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Obesity / Weight Loss Story

Asian Seaweed Diet

We’re going to let you in on a new kind of diet very few here in the states know about, but it’s all the rage in Asia. And it’s cheap and easy to try. We’re only in the second week of the New Year, and already, folks are getting a little disgruntled with their resolution to lose weight. “Very hard… I have been doing it my whole life, and the older you get the harder it gets, losing it is impossible,” says frustrated Harriet Ellmer.

Seaweed, very popular in Asia, is cheap and nutritious. And most important, it has no calories, and lots and lots of fiber. A seaweed diet could be just the thing for dieters. . "Very hard I have been doing it my whole life, and the older you get the harder it gets, losing it is impossible," says frustrated Harriet Ellmer about dieting. But has she tried kanten? It’s essentially, dried seaweed, and in its raw form, looks like white straw.

In Japan, this is the diet du jour, .much like Atkins and Zone have had their day here. Kanten is also known as agar, and yes, it’s the same stuff that’s on the bottom of Petri dishes. But no, you don’t have to eat out of the Petri dish. Kanten comes in a variety of forms, even powdered form. It has no calories, and lots and lots of fiber. It works by expanding in the stomach, tripling in size and absorbing liquid--making you feel full—which means hopefully, you eat less.

And a recent study in the journal diabetes, obesity and metabolism showed a true weight loss benefit. Registered dietician MaryBeth Augustine of Continuum Health Partners says, "People ate many fewer calories. They ate 325 fewer calories at their evening meal and over time that will contribute to a significant weight loss. But it will also decrease the absorption of available calories." It’s used in a variety of Japanese foods and especially Southeast Asian desserts.

Chef Patricia Yeo of Sapa restaurant in New York uses it to make flavored gelatin with which she decorates her dishes. "In its original state it has no flavor at all. We flavored it with fruit and juice. So basically you can make this taste however you want it to taste, like chocolate," says Patricia. But for weight loss, Japanese researchers recommend dieters take about seven ounces of kanten mixed with juice before eating.

The key is to take in enough liquid along with the kanten. Kanten is also rich in calcium and iron, and it’s believed to help those with irritable bowel, perhaps because of the fiber content. It’s no diet pill or magic supplement; it’s just another example of how eating right can have numerous benefits. "Kanten has been used for thousands of years as a part of the Asian diet and I think it would be a great addition to the typical American diet," says MaryBeth.

 "And if all else fails it’s a good packing material," adds Patricia. It should be mentioned that nothing in a diet, no pill, no food will alone help you lose weight. You need to eat a reduced calorie but well balanced diet and you must get into an exercise program to have lasting success. But kanten might be something that can help push things along.

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