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target=_blank>Milk: The Weight Loss Drug

Title

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Milk: The Weight Loss Drug

Lose Weight - Grab A Glass

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In childhood, we heard it: Drink a glass of milk at every
meal. Now TV commercials are touting the weight-loss effects
of milk and other dairy products. Can dairy actually keep
weight under control? How is that even possible?

Michael Zemel, PhD, director of the Nutrition Institute at
the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, has published
numerous papers on this subject. He outlines his latest
research in the January 2003 Journal of Nutrition, mouse
studies showing the role of calcium in weight gain and fat
storage.

Too many people drop dairy from their diets when they try to
lose weight, he says. "They're shooting themselves in the
foot when they do that. Dairy products contain literally
hundreds of compounds that all have a positive effect on
human health and enhance the fat-burning machinery," he
explains.

Milk The Why & How

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"When we cut dairy products, we send the body a signal, to
make more fat," says Zemel. "When your body is deprived of
calcium, it begins conserving calcium. That mechanism
prompts your body to produce higher levels of a hormone
called calcitriol, and that triggers an increased production
of fat cells."

High levels of calcitriol "tell" fat cells to store
themselves in the body, he says. This increase in calcitriol
also "tells" fat cells to expand, he says. "So you're
getting bigger, fatter fat cells. And a lot of big, fat
cells makes for a big, fat person."

Extra calcium in your diet suppresses this hormone, he says.
Your body breaks down more fat, and fat cells become leaner,
trimmer. A high-dairy diet can boost weight loss by about
70%.

But wait, there's more. "It turns out that milk, cheese, and
yogurt are much more effective than calcium supplements or
calcium-fortified foods," Zemel says. Why? Dairy products
are a complex collection of compounds. Like phytochemicals
found in fruits and vegetables, there's more than vitamins
and minerals in dairy products. "They are not classically
nutrients, but are recognized as having beneficial effects."


Fat Calories Still Count, But Calcium Will Change Your Body
Composition

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Dairy isn't a weight-loss miracle, says Zemel. Calories
still count. But even if you don't restrict calories, taking
in more calcium will change your body composition. You're
shifting calories from fat to lean body mass. "On the
scales, you may not see a change. But we've seen a loss of
body fat," he says.

"We need to think of milk as more than a calcium-delivery
vehicle," he says. "It's more than just calcium. It's
high-quality protein, a collection of amino acids that
provides positive effects on skeleton, muscle, and fat."

Zemel's research holds water, says Lara Hassan, MS, a
nutritionist with the Cooper Clinic in Dallas. Indeed,
"studies are showing that high calcium increases fat
oxidation or fat burning, and that results in greater fat
loss, and weight loss if it's a reduced-calorie diet.".

She cites one study in which obese men consumed two cups of
low-fat yogurt a day, and made no other changes in their
diet. They lost an average of 11 pounds over the course of a
year.

Water Heavy Foods Tell Your Brain You're Full

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Tomato juice, tomato soup, vegetable soup, water-heavy foods
like these seem to trigger receptor