-burning, but it's dangerous side
effects make it unsafe and unwise to use.
There is one particular aspect of your weight you can control to some
extent by supplementing with herbs, and that is water weight. Let's say
you weigh 150 pounds. About ninety of those pounds are water; thirty are
fat.
The rest is lean tissue -- muscles, organs, and bones. So normally, most
of your body weight is water. Sometimes you may retain water. You look
and feel fat, even though you may have lost a significant amount of body
fat. Some days, you can't even fit into clothes you wore the week
before!
Puffiness does masquerade as pudge. Disheartening and uncomfortable,
periodic bouts of water retention, medically known as edema, may be the
result of any number of factors: excess sodium in the diet, food
allergies, premenstrual changes, hormone imbalances, a hot climate, and
kidney or heart disease. If you're chronically plagued by edema, have it
checked out by your doctor.
You can lose some of that fluid by taking a prescription "water
pill" (diuretic) or by forcing yourself to sweat in a sauna or
steam bath. Neither is a good idea, though,
because they can lead to life- threatening dehydration and mineral
imbalances.
Some herbs, however, may offer a gentler solution. Most of the herbs
promoted for weight loss are diuretics -- agents that cause the kidneys
to draw extra water from the blood into the urine and stimulate the
excretion of water. This action promotes temporary water loss. There's
certainly nothing wrong with regulating water weight by using herbs, as
long as you use them on a short-term basis and with the full
knowledge of your physician. In most cases, herbal diuretics are safer
than their prescription counterparts. But long-term use of either can
flush vital nutrients from
the body and cause irreparable harm.
Other weight-loss herbs are really nothing more than laxatives, which
also force water from the body. It's much healthier to follow a
high-fiber diet and drink plenty of pure water daily than to rely on
laxatives for elimination. Prolonged use of laxatives and diuretics,
even natural ones, can lead to dependence and serious health problems.
Susan Rutter: author, publisher, nutritionist, instructor
Assists patients and the public make healthy choices and changes
in their lives.
