If
I had been told five weeks ago that I would be off bread, cakes,
biscuits, chocolate, cheese,
fruit and alcohol
for at least 10 weeks,
I’d have scoffed and said ‘impossible’. But the impossible has happened
and halfway through the rather strict Novo anti-Candida diet, my
energy levels have soared and I have lost 21 pounds and dropped two
dress sizes. Not bad going for someone who normally never lasts
on a diet for more than three days.
Losing weight does wonders
for your confidence and puts a spring in your step. And no, I didn’t
have to undertake excruciatingly boring workouts in the gym. It’s
all down to the diet I’m following, coupled with 20 minute walks
most days. (I should be doing more exercise for general well-being
but I can only suffer so much and am naturally indolent).
Analysing
for Candida (a major cause of increased gut porosity) is a standard
part of the Novo programme, but you don’t have to have the condition
to follow the more general Novo programme.
ENERGY HIT: Novo can
help you lose weight while also gaining energy. It rejects calorie
restriction or avoidance of whole food groups, concentrating instead
on the avoidance of specific foods that trigger an inflammatory response
by the immune system, leading to an increase in weight and a decrease
in energy. Different foods trigger an inflammatory response in different
people.
Your individual Novo programme a result of 115 foods
being tested against your blood sample is constructed from foods
that do not activate your immune system. Foods that lead to an inflammatory
reaction release a series of chemicals that directly interfere with
the supply of energy to your muscles. In turn, this leads to tiredness
and hunger and an increase in stored, but, ultimately, unusable fat. Avoiding
all the foodstuffs that cause the inflammatory response allows your
body to reverse this series of knock-on effects. Consequently, you
gain more energy from what you eat, feel full for longer, burn more
fat and store less.
FOOD WISE: Novo involves taking blood from
participants, which is sent to a laboratory in Holland for analysis.
The analysis against the 115 foods takes 75 minutes which is why
Novo, at € 500, doesn’t come cheap. A bespoke eating programme and
ongoing support is then provided. Dieters simply need to stick to
the allowed foods on the diet list and eat as much as they need and
they will feel better and lose weight.
As Novo expert Julie Reed-Harte
says: “Instead of using all your energy to try and digest foods,
you’re getting the energy from the food. The fat you were previously
unable to burn caused inflammation in your stomach. On the Novo
diet, you burn your fat more efficiently. If you don’t need to lose
weight, you won’t. The idea is to have healthy digestion and to
feel good.”
When Waterford-born model, 23-year-old Emma Power,
went on the diet, she swapped lettuce and apples for chips and chocolate
and lost 11 pounds in six weeks. She says Novo is the perfect way
to lose weight in the run up to Christmas. “Unlike nearly all other
diets, it doesn’t interfere with eating out,” says Emma. “I used
to dread going out to restaurants. If I was cutting back on carbs,
that ruled out Italian restaurants, while cutting down on fats ruled
out nearly all the rest. Sacrificing a glass of wine for a few weeks
is worth it if you can enjoy a two-course meal, including dessert.”
WINNING
FORMULA: Dr Joe Curry, who looks after the medical needs of the
Irish under 17 soccer team, is a supporter of the Novo programme
and says that it is scientific. “I lost about half a stone on the
Novo diet over four months. That’s all I needed to lose. It improved
my energy levels enormously,” he says.
When you have completed
the Novo programme, Julie says you can introduce other foods, one
at a time, every three days, and see your reaction to them. “You
will become aware of how your body is responding to foods.”
Novo
plans to test more foods than the present 115 types. “The plan is
to produce individual packs to suit different countries because diets
vary around the world,” says Julie. |