I’m sorry for how the health and fitness industry, the industry that I am part of, that you look too for help and advice, is full of so much poor and ill-conceived information.
Information presented to you by companies, quacks and frankly complete and utter cock-wombles that seem to becoming more and more prevalent.
Don’t get me wrong I love my job. I do. But sometimes I despair with the amount of utter bull**** that I see on a daily basis. Today is just one of those days where I’ve had enough of it.
You can thank a company called L-Nutra for todays somewhat unprepared rant.
The Fast Bar by L-Nutra. A bar that you eat to help keep your body in a fasted state.
Now we all know what ‘fasted’ means. It means to abstain from food or drink. Refrain from eating. Go without food. Eat nothing. Yet here we have a bar, that you eat, that is supposed to be able to magically maintain a fasted state.
“Fast Bar™ is the first and only bar that nourishes your body while keeping it in a fasting mode for weight management and a healthy lifestyle.”
After scrolling through their website I finally managed to find the magical scientific proprietary blend of ingredients that some how maintain a fasted state. This is what each bar contains:
Macadamia Nuts
Honey
Pecans
Almonds
Almond Butter
Coconut
Inulin
Flaxseed
Coconut Oil
Coconut Flour
Sea Salt
Natural Flavor
Mixed Tocopherols (Preservative)
Citric Acid
Ascorbic Acid
You know what’s in most of these ingredients?
Calories.
And each bar contains 250 of them. They are simply just a high fat/low protein bar.It’s ok though as they are non-GMO, plant-based, and gluten free. They 100% DO NOT help you maintain a fasted state. If anything passes your lips you are not fasting. Whether that is food, or drink.
I’m actually staggered. Not surprised. Just staggered, that somehow this company is allowed to market something by blatantly lying.
It gets worse though.
I took a look at L-Nutra’s main website. They talk a lot about science. It’s hard not to be impressed by some outstanding scientific claims. They have science based products that repair and rejuvenate your body. They use breakthrough science to enhance human health and longevity. They even have a dedicated section on their homepage for scientific research and lists of clinical trials.
“L-Nutra’s team of researchers and collaborators are leaders in the field of nutrition related to longevity and healthspan. L-Nutra develops nutri-technologies that mimic the effects of fasting, to enhance the body’s natural ability to rejuvenate itself and promote longevity.”
All this science talk they have to be legit right?
ProLon® is another of L-Nutra’s products. It is designed to achieve the beneficial effects of fasting while providing micronutrient nourishment of which the body is deprived during fasting. It minimizes the psychological burden of pure fasting.
ProLon® is a 5-day meal plan that comprises of plant-based soups, bars, drinks, snacks, herbal teas, vitamins, and supplements.
In other words: Calories. Calories from food and drink.
What L-Nutra are basing there business strategy round is The Fasting Mimicking Diet™, or FMD™ for short. It’s a short-term weight loss diet.
This miraculous diet is made from healthy plant-based ingredients that you eat for five days whilst your body is not recognising that you are eating. It’s these specific ingredients that cause the body to stay in a fasting mode.
What kind of weird, voodoo, unicorn p**s of a diet allows you to eat food, yet your body doesn’t recognise it. I wonder what my body would actually be thinking when it’s digesting all that food, and converting it to energy to allow me to go about my day?
Probably that it can’t believe that I’ve wasted £225 for 5-days worth of food.
My mind is boggled.
I don’t expect any of you to read the research, or any of the clinical trials that L-Nutra use to back up their claims, so I will just summarise briefly for you.
FMD™ is a calorie restricted diet.
Calorie restricted diets are scientifically proven to help you lose weight.
Calorie restricted diets are scientifically proven to help improve various metabolic markers.
A selection of L-Nutra’s clinical trials and research are based on mice. You are not a mouse. It’s completely irrelevant.
Yes these products will help you lose weight, but they will also help burn a massive hole in your wallet/purse. They have zero relevance when it comes to fasting,this is just marketing nonsense where yet another company is praying on our subconscious beliefs to lead a healthier lifestyle.
Remember the definition of stupid;
Knowing the truth, seeing the truth, but still believing the lies.
It’s truly impossible to shield yourself from all the nonsense and stupidity in the modern world, and unfortunately you can’t legislate stupidity. For this I am sorry, as it is rife within the health industry. Especially when it comes to nutrition.