Being thin -- it's the American dream.
Fad diets abound and we, as dutiful followers, will buy that costly ticket to becoming a lightweight.The newest horse to pull the diet bandwagon is Suzanne Somers, best known for her television role as a ditzy blonde in the long-running sitcom, "Three's Company."
Hailed as a fitness guru by some of her Hollywood contemporaries, Somers has thrown out a plan that she says will be the diet to end all diets, but nutritionists have doubts.
In her latest book "Get Skinny on Fabulous Food," Somers says that by "food combining" and obliterating sugar intake, anyone can lose weight effectively and safely.
Here you can have your bacon and eat it, too -- but not with toast.
Somers combines the Sugar Busters diet, which cuts out all sugars, and Dr. Robert Atkins' no-carbohydrates plan ("Dr. Atkins' Diet Revolution") to create a new way of eating that she says will help her overweight followers drop those pounds, melt their fat "sugar thighs" and find their true selves.
Food combining, the philosophy featured in her previous book "Eat Great, Lose Weight," is a somewhat confusing way of monitoring carbohydrate consumption.
Calling the concept "Somersizing," Somers encourages eaters to only eat protein and fats with vegetables, or carbohydrates with vegetables, but never proteins and fats with carbohydrates.
This basically means no more turkey sandwiches; no more steak and potatoes; chicken and rice; pasta with seafood marinara or meatballs; sushi; hash browns and eggs; or french toast and bacon.
But, according to one local nutrition expert, food combining is bogus.
Registered dietician Beverly Webber of the University of Utah Nutrition Clinic says this is not a valid approach to eating.
"Most foods we eat are a combination of proteins and carbs," says Webber. "If you take out the carbs, this can result in ketosis, which is very bad for your body.
"Ketosis is a form of acidosis, which is the accumulation of ketone bodies in the system," Webber adds. "This means that your body is inefficiently breaking down fat."
Dr. Atkins and Somers promote drastic reductions in carbohydrates for effective weight loss, but this kind of diet is dangerous.
According to Webber, acidosis will cause severe problems.
"Your blood Ph will raise too much, your kidneys can't filter out the protein safely and won't function well at all."
Webber states that kidney pain and constipation can be side effects of this diet.
Somers advocates another dietary claim found in "Fit for Life," a 1987 book by Harvey Diamond, -- that says certain foods, such as fruit, don't digest well with others and putrefy in your stomach.
"That is totally ridiculous," says Webber.
"There are enzymes in your body that are designed to break down this food. You are not going to have a problem with fruit!"
When you have a turkey sandwich with a bowl of fruit on the side, Webber says, your body isn't going to go into complete disrepair, as Somers' book describes. Unfortunately Somers missed that nutrition lesson.
Somers also believes that in order to lose weight and look like she does, her readers must cut out all white flour, white rice and sugar.
No honey, no brown sugar, no syrup, no sweet potatoes, no baked potatoes, no carrots, no bananas, no beets, no winter squash, no fruit juice, and no chocolate!
According to Somers, the body reacts to all kinds of sugar the same way, including those in high-starch vegetables such as corn, carrots, potatoes, beets, yams and bananas.
"It doesn't matter if it's in the form of a carrot, which has great nutritional benefits," she says. "You can get those from other sources, like melons and kale and things like that . . . but sugar is sugar. It (the body) doesn't know the difference between a carrot or a piece of chocolate cake."
Nutritionist Connie Barnhart says that is another ridiculous claim.
"Basically you have the Kreb cycle, (the biological process that takes everything from the beginning to the end of composition) and one form of food that is readily usable is a carbohydrate," she says. "This is real easy for the body to convert to glucose and use as energy.
" A piece of cake, which contains sugar, simple carbohydrates, starchy carbs and fat, takes the body longer," Barnhart continues. "The body doesn't like to use this for energy, so the cake is turned to fatty acid and stored in a fat cell, thus introducing insulin to the blood stream.
"The insulin works as carrier and takes that energy to fat storage. Also, when talking about empty calories, the cake has no nutrients and the body has no use for it, so the cake is converted or stored. If you don't have enough energy, the body burns it, but the cake won't help the body out with nutrient function. With the carrot, the body takes its nutrients and uses them, which helps the body function properly."
Barnhart says it's not just how the body consumes the energy but where it goes and how it's used.
Both Webber and Barnhart say dieters should eat a variety of foods in moderation, not over-consumption, the way many Americans do.
"Fifty (percent) to 60 percent of our diet should be high-density carbohydrates, like wheat and whole grains," says Barnhart. "Protein should make up 10-20 percent, while fats should be 20-30 percent of your intake. You then have 5-10 percent to play around with -- that could be chocolate or whatever."
Webber considers the chocolate or whatever to be a fat, thus it would fall into the 20-30 percent.
Though there are some truths to be found in "Get Skinny on Fabulous Food," most of Somers' ideas are unproven experiments at best, say the two nutrition experts.
Some of Somers' followers have lost weight, but Webber and Barnhart question whether the process has been beneficial to their bodies.
"Losing weight and a nutrient-rich diet are two different things," says Barnhart. "I've had patients who come to me after they've lost the weight in worse condition than they were before."
Barnhart and Webber both agree that exercise and a balanced diet are the only means by which to lose weight and maintain the loss.
"There is no quick fix," Barnhart says. "You can't have it all. People think they can have as much as they want, then pop a pill and expect to maintain a body weight without exercise.
"If you want to lose weight, talk to somebody who is a dietitian or a nutritionist. Find out what those things are in your lifestyle that you want to change and do it for the rest of your life. Weight loss is the second part," says Barnhart.
"My advice to anyone reading this book would be to get the source. Check the facts, the studies," she adds.
"Stuff like this never lasts, give it a year. Either the claims are not proven, or the FDA comes in."
Despite the flaws in the "Somersizing" diet, Somers does, however, include some wonderful recipes (most for the post-weight-loss part of the program) that make this book worth looking at and possibly checking out from the library.
PENNE PASTA WITH GREEN BEANS AND FETA CHEESE
1/2 pound whole-grain penne pasta
1/2 pound green beans cut into bite-size pieces
1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 pound crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup kalamata olives (optional)
Freshly ground black pepper
Cook the pasta according to the package instructions until al dente (cooked through but not mushy).
Blanch the green beans by placing them in salted boiling water for approximately 3 minutes. Immediately immerse in ice water to halt the cooking process.
In a large bowl, toss the pasta and green beans with the remaining ingredients and mix well. Serves 4 to 6 as a side dish. From "Suzanne Somers' Get Skinny on Fabulous Food"
ARTICHOKE FRITTATA
4 large eggs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
3/4 cup marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
Sprinkle of grated Parmesan cheese
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Whisk the eggs in a bowl with a splash of water. Season with salt and pepper.
Place a medium saute pan (with an ovenproof handle) over medium heat. When the pan is hot, add the olive oil.
Saute the onions until browned and almost crispy, 10 to 12 minutes, then set half the cooked onion for a garnish.
Add the drained artichoke hearts and saute for 1 minute.
Add the beaten eggs to the saute pan. Immediately sprinkle with the grated Parmesan and remove from the heat.
Place the pan in the preheated oven. (If you don't have a saute pan with an ovenproof handle, transfer the egg mixture at this point to a small casserole dish or pie pan.) Bake for 7 to 10 minutes, until puffy and golden. Garnish with the reserved crispy onions and serve. Serves 2. From "Suzanne Somers' Get Skinny on Fabulous Food"
PICADILLO
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 large bell pepper, finely chopped
6 plum tomatoes, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 pound lean ground beef
1 pound ground pork
3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons capers, drained
1/2 cup tomato puree
Garnish:
Sour cream
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 head iceberg lettuce
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and peppers. Cook until they are brown and tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Then add the tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste, garlic, cumin and coriander.
Turn the heat up to medium-high and add the meat. Brown the meat, using a wooden spoon to break it into tiny pieces.
Add the balsamic vinegar, capers and tomato puree. Reduce the heat and simmer for at least 1 hour.
Serve in a bowl with a dollop of sour cream and chopped cilantro.
Or roll up in a lettuce leaf and eat like a taco. Serves 8. From "Suzanne Somers' Get Skinny on Fabulous Food"
Suzanne Somers' note: "Rita Moreno taught me how to make this on my talk show and I absolutely loved it! Picadillo is a Puerto Rican staple. Some wonderful Puerto Rican housewife probably discovered this by adding everything but the kitchen sink."