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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – As a registered dietitian I firmly believe that calorie control and exercise are the cornerstones of any weight loss program. I also understand how hard it is to lose weight and I have watched people struggle with their weight issues. Gimmicks, books and unending weight loss programs abound. Sometimes people need a little Tinkerbell dust or simple intervention to get their weight loss program off the ground once and for all. There are two new products on the market that might offer help.
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MealEnders (www.mealenders.com) are 15 calorie, signaling lozenges that are based on a behavioral approach to help a person stop eating and avoid overeating. How does it work? The lozenges come in 4 flavors – Citrus, Chocolate Mint, Cinnamon, and Mocha. They are about the size of an M&M Peanut. The outer coating is sweet, but the inner nugget has a cooling/tingling flavor more like a breath mint. Users are told to take a MealEnders lozenge and let is dissolve in their mouth rather than chew or bite it. The first sensation is sweet, which is reminiscent of dessert and an expected end-of-meal taste. The second sensation is a tingling flavor which remains in the mouth much longer and helps a dieter stop the habit of overeating. That taste works as a reminder that the meal is over and it stays in the mouth long enough for the brain to get the natural signal from the body that it has been fed.
In theory this approach could work. It engages the person with a habit that signals the end of a meal or snack in addition to providing a taste sensation that is different from the food just eaten. A good deal of research has been done on the sensory perception of food (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14513063) and how taste drives us to eat more or less. Registered dietitians often use behavior change strategies to help people move away from poor eating habits.
Bottom line: MealEnders are low in calories and contain no drugs or stimulants. They simply offer a flavor combination, that when used regularly, could help a person relearn the feeling of satisfaction after eating and may help curtail overeating.
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NightFood bars (www.nightfood.com) were designed as a better-for-you nighttime snack. It is true that time of day, degree of fatigue, lack of sleep, or boredom, all influence what we might eat after dinner and before bed. An industry survey found that in 2013, 69% of adults classified themselves as nighttime snackers and 18-34 year olds were the heaviest regular snackers. Salty snacks, ice cream, chocolate candy, cookies and snack nuts were the most common foods eaten.
NightFood, would like to redirect snackers to choose their snack bar. Each 1.4-ounce bar has 140 calories and is available in Midnight Chocolate Crunch or Cookies n’ Dreams flavors. The bars are reasonably low in fat, sugar and sodium, but with 25 grams of carb per bar they might not be a good choice as an evening snack for someone with diabetes. Each bar contains 500 milligrams of Chocamine.
Chocamine is a cocoa extract added to health products to provide the taste and smell of chocolate without the sugar, fat and dairy found in traditional cocoa. It also contains theobromine, a stimulant similar to caffeine but milder. It does not promote caffeine jitters and has less effect on sleep.
Bottom line: NightFood bars could be used as an evening snack. They are chewy, with 5 to 6 grams of fiber per bar, which will help to offer a feeling of fullness. They are moderately sweet. The stimulant included, Chocamine, should not bother those sensitive to caffeine. Question is – would you be satisfied eating the same snack every night?
© NRH Nutrition Consultants, Inc.
Jo-Ann Heslin, MA, RD, CDN is a registered dietitian and the author of the nutrition counter series for Pocket Books with sales of more than 8.5 million books.
Look for:
The Diabetes Counter, 5th Ed., 2014
The Fat and Cholesterol Counter, 2014
The Most Complete Food Counter, 3rd ed., 2013
The Calorie Counter, 6th Ed., 2013
The Complete Food Counter, 4th ed., 2012
The Protein Counter, 3rd Ed., 2011
The Ultimate Carbohydrate Counter, 3rd Ed., 2010
The Healthy Wholefoods Counter, 2008
Your Complete Food Counter App: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/your-complete-food-counter/id444558777?mt=8
For more information on Jo-Ann and her books, go to: www.TheNutritionExperts.com.
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