Mango: weight loss wonder fruit?

[johnnymk]

http://www.watoday.com.au/lifestyle/...0324-9821.html

An extract derived from a West African fruit may help overweight people shed pounds and lower their cholesterol, a new study suggests.

The extract comes from Irvingia gabonensis, also known as African mango, a fruit commonly eaten in West Africa. Lab research has shown that extracts from the plant's seed may inhibit body fat production, through effects on certain genes and enzymes that regulate metabolism.

For the current study, researchers at the University of Yaounde in Cameroon randomly assigned 102 overweight adults to take either the plant extract or a placebo twice a day for 10 weeks. The study participants did not follow any special diet and were told to maintain their normal exercise levels.

By the end of the study, the extract group had lost a significant amount of weight - an average of roughly 12.5 kilograms - while the placebo group showed almost no change.

At the same time, they showed declines in "bad" LDL cholesterol and blood sugar levels.

Dr. Julius E. Oben and his colleagues report the findings in the online journal Lipids in Health and Disease. The Fairfield, California-based Gateway Health Alliances, Inc. supplied the Irvingia gabonensis extract and partially funded the research.

The study is the first well-controlled clinical trial of the extract's effectiveness as a weight-loss aid, the researchers note. But the findings, they write, suggest that Irvingia gabonensis could offer a "useful tool" for battling the growing worldwide problem of obesity and its related ills.

A few patients on the extract reported side effects, including headaches, sleep problems and gas, but the rates were similar in the placebo group.

The findings, Oben's team concludes, should "provide impetus for much larger clinical studies."

Reuters

[smeakim]

Tip to Lose Weight..... Eat less move more.... Pretty simple and no need for all the diet products and wasted money in fact you might even save money....

[InfiniteNothing]

While that's absolutely true it glosses over the critical component of human imperfection. Like abstinence only education, it ultimately doesn't work that well. In the real world that method usually results in cyclic weight loss and weight gain.

Unless your goal is to just sit there on a high horse, any real advice to an overweight person must factor in satiety

[cheapie]

we are the fattest nation on earth and i'm guessing have the largest number of diet pills, dvds, tv shows, food offerings, etc. by a factor of 10!

unless people are willing to make the effort to follow smeakin's advice, they're going to stay fat.

[smeakim]

People like to make excuses as to why they are obease. I am 5'9and about 1.5 years ago weighed 230. I am now 176 and trying to get to 165 maybe 159 depending how I feel at that point. All I did was change my diet and exercise more. I picked up cycling and go to the gym 6-7 days a week. I get up at 4:30 in the AM to go to the gym or ride my bike to work. I work 7-4 everyday and then go home to my wife and little boy.

Its a personal decision and what it all comes down to is you have to burn more than you consume. I track every calorie within 1% of my daily total (2100 max calories) every day. I wear a heart rate monitor to track how many calories I burn. I take a little whey protein every now and then but other than that I eat normal food and dont supplemnet much at this point other than a daily vitamin when I remember.

At a certain point you may need surgery but if you can walk then you can exercise and dont need all this fad crap. All these diets, program like Jenny Craig, and home fitness equipment is pretty much a waste. You cant take a pill and expect to lose weight without exercise. Jenny Craig and similar programs limit your daily calories. You can do the same at home without any expense www.fitday.com. Home fitness eqipment is pretty much a waste for most people becuase it has been shown that people have more of a tendancy to just call it quits or not use the stuff at home. When you go to the gym or get outside you are more likely to do more and for longer becuase you are already there and made the effort to go. Almost anyone who says they cant is just coming up with an excuse as most people are not to the point where they are bed ridden. Again there are certain circumstances where exercise is not possible so eat a mango and go get bypass surgery but they got that way becuase they fed their face too much crap and made excuses.

JMHO

[zippyjuan]

Any of the diet fads have only short term effects. You still need to learn how to eat better and move around more for any meaningful long- term benefits. There is no "miracle food". A lot of initial weight loss is water loss. The effect of the mango in this case may be by adding more fiber to the diet which can slow the absorbtion of fats and sugars.

[InfiniteNothing]

I guess we should just tell smokers that smoking is bad for them and hope they quit

Everyone already knows calories make you fat and exercise helps. Everyone already knows cigarettes are bad for them. Shaming people by telling them it's their own fault is no more helpful than whatever pineapple juice fad diet is out there.

[Jeffbx]

(lotsa stuff)

Totally agree. All it takes is willpower, but some people just don't have it so they look for the easy out. No, you don't need any equipment, and yes there's plenty of time in the day to exercise. I get up at 5 every other day so working out doesn't get in the way of my normal routine. I have 3 kids in multiple activities & a 50 hour a week job, but I still manage to squeeze in my workouts.

And OMG no, it's NOT easy. It took me years to get to the level of activity I'm at today, and believe me, I skipped a lot of workouts that I shouldn't have on the way here. But I'm in better shape than I've ever been, I very rarely get sick (I can count on one hand the number of sick days I've taken in the last 8 years). I eat whatever I want & never feel guilty about any of it. I could do better - I should probably cut out more of the fat in my diet, but I loves me some pepperoni pizza!

So I don't say that to elevate myself, but to encourage - it IS hard, it DOES take a lot of work, but ANYONE can do it. Don't think you're healthy enough to exercise? Go see your doctor.

[mojo]

i dunno...sometimes factors are against you. sometimes it's your metabolism, or a prescribed medicine that makes it that much harder than the next person. or downright impossible.

[ArkiStan]

Everyone already knows cigarettes are bad for them. Shaming people by telling them it's their own fault is no more helpful than whatever pineapple juice fad diet is out there.

that's the whole point of shaming. it's not about helping them. it's just a great excuse to make people feel bad about themselves.

[ramazank2]

Are they talking about mango or mangosteen?