Trendy Dukan diet slammed as 'utterly ineffective and with no scientific basis'

A diet said to be followed by the Duchess of Cambridge's mother Carole Middleton has been branded 'confusing, rigid and ineffective' by a leading health group.

Experts from the British Dietetic Association named the Dukan Diet the worst celebrity weight loss plan to follow and said it has 'absolutely no solid science behind it at all'.

The Dukan - also reported to be followed by actress Jennifer Lopez and supermodel Gisele Bundchen - is a complicated four-phase diet that starts with a protein-only approach which promotes weight loss of around 7lb per week.

It topped the BDA's annual list of the five worst celebrity diets to avoid in the New Year. It works on restricting foods, calories and portion control. However, the BDA says cutting out food groups is not advisable.

The BDA said: 'This diet is so confusing, very rigid, full of very French foods that most Brits would run a mile from like rabbit and offal, and even Dr Dukan himself warns of the associated problems like lack of energy, constipation and bad breath.'

The BDA receives hundreds of calls every year on the subject of diets and analysed results to form a list of the most unreliable, difficult to follow or unhealthy diet plans.

Based on the volume of telephone calls and other contributing factors, the Dukan Diet topped a list of 'dodgy' celebrity diets to avoid in the New Year.

The Dukan Diet was followed in the list by the Alcorexia or Drunkorexia Diet, an undeniably unhealthy tecnhnique believed to be used by many top models and other celebrities to keep their weight low without sacrificing their heavy partying lifestyle.

It involves eating very little during the day or week - a very low calorie (VLC) diet - and then 'saving' all the calories not eaten to binge drink alcohol. However, the BDA reckons people must be 'blind drunk' to follow such a diet.

DUKAN DRAWBACKS

While weight loss can be quick, followers of the Dukan report difficulties. Here are the main cons.

1 Much of the diet prescribes solely protein for days on end. Followers complain this can get boring and as a result is difficult to adhere to.

2 Eating so much protein - around three to four times the normal amount - can put a strain on the kidneys. This can be more problematic for those with underlying kidney problems they may not have known about.

3 A lack of fibre can be a problem. An unbalanced diet short of fruit and vegetables and heavy in fish and meat can lead to constipation.

4 Lack of cereal-based foods can lead to deficiency of vitamin B.

5 Weight loss is difficult to maintain once the rigid programme has ended. The maintenance phase alone - six days of eating normally and one Dukan day of protein - is unlikely to keep the weight off for the average dieter, whose indulgence throughout the week will outweigh the benefits of the protein day.

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Garlic oil 'can protect the heart by preventing cell damage'

Just a mouse experiment with no long term follow-up

Garlic may provide protection against heart damage as well as vampires, research suggests. The pungent bulb contains an ingredient that has the power to prevent the destruction of heart tissue which can lead to heart attacks.

Scientists tested the compound, diallyl trisulfide, on mice at risk of heart damage from blocked coronary arteries.

Treatment just before blood flow was restored reduced the amount of heart tissue damaged by almost two-thirds.

Diallyl trisulfide releases hydrogen sulphide, which has previously been shown to protect heart tissue in low concentrations.

Researchers at Emory University School of Medicine in the United States have turned to diallyl trisulfide, a garlic oil component, as a way to deliver the benefits of hydrogen sulphide to the heart.

Normally the unstable and volatile gas is difficult to deliver as a therapy because it needs to be injected. Now, thanks to garlic oil, it can be administered orally.

In high concentrations, hydrogen sulfide is a strong poison: Just a few breaths can be fatal.

But in small amounts, like those the body makes naturally, hydrogen sulfide serves several key functions.

It reduces inflammation, lowers blood pressure and keeps cells alive.

After a heart attack or heart surgery has interrupted the flow of oxygen-rich blood to tissues, hydrogen sulfide allows oxygen to keep reaching the heart muscle.

Doctors could use diallyl trisulfide in many of the situations where researchers have proposed using hydrogen sulphide.

David Lefer, professor of surgery at Emory University School of Medicine, said: 'We are now performing studies with orally active drugs that release hydrogen sulphide.

'This could avoid the need to inject sulphide-delivery drugs outside of an emergency situation.'

Researchers blocked the coronary arteries of mice for 45 minutes, simulating a heart attack, and gave them diallyl sulphide just before blood flow was restored.

The compound reduced the proportion of damaged heart tissue in the area at risk by 61 per cent, compared with untreated animals.

The findings were presented today at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions meeting in Orlando, Florida.

Further research reported by the team suggests diallyl trisulfide could also reduce heart enlargement caused by heart failure.

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