First Eat Right - Dietitian Nutritionist Dr. Nafeesa's Diet & Nutrition Clinic

Heirloom fruits and vegetables celebrate heritage, just like family keepsakes. The Alexander apple or the Amarillo carrot are few such examples of fruits grown from seeds that have been passed down generation to generation in order to preserve these special varieties.
Today, only a few varieties of such fruits and vegetables can be seen on the shelves of popular supermarkets. Consider yourself lucky to find one such fruit or veggie, as these heirloom produce not only help uphold agricultural diversity in the seed chain, but also become an added variety to your fruit intake.

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Inquire your local farmers market. As these produce gain popularity, farmers are also able to plant and sell extraordinary produce like the German Pink tomato or the Italian Chioggia beet. Once you get to eat these heirloom foods, you’ll get an opportunity to relish the taste that goes back hundreds of years.
For tips on adding more fruits and vegetables to your eating plan, consult a registered dietitian nutritionist in your area.

​US FDA had issued a red alert in US against vibrating and heating machines import from any country for the purpose of weight loss, slimming etc. Import alert # 89-01, Dated 11/28/2011. The alert stated that these heating and vibrating machines are misbranded through out world and being sold for lay use i.e. to be used by fraud slimming centres for weight loss etc. It further goes on to say that there is no scientific basis in these methods. Application of heat to skin may increase the blood circulation to the part or may make you sweat and get dehydrated and thus lose few hundred grams of weight (WATER). But it certainly is not known to reduce fat or increase metabolism. Secondly, massage of any kind, be it manual or through machines can in no way reduce/melt fat. Same is the case with steam, i.e. no amount of steam can melt fat. 

External ultrasound or radio frequency application to skin-This is a non surgical technology wherein ultrasound energy is applied to fatty area. These waves can penetrate up to 1 cm below the skin level and are said to break down fat under the skin. It has not been proven what really happens to the fat. Are the cells broken down permanently? Or the cells are intact and only the fat comes out of the cell? Where does the fat go then? Is it not absorbed back by the body? There is no study to prove that blood levels of fat increases after this procedure, which must happen if fat is really being broken down and then being carried to the liver for metabolism. The waves penetrate to just below the skin- so obviously they cannot work when the fatty layer is several cms thick. These technologies are classic examples of manufacturing companies’ eagerness to hype and sell a product without proper research.

Evolution of Weight Loss Machines: For the past fifty years, the fitness industry has been flooded with the latest and the greatest products to seemingly accelerate weight loss, toning, sculpting, body shaping. Looking back over the years, some of these products seem totally outrageous Take the 1960’s vibrating belt for example. This machine guaranteed to “shake the fat away” and yet was quickly dismissed as an outright bogus product because it just didn’t work! That’s not to mention that there was no scientific evidence supporting its claim. In the 1990’s the infamous machines that sent constant electrical impulses to contract muscles while you relaxed. Funnily enough, this technology didn’t last long on the market as soon as it became common knowledge as to how ineffective this method was at assisting weight loss. Then of course now we have a plethora of other machines ready to confuse us. When we think about it, there has been so much junk introduced into the fitness industry that quickly disappears a few years later once the marketing hype wears off. Now a brand new type of technology,  Vibration Machines has been introduced into fitness market, which is yet another gimmick which can be concluded by studying available evidence, research and studies on these vibration machines.

Research and Studies: When researching “ Whole Body Vibration”  in leading scientific literature search engine (Pub Med), 688 results were displayed. Upon analysing these studies, most of these studies were directed toward bone mineral density, disease treatment, injury rehabilitation, dangers of vibration machine technology and athletic performance. When we proceeded to research Vibration Machines studies that were specific to weight loss, we were shocked to see that there were only.... three in fact. Within the scientific community, it takes years and years of research and many studies to “prove” that a particular process or technology actually works for a certain purpose (if it can be proven at all). This is particularly true about biology because there are seemingly infinite number of variables that can affect results. So, therefore, if a particular area has only been studied in relatively little detail, it is completely unreliable to deduce any solid conclusions. In the context of vibration machine technology, with such little research conducted regarding weight loss, it would be ignorant to assume that vibration machine technology necessarily does or does not result in weight loss based on these insufficient and negligible research results.

Whole Body Vibration (WBV) Research Summary: Analysing almost all that has been studied, researched, published and reported  by leading organisations, in regards to weight loss, there is an insignificant  ( almost nonexistent) amount of evidence to suggest that these vibration machines do encourage weight loss. A fair amount of research into WBV has been conducted on changes in bone mineral density and athletic performance, however, far more research is needed to draw any solid conclusions in these areas.

It also seems very clear that long-term use of these vibration machines can pose many dangers, particularly to the lower (lumbar) spine. It is important to develop safe exercise protocols considering the dangers of vibration machines.

Toning, Sculpting, and body Shaping: It is quite relevant within the scope of this article to further expand on marketing terms used, particularly with this vibration machine technology. Terms such as “toning”, “sculpting’, and “shaping” all refer to exactly the same thing. You can only perform two processes to alter your physique - build/lose muscle, gain/lose fat. These fancy marketing terms refer to a slight increase in muscle and a decrease in fat. YES.... It is actually that simple.

The Bottom Line:  As professionals with the health care industry, it is our job to deliver clients with results based on proven principles. So as you could imagine, with so little research for vibration machine technology in regards to weight loss, it would be negligent of us as health care professionals to advise a client to jump on a vibration machine instead of following a standard nutrition and exercise regime. After having considered all of this research, we do strongly feel that consumer based vibration machines are presented to the general public with flimsy rationale that has little to no scientific evidence to support their claims.

What science does know is that a structured nutrition and exercise regime will result in healthy, sustainable and effective weight loss. If you are serious about achieving a particular weight loss goal, we would strongly recommend that you educate yourself with the completely free resources available on our web site.  ​