Activated charcoal is thought to act as a 'detox' Are you the first to jump on the latest food fad bandwagon? Do you regularly 'detox' with a green tea or a wheatgrass juice? Or pack your diet full of flax seeds and acai berry - all in the hope of improving your cholesterol, preventing cancer and promoting weight loss? Every day across the world scientists publish countless studies into the health benefits of various foods. For example, acai berries have been linked to weight loss and cancer prevention, flax seeds are thought to help lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart disease, while coconut oil has been hailed as a weight loss aid. More recently charcoal, freekah, spiralizing and bone broth have emerged as the latest craze in healthy eating. Each comes with its own promise, with claims of 'melting away fat cells', 'supercharging the metabolism', and 'regenerating and revitalising'. But what is the truth? I am often asked in clinic about fad diets and products by patients, desperate to find a quick way to shift the pounds. Some of these fads are clearly bonkers, with no scientific evidence to back them up. Others have some basis in common-sense and may be worth including in the healthy, balanced, real-food appproach to eating that is the only way to succeed in the long term. I asked Sophie Claessens, our Vavista dietitian, to pick the 'miracle' foods from the fads... ACTIVATED CHARCOAL . Due to its use by medical professionals in the effective treatment of toxic poisoning, some believe that taking active charcoal, often in the form of a capsule can ‘detox’ the body. However it’s not as easy as that; the charcoal will only remove certain poisons and only if they have recently been ingested and are therefore not yet absorbed. Is it worth trying? No. Firstly, ‘detoxing’ is a word my colleagues and I don’t agree with. We should be aiming for an everything in moderation approach rather than a ‘binge-detox’ cycle. Secondly, activated charcoal has only been shown to be effective for acute poisoning such as certain drug-overdoses, not an accumulation of toxins over time. And what are these accumulated ‘toxins’? Calories? Fat? Carbohydrates? As far as we’re concerned, all of these contribute to a healthy balanced diet - just don’t overdo them. The spiraliser gadget turns various vegetables into spaghetti, helping to boost weight loss . SPIRALIZING . This new gadget is getting everyone in a spin. Take vegetables such as courgettes and carrots and turn them into low-carbohydrate 'spaghetti' in just a few seconds. Great to up your veg intake, increase your fibre intake and reduce your calorie intake, but is it really a healthy addition to the kitchen? Is it a healthy craze? Well, yes and no. We should all be aiming to get as much veg into our diet as possible as it provides us with a low calorie source of fibre, vitamins and minerals. But be careful not to use the spiraliser vegetables as a replacement for complex starchy carbohydrates like pasta, which are required for energy and other important nutrients. If you’re topping your spaghetti dish with spiralised veg or they’re accompanying a meat and potato dish then go for it, have as much as you like. But using the spiraliser to replace carbohydrates in your diet can lead to tiredness, fluctuating weight patterns and poor concentration. FREEKAH . Quinoa is so last year… this new grain on the block is what everyone’s talking about now. Freekeh is a young green wheat which is roasted to remove the husks, giving a smoky, nutty flavour which is popular in the Middle East. Should I give it a go? Yes. It’s easy to cook and can be added to salads, soups and rice dishes easily and deliciously. It’s a low glycaemic index type of carbohydrate with four times the fibre count of quinoa, so will help to keep you fuller for longer and is good for heart health. It also boasts plenty of vitamins such as calcium and iron. The only downside is that it’s pretty expensive. FERMENTED FOODS . How many times have you heard about ‘good bacteria’ and wondered what it’s all about? You may also have heard about pre and probiotics. It’s all based on the principle that our bodies are absolutely filled with bacteria, most of which are good; in fact we wouldn’t be able to survive without them. Fermented foods, including pickled cabbage, act as a probiotic - encouraging the growth of 'good' bacteria . So it seems right that we should treat them right by adding pre-biotics to our diet to encourage growth of the good bacteria and maybe try a daily probiotic which contain cultures of good bacteria to add to our gut population. Fermented foods such as yoghurt, cheese and Asian pickled ingredients such as Kimchi (pickled cabbage) are an example of probiotics. Are they good for me? Yes. There’s more and more evidence to suggest that having a healthy population of bacteria is important for eveything from a smooth digestion process to preventing side-effects of antibiotic medication. Taking a daily probiotic is also fairly easy in the form of a probiotic yoghurt or yoghurt drink. SPROUTED FOODS . It's now being claimed that the intake of sprouted wholegrains can have health benefits over and above those delivered with your plain old standard wholegrains such as rice, wheat and oats. The theory goes that we harvest our grains prematurely, not allowing them to sprout, like an onion would if left. Bone broth has a much lower salt content than shop bought soups, helping lower blood pressure . When sprouted, we are able to digest the grains more readily and absorb more nutrients such as protein, B vitamins and minerals such as iron and calcium. There’s lots of evidence emerging of their impact on health such as decreasing blood pressure and fighting diabetes. Should I invest at the supermarket? Maybe. They may provide you with lots of vitamins and minerals which you wouldn’t naturally yield from the standard grain, but they’re a fairly expensive product. You can also find these vitamins and minerals from a varied diet containing plenty of fruit, veg, calcium-rich dairy products (or alternatives), wholegrains and meat, fish or alternatives. BONE BROTH . This has recently made famous by the health-conscious chefs the Hemsley sisters. In fact, it’s been around for centuries and has always been used as stock, as a base in soups and saucy dishes. It’s also well-known for its health benefits, with the bone-boiling process leaching out amino acids, collagen - for skin and bone health - and other important vitamins and minerals. Adding onions or leeks, carrots and celery, and any other old veg that you have lying around, will add antioxidants along with flavour. Shall I join the club? Yes . Your mother, grandmother and great-grandmothers have probably been using this recipe for hundreds of years. Traditionally it is used to add flavour to dishes but it’s also a great way to add nutrients without much effort. Plus it has a much lower salt content than using shop-bought stocks, so is much better for your blood pressure. ...BUT NOW A WORD OF WARNING . Food fads are named such usually because they’re an unsustainable fashion trend. Some can even be dangerous. Have a think to yourself when you hear of the new craze; are you being advised to ingest something which sounds inedible? Would I find it hard to keep the changes up long-term? If so, they’re probably not a sensible idea. Another point to remember is that just because they’re being sold in a health food or wholefoods shop, it doesn’t mean they’re ‘healthy’. You can still buy chocolate from these shops. Sorry to burst your bubble, but just because you buy it from a health food shop, it doesn’t magically become healthy. We would suggest that you do your research before rushing into anything. To find out more visit www.vavista.com .
Dietitian Sophie Claessens picks the latest 'miracle' foods from fads . Charcoal to 'detox', while freekah is new supergrain on the culinary scene . Fermented foods like pickled cabbage act like a probiotic yoghurt . And spiralizers to create vegetable spaghetti can help boost weight loss .