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Slim Your Waist with Added Taste!

We love food. We love the flavor, texture, aroma and taste of yummy, chewy, creamy, spicy, sweet, salty and tempting cuisines. Here’s the problem: body weight continues to rise in this country and putting on the pounds is not good for our health as a nation. We know that the bottom line is that we need to eat less and exercise more, but how do we balance this seesaw of tasty treats with weight loss feats? Consider that there may be an option that pleases the senses, makes you feel full and even promotes weight loss! This is just what Dr. Alan Hirsch, founder and neurologic director of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago did.

The Taste of Weight Loss
Hirsch did a study to see if no-calorie “taste crystals” could add to the flavor of foods, make people feel full, decrease the amount they ate and eventually result in weight loss. With 2,437 overweight or obese people, Hirsh’s team sprinkled a variety of savory or sweet, no-calorie crystals onto meals for six months. The participants didn’t know about the crystals, they simply enjoyed common flavors like cheddar cheese, onion, horseradish, ranch dressing, taco and parmesan. For non-sugar sweetness, they were treated to cocoa, spearmint, banana, strawberry, raspberry and malt flavors.

Tasty Results
So, did the added flavor help folks lose weight? In a word, yes! Those that ate the meals sprinkled with no-calorie flavor showed an average weight loss of 30.5 lbs—those without the added spice only saw a loss of 2 lb.

How can taste make you lose weight?
Hirsch suggested that the no-calorie sprinkles helped them feel full faster, eat less and may have made healthier picks like tofu and vegetables yummier. Even the experts don’t know for sure, but it appears that spicing and sweetening without calories may help people lose weight!

Tempt your Taste Buds for Weight Loss
You should be working on eating less and moving more. You can also work on keeping taste and enjoyment in this new lifestyle. Here are some tasty tips to keep food flavor-full while potentially aiding in your weight loss efforts.

When enjoying this… Instead of this… Add taste and save calories with…
Home-baked sweets Sugar SugarTwin® Calorie Free Sweetener
Turkey sandwich for lunch Mayonnaise Spicy Mustard
Pepperoni pizza Pepperoni A spicy, veggie pizza by adding onions, green peppers and Salt-Free Mrs. Dash® Extra Spicy or Caramelized Onion Cheese Pizza*
Mashed Potatoes Butter and sour cream Non-fat sour cream and Salt-Free Mrs. Dash® Lemon Pepper or Low Fat Mashed Potatoes* with Molly McButter Sprinkles
Café Mocha Sugar or chocolate syrup Café Mocha* made with SugarTwin® Liquid and unsweetened cocoa
Waffles or pancakes for breakfast Maple Syrup Rum Raisin Sauce* made with SugarTwin® Granulated White*
Fried vegetables Frying them A zip from steaming or sautéing with Salt-Free Mrs. Dash® Tomato Basil Garlic, Vegetable Stir Fry* with Mrs. Dash® Original Blend
Homemade Cream soup Full-fat or heavy cream Low or no-fat cream and a splash of cooking sherry for unique taste without all the fat. Try Asparagus Soup* or Squash Pear Soup*
Grilled meats and fish Adding oil or butter Brush with Mrs. Dash® Lemon Herb Peppercorn Marinade. Try Grilled Chicken with Mango* or Herb Peppercorn Tilapiao
Beverages Soft drinks or sugar-flavored fruit drinks Sparkling water with fresh squeezed lemon, lime and orange. Try Blueberry Lemonade* and Cranberry Punch with SugarTwin*.
*For recipes, visit www.mrsdash.com, www.sugartwin.com and www.mollymcbutter.com.

Hirsch, AR. Use of Tastants in Weight Reduction. Endocrine Society Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA. Poster Session: Clinical – Assessment & Treatment Outcomes for Obesity. June 17, 2008. http://www.endo-society.org/endo/. Accessed: 6/28/08.

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