Sanger diet the latest fad for slimmers

AS FAR as dieting fads go, it doesn’t sound a bad one - simply eat sandwiches every three hours.

Would-be slimmers are always looking for new and easier ways of losing weight, especially as New Year’s resolutions start to be made in earnest.

But the question is whether the answer to all their weight worries can really be a diet which encourages sandwich-munching every three hours.

The Bread for Life diet has been developed by Israeli nutritionist Olga Raz from Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Centre and has already been successful in helping people lose weight.

The programme encourages dieters to eat small, regular meals of high-fibre breads, pasta and beans along with plenty of vegetables, some protein and fruit.

With an intake of between 1,300 and 1,800 calories a day, experts say the Bread for Life diet fits the guidelines of many other popular and medically-approved diets such as Weight Watchers.

But the programme is completely at odds with the high-protein, low-carbohydrate Atkins regime where slimmers are encouraged to eat food such as red meat, eggs and cheese while avoiding bread.

Ms Raz’s book Bread for Life has become a best-seller in Israel.

She said: “We were brainwashed to believe that carbohydrates are the enemy, but starches and dietary fibres are our friends. They raise the serotonin level which makes us feel happy and satisfied and makes us stop craving chocolate and sweets. They make us feel full.

“People ask how it is possible to lose weight by eating so much bread, but in Israel they reacted the same way at first and the diet worked.”

Dr Arthur Agatston, the creator of the South Beach diet, said that depending on what kind of bread was used, Bread for Life could in theory constitute a healthy lifestyle.

“Strategic snacking stabilises your blood sugar and insulin levels. If Raz is talking about wholegrain bread, vegetables, fruit, and proteins, then I’m in agreement with her.”