Makan Apel Bikin Bobot Cepat Turun?

Meskipun punya berbagai manfaat kesehatan, apel tidak memiliki kemampuan meningkatkan metabolisme yang hebat. 

Kelly Osbourne, putri rocker gaek Ozzy Osbourne, baru-baru ini tampil dengan tubuh yang jauh lebih langsing. Ia sempat mengatakan, rahasia langsingnya adalah dengan memakan sebutir apel sebelum tidur karena hal itu membantu metabolismenya tetap bekerja. Hal ini tampaknya sesuai dengan pepatah, ”An apple a day may keep the doctor away”. Namun, benarkah tips yang dikatakan Kelly?

Ngemil sebutir apel, menurut Amanda Ursell–ahli nutrisi yang juga kolumnis di majalah Wellbeing–sebenarnya akan membuat Anda terjaga karena gangguan pencernaan. Apel mengandung serat yang dapat larut dalam air (disebut pectin) dan gula alami pada buah yang membuatnya cukup mengenyangkan. Gula alami ini meningkatkan gula darah secara perlahan dan mengandung kalori yang rendah apabila dibandingkan dengan biskuit.

Anda mungkin pernah mendengar, kalori yang dikonsumsi larut malam lebih mengandung lemak daripada yang dikonsumsi lebih awal. Namun, kebanyakan peneliti bersikukuh bahwa jumlah kalori total yang dikonsumsi selama 24 jam yang membuatnya berlemak, bukan ketika makanan tersebut dimakan.

Sebuah studi kecil-kecilan belakangan menunjukkan bahwa teori ini cukup valid dengan mengatakan bahwa mengudap sebutir apel lebih baik daripada mengudap makanan berlemak lainnya. Bahkan, andaikan total kalori Anda masih di bawah kontrol.

Apabila Anda ingin makan apel seperti tips Kelly, hal ini tidak membuat perbedaan apa pun. Karena sebenarnya, jam berapa pun Anda ingin ngemil apel, buah apel ini memberikan banyak manfaat bagi kesehatan. Contohnya, quercetin, nutrisi super yang disebut-sebut mampu memerangi virus. Kemudian juga asam glukarik D, yang mampu mengurangi kolesterol jahat. Namun, apel tidak memiliki kemampuan meningkatkan metabolisme yang hebat.

Amanda menambahkan, menurut penelitian, kalau ada makanan yang benar-benar memiliki pengaruh untuk meningkatkan metabolisme, itu adalah saus sambal dan mustar. Keduanya membantu mempercepat proses pembakaran kalori.

Ilmuwan di Oxford Brookes University menunjukkan bahwa tingkat metabolisme meningkat 15 persen dalam dua jam setelah mengonsumsi bumbu pedas ini. Sedangkan minum 6 cangkir teh hijau setiap hari terbukti membantu membakar 100 kalori setiap hari.

Nah, Anda tak perlu percaya begitu saja dengan tips dari Kelly. Dengan uang yang dimilikinya, bisa jadi ia juga mempekerjakan personal trainer dan ahli gizi untuk menurunkan berat badannya secara signifikan.

sumber: KOMPAS.com

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The truth about the apple diet

Kelly Osbourne’s weight loss is due more to dieting and regular exercise than eating fruit at night

Amanda Ursell

Q. I’ve heard that Kelly Osbourne, who has lost more than three stone, eats an apple before going to bed because it helps to keep her metabolism going. Does this really work? I thought eating late at night made you gain weight.

A. An apple a day may keep the doctor away, but I should have thought that an apple before bed, if nothing else, is likely to keep you awake with indigestion.

That said, if you can stomach one late at night, the fact that apples contain soluble fibre, called pectin, and fruit sugar does make them quite a satisfying snack because these give a slow, gentle rise in blood sugar. And, of course, they are certainly a lower calorie choice than biscuits.

There has long been a suggestion that calories eaten late in the evening are somehow more “fattening” than those consumed earlier, yet most scientists maintain that it is the total calories eaten over 24 hours that count, not when they are eaten.

Now a small study has shown that the theory may have some validity after all, which makes eating an apple a better choice than more “fattening” options, even if your overall calories are under control.

In a six-week study on 12 mice, which were all given the same calories as part of a high-fat diet, those that ate during the day gained 5lb compared with 10lb for those who fed at night.

A bedtime apple is unlikely to make any difference either way, but whatever time of day you eat them, apples are a “super fruit” giving us more than 150 plant compounds, many with potential health benefits.

They provide, for example, quercetin, the super-nutrient linked with having virus-fighting capabilities, plus D-glucaric acid, which reduces bad cholesterol. They do not, however, have any miraculous metabolism-boosting properties.

When it comes to foods that really do have such an effect, there is some research to suggest that chilli sauces and mustard may help to gradually raise the speed at which we burn calories.

In a study at Oxford Brookes University, scientists showed that metabolism rates increased by 15 per cent for a couple of hours after eating these condiments, while drinking six cups of green tea a day has, in small trials, seemed to help to burn off an extra 100 calories daily.

If you look behind the headlines, when it comes to the nitty gritty about Kelly Osbourne’s dramatic weight loss in the past few months, it is ultimately down to a continued and significant reduction in calories and the regular exercise she now takes after appearing last year in the American equivalent to Strictly Come Dancing.

Her late-night apple-eating is a distraction from the incontrovertible fact that to drop pounds, let alone stones, you have to significantly alter what you eat and what you do, day in, day out and maintain these changes if you want to keep the weight off.

source: Times Online

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'I eat half an apple before bedtime': Kelly Osbourne reveals the secrets to her incredible weight loss

She once claimed that she never wanted to be skinny.

But Kelly Osbourne seems to have had a change of heart after losing three stone. And she says the secret behind her transformation has been to nibble on half an apple shortly before bed.

The 25-year-old daughter of Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne has waged a long, public battle with her weight.

Body makeover: Kelly Osbourne (left last night and right, in 2007) says nibbling on an apple before bedtime has helped her lose weight

Now the former 'wild child' is slimmer than ever after overhauling her lifestyle and her dramatic weight loss has been the talk of New York Fashion Week.

Miss Osbourne lost almost two stone during her appearance last year on Dancing With The Stars, the U.S. version of Strictly Come Dancing.

She said she had expected to put the weight back on after the competition ended, but she has in fact continued to shrink.

'I've completely changed the way I eat since doing Dancing With The Stars,' she told U.S. magazine Life & Style.

Toast of the town: The blonde wowed the New York Fashion Week crowd with her new knock-out figure

'A trick I've learned is to eat just a little bit of something that has no carbs and no sugar in it before you go to sleep because it keeps your metabolism going. ‘

'They say you should never eat before you go to bed, but I've found just having a tiny little snack  -  like half an apple or something like that  -  before you go to sleep really helps.'

Miss Osbourne, who was once a size 14 and weighed 11.5 stone at her heaviest, has kept up her dancing since coming third on the programme and is now also a devotee of Pilates.

'Pilates is amazing, my posture is so much better and I'm even starting to get muscles on my tummy  -  it's incredible,' she has said.

source: Mail Online