Oprah’s newest weight-loss trick

Last week I blogged about ways to resist the bread basket when you’re dining out but this week, Oprah and her favourite MD, Dr. Mehmet Oz, are preaching bread and olive oil as a top weight loss tool.

The second in a new series called Prescription America, two-week “homework assignments” the pair say are “critical to your health and the health of loved ones,” Oprah and Oz recommend eating one slice of whole grain bread dipped in olive oil every night before dinner (the first assignment was cutting out pop for two weeks). According to Dr. Oz, in addition to the health benefits from the whole grains and olive oil, the pairing also releases chemicals that will cut your appetite when you dig into dinner.

While I don’t think there’s much evidence to support that olive oil, in particular, is an appetite suppressant (I’ve certainly overdone the Italian food on a couple of occasions! And in one small study that looked at this exact property, it came up short compared to pine nut oil), whole grain bread dipped in a heart-healthy, monounsaturated fat certainly isn’t bad for you (provided you stick to the one piece). And it’s definitely better than chowing down on chips and dip as a pre-meal munchie.

While I’m a little doubtful this alone will do the trick for many big eaters, I am in favour of Oprah’s new initiative. After all, if her endorsement is the magic touch that has books flying off store shelves, maybe she can encourage the masses to make tiny steps that will eventually add up to better health.