Besides ephedra and other thermogenic agents, is there any natural food you can take to promote fat loss?

The inclusion of foods or the replacement of habitual foods with others that may enhance energy expenditure (EE) or improve satiety may be a practical way to maintain a stable body weight or assist in achieving weight loss; such foods may act as functional foods in body weight control.

The following are a summary from a few recent studies published in various respectable sports and nutrition journals, of functional food that have positive effects on EE and appetite.

1. Polyunsaturated fatty acid

Not all dietary fats are bad. The Mediterranean diet – high in olive oil, lean meats, fish, wine, fruits and vegetables – is gaining wide acceptance as a heart-healthy diet that helps people lose weight. Japanese researchers from Kagawa University found that rats fed a diet high in beef tallow (saturated fats) gained more abdominal fat than rats fed safflower or soybean oil (polyunsaturated fats) diet. The greater body fat accumulation in rats fed the beef tallow diet results from lower expression of UCP1 mRNA (uncoupling proteins) and lower UCP content in brown adipose tissue. These UCP proteins promote heat loss instead of storing energy as fat. The beef fat diet suppressed these heat-generating UCPs and promoted fat storage.

In summary, polyunsaturated fatty acids (vegetable fats) may be the most effective fatty acids in promoting loss of energy as heat.

2. Nuts

Several studies have shown that nuts —whether almonds, walnuts, pecans, pistachios, or peanuts—improve plasma lipid profiles and can have a beneficial effect on cardiovascular disease risk.

Researchers from Loma Linda University in California, studied the effect of an almond-enriched (high monounsaturated fat, MUFA) versus complex carbohydrate-enriched (high carbohydrate) formula-based low-calorie diet (LCD) on anthropometric, body composition and metabolic parameters in a weight reduction program. Over a 24-week period, they compared a formula-based LCD enriched with 84 g~/day of almonds or self-selected complex carbohydrates (CHO-LCD; 18% total fat, 5% MUFA and 53% carbohydrate as percent of dietary energy) featuring equivalent calories and protein. They found that an almond-enriched LCD improves a preponderance of the abnormalities associated with the metabolic syndrome. LCD supplementation with almonds, in contrast to complex carbohydrates, was associated with greater reductions in weight, ~BMI, waist circumference, fat mass, total body water and systolic blood pressure. High-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) increased in the CHO-LCD group and decreased in the almond-LCD group. Glucose, insulin, diastolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and LDL-C to HDL-C ratio decreased significantly to a similar extent in both dietary interventions. Homeostasis model analysis of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) decreased in both study groups over time. Among subjects with type 1 diabetes, diabetes medication reductions were sustained or further reduced in a greater proportion of almond-LCD as compared to CHO-LCD subjects (96 vs 50%, respectively). This study showed that both dietary interventions were effective in decreasing body weight beyond the weight loss observed during long-term pharmacological interventions; however, the almond-LCD group experienced a sustained and greater weight reduction for the duration of the 24-week intervention.