DEAR DR. BLONZ: I am hoping you will give me your take on a diet supplement I found that is safe, all natural, and uses “thermogenic” action to burn fat around your waist while you sleep. I have my diet under control, but what I need is a strategy to work on the weight in residence. Aside from your comments on the product, do you have any general advice to offer? -- F.S. Freemont, California

DEAR F.S.: The idea that pills can help you drop a few sizes while you slumber sounds great as a sales pitch -- but that’s all it is, so don’t be fooled.

Products that promise weight loss through thermogenesis (calorie burning) tend to contain stimulants. And since excess weight is often (though not always) accompanied by high blood pressure, cardiovascular issues and other chronic health problems, the idea of taking stimulants strong enough to have a significant effect on body weight is a risky proposition. The “all natural” descriptive is also a bit of a laugh. How “natural” is it to be attempting to sleep while on stimulants?

The more practical and lasting way to increase calories burned is through an activity program that increases the relative amount of muscle tissue in the body. We can all understand that a car with an eight-cylinder engine will burn more gas at a stoplight than one with four cylinders. It is the same way with the amount of muscle in the body, as muscle is metabolically active, burning calories 24/7, while fat is not.

Consider the benefit. First, there is the calorie burning to fuel the activity; then, if it is part of a new routine, the body will respond by enlarging the muscle mass to better handle the workload. Building muscles also takes energy.

Let’s face it: There is no universal ticket to weight loss. It helps to understand that obesity is rarely a disease of willful misconduct. Carrying around excess weight comes as a result of a complex combination of genetics, diet, activity and one’s psychological environment.

Motivation to change must come from within. Attempts to change one’s body weight solely at the behest of friends or family are usually doomed to failure. While you may find a way to drop a few pounds, your chances for long-term success are only as good as your personal commitment.

It is essential that you pick a sensible target. It’s established that parental obesity plays a role in determining one’s body type, so take a hard look at your other family members. While a large-framed family doesn’t mean you should abandon hope of losing weight, it can help you set realistic goals.

Your best approach is a long-term strategy, where changes are subtle and lasting, as opposed to radical and short-lived. This gradual shift should not place the sole emphasis on reducing dietary calories, but it also must include an activity component. Activity burns calories, but it also checks the metabolic slowdown that can accompany weight-loss dieting.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, realize that it probably took years of bad habits to gain the excess weight. Don’t be fooled into thinking that there are magic products that can make it all go away overnight. In extreme cases, medical/surgical intervention may be needed.

The main goal should be the adoption of a healthier lifestyle, not merely a loss of weight. With conviction and good planning, results can be achieved, and regardless of where you end up weight-wise, your actions will result in a healthier you.

Send questions to: “On Nutrition,” Ed Blonz, c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO, 64106. Send email inquiries to questions@blonz.com. Due to the volume of mail, personal replies cannot be provided.

DEAR DR. BLONZ: I often read your column and know you preach a varied, plant-based diet with fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and lean meats. But I keep seeing things on television and in the paper, and have even heard from a friend, that sugar/carbs are bad and should be limited. When I told my friend that I fix a yogurt and fruit smoothie every day, she said I shouldn’t be having all that sugar from the fruit. I countered with the idea that fruit’s sugar is natural and unprocessed, and that it also contains other good things like fiber and minerals. But am I missing something? -- A.T.B., via email

DEAR A.T.B.: The message that “sugar/carbs are bad” needs some context. If one has a healthful diet, such as the one you describe, sugars and carbs can become an issue if they are over-represented. Only then do they become “bad.” The rather simplistic take on this matter can lead well-meaning friends to inappropriately condemn healthful foods, such as fruits.

I’m unclear on the specific formula for your smoothie, but using whole fruits as sweeteners makes healthful, and flavorful, sense to me.

DEAR DR. BLONZ: Over the years, I have given my family honey for allergies, coughs and sore throats. My son, who has a problem with high blood sugar, says he should not take honey as it is sugar. But I thought honey’s sugar was different from other sugars. Please inform me if it is safe to take honey if you have high blood sugar. -- E.S., El Cerrito, California

DEAR E.S.: Honey is most definitely a sugar, and in addition to its unique qualities as a product of bees, it has assets and liabilities associated with other caloric sugars. Regular table sugar, also known as sucrose, is composed of equal parts glucose and fructose. With sucrose, each glucose is attached to a fructose in a structure referred to as a disaccharide. Honey also has glucose and fructose, but they are present as separate compounds, each referred to as a monosaccharide, or single sugar.

To widen this circle a bit, consider that high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), a manufactured sweetener, is -- similarly to honey -- made up of glucose and fructose as monosaccharides. The carbohydrate difference is that honey has nearly equal portions of glucose and fructose, while HFCS, because it is manufactured, can have varying levels of its two monosaccharides. It usually favors more fructose than glucose.

For anyone with blood sugar issues, honey should be consumed with the same caution as any caloric sweetener.

Send questions to: “On Nutrition,” Ed Blonz, c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO, 64106. Send email inquiries to questions@blonz.com. Due to the volume of mail, personal replies cannot be provided.

DEAR DR. BLONZ: In a lecture at my community college, there was a statement that the turkey we have at Thanksgiving contains specific enzymes that make us feel sleepy after we eat. I had always thought that this was a myth, but was reluctant to challenge the professor. Is that statement valid? If so, what is in turkey that makes us feel sleepy after we eat it? -- M.M., Phoenix

DEAR M.M.: As a prelude to every holiday season, we hear the commonly held belief that turkey causes tiredness, but I had never heard it phrased as “specific enzymes.” Since this was an academic setting, you should not have been reluctant to ask more about these enzymes and how they supposedly cause tiredness. This is a new one, and I am always interested in learning the rationale behind such beliefs. I must confess, I am quite puzzled, given that the cooking of the turkey would destroy any enzymes in the meat.

Let’s put some other aspects of the turkey-tiredness legend in perspective. One key is tryptophan, one of the amino acid building blocks of protein. When this amino acid gets in the brain, it can be converted into serotonin, a compound that elicits relaxation and calmness. (One reason that a certain class of anti-anxiety drugs works is that it helps to maintain serotonin in the brain.) Turkey, as a complete protein, will indeed contain tryptophan, but it doesn’t contain that much more than other complete proteins, such as chicken or other meat.

Why, then, would turkey have the reputation for causing sleepiness, and not other proteins? It turns out that the tiredness you feel is more likely due to the carbohydrates often consumed along with turkey at the holiday feast.

To explain this, you should know that there is an important barrier between the blood that flows in the general circulation of the body and that which flows around the central nervous system. Called the blood-brain barrier, it helps protect the brain and control the compounds allowed to circulate in and around delicate brain tissues.

After a protein-based meal, the enzymes in our digestive system help break down the proteins into their constituent amino acids building blocks. Amino acids can pass through the blood-brain barrier, but they compete with each other to cross. Tryptophan is at a disadvantage because it’s found in smaller amounts in foods relative to other amino acids. Carbohydrates, however, can tilt the odds in tryptophan’s favor. Carbohydrates cause insulin to be released, and insulin causes amino acids to enter muscles and other body tissues, but tryptophan to a lesser extent. With its competition thus reduced, tryptophan is better able to enter the brain, turn into serotonin, and bring about the relaxation. 

Thanksgiving turkey tends to be paired with carbohydrate-rich foods such as cranberries, potatoes, stuffing and pumpkin pie, all of which raise our blood sugar level and ease the way for tryptophan to do its thing. Such logic would also explain why those who partake of other main courses -- such as ham, duck or even a vegetarian dish -- might feel that same post-feast tiredness.

Send questions to: “On Nutrition,” Ed Blonz, c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO, 64106. Send email inquiries to questions@blonz.com. Due to the volume of mail, personal replies cannot be provided.