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Your
body needs a certain amount of essential vitamins and minerals to
function properly. What happens when you don’t get enough of them? What
happens when you eat too little food, or when the food you eat isn’t
sufficiently nutritious? Perhaps our bodies catch on and reply by
increasing hunger levels. After all – if we eat more, we increase the
chances of consuming enough of whatever nutrient we are lacking.
On
the other hand, reliable access to vitamins and minerals could perhaps
mean decreased hunger levels and decreased cravings, thereby promoting
weight loss.
The above is, of course, speculation. But now there are well-performed studies which suggest it might not be far from the truth.
Vitamin D
A
lack of vitamin D is probably the most common deficiency in northern
countries such as Canada, or most of the US. Three recent studies
indicate that, when compared to a placebo, a vitamin D supplement can
decrease your fat weight or waist measurement [1 2 3].
In one of the studies,
77 overweight or obese women received either a supplement of 1000 units
of vitamin D, or a placebo, every day for 3 months. Those who took the
vitamin D supplement decreased their body fat by 2,7 kg (6 pounds) –
significantly more than the placebo group, who hardly decreased their
fat weight at all.
Multivitamins
A study from 2010
involved around a hundred women with weight issues, separating them
into three groups. One group received a daily multivitamin supplement,
the other a daily calcium supplement, and the last group only a placebo.
The study carried on for half a year.
Unsurprisingly, the results
showed that nothing had happened to the weight of the women receiving
calcium or the placebo. However, the group which took the multivitamin lost more weight
– about 3 kg more – and improved their health markers. Among other
things, their basal metabolic rate (the rate at which the body burns
calories when at rest) increased.
Furthermore, another earlier study found that subjects decreased hunger
levels by taking multivitamin supplements during starvation diets,
compared to a placebo.
Conclusion
Nutrient-dense,
good food is certainly the foundation of weight loss. But an adequate
amount of vitamin D can be difficult to ingest via food. In the case of a
lack of sun (such as during the darker months of autumn and winter),
it’s wise to supplement for multiple health reasons – and perhaps even
for your weight.
If you’re overweight and not entirely sure that
your diet provides enough nutrients, it may be worthwhile to take a
multivitamin pill. Unfortunately, they still contain only minimal doses
of vitamin D, so you need both for the full effect.
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