I watched the first part of tonight's "The Diets That Time Forgot". - What nonsense the programme is!

I couldn't bear to watch more than the first part of the programme - about a quarter of an hour, I suppose. - What nonsense! - What a lousy programme!

Some of the 9 volunteers are trying to lose weight by eating mostly meat. Some are eating what they like but chewing each mouthful 32 times. And some are eating a calorie-controlled diet.

Well a diet that is mostly meat is clearly not a healthy diet. Our bodies do best on a varied food intake, not just animal protein, and including plenty of fruit and vegetables.

And chewing each mouthful 32 times is plain silly.

And there is a wealth of evidence that reducing/restricting/counting calories does not in itself produce weight loss in overweight people. - In fact, weight gain is far more common than weight loss on a calorie reduction diet. Hunger does not make fat people slimmer; it makes them tired, cold and miserable.

The only way that fat people can safely reduce their weight by what they eat, is by eating less salt/sodium and/or more potassium. This reduces fluid retention, the cause of obesity, and to some extent reduces fat retention. - That means in practice, avoiding salt and salty food and making sure you eat plenty of fruit and vegetables. Additionally, if fat retention still is a problem, then extra dairy calcium will help to remove this in the faeces and so further weight is lost.

If the volunteers on this silly programme do lose any weight then it will be because they have eaten less salt and/or more fruit and vegetables and/or more dairy calcium.

It's a shame and a pity that neither ITV nor the BBC ever have a programme with TYPICAL overweight subjects trying to lose weight. - These will be people who keep their appetite in check, keep their calories down, often go hungry and try to take exercise even though they are tired.

Ideally, they would be instructed NOT to go hungry and encouraged to eat far more calories than they have been eating - even TWICE AS MANY - BUT NOT TO EAT ANY SALT OR ANY FOOD THAT HAS HAD SALT ADDED TO IT. AND TO EAT PLENTY OF FRUIT AND UNSALTED VEGETABLES AND PLENTY OF FULL CREAM MILK AND DAIRY YOGURT.

And no diet junk AT ALL, and as far as possible, no weird food additives - just fresh food, not processed stuff.

THEY WOULD LOSE WEIGHT FAST AND SAFELY.

DIETING IS NOT THE WAY TO SLIMNESS OR TO HEALTH.

Obesity is caused by fluid retention, not by gluttony, and is reduced not by dieting and exercise, but by eating less salt.

Lose weight, reduce your risk of most cancers, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, stroke, heart disease, vascular dementia, osteopenia, osteoporosis, hypercholesterolaemia, depression, liver and kidney problems, and improve your health in many other ways without drugs or expense by eating less salt! - Try it! - You will feel so much better!

See my website http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/.html (The site does not sell anything and has no banners or sponsors or adverts - just helpful information.)

Read my Mensa article on Obesity and the Salt Connection

vulnerable groups

See Sodium in foods and

Associated health conditions and

See FAT RETENTION

Children and Obesity