Health coach reveals how a cup of hot chocolate could be the key to weight loss

A health coach has unveiled an unexpected weight loss tool — and it’s good news for chocoholics.

Steve Bennett, the author of Fiber First, told us the sun how drinking a cup of hot chocolate can help dieters shed some pounds.

But not just any mug of sweet stuff will do; those hoping to slim down should use a homemade recipe, according to the author and health coach.

He says making the drink with unsweetened cocoa powder can help you feel less hungry by boosting your fiber intake.

It is believed that many people do not consume the recommended amount of fiber every day.

However, it is important to do this because not only does it help keep your body regular, but fiber is also difficult to digest.

As a result, it keeps you feeling full for longer and can help prevent snack cravings, which can often be the cause of weight gain.

Steve told the Sun: ‘If you have more fiber in your diet, you will eat less and feel full longer.

‘Cocoa powder, which should be the main ingredient in hot chocolate, is high in fiber. The problem with the store-bought versions in the UK is that they have too much sugar and e-numbers. But you can also make a simple healthy version that tastes just as good.’

He added that most diets are based on having to give up things, which people don’t like to do.

However, he explained: ‘If you put fiber first, then you can eat whatever you want afterwards, but in the end you will eat less because you will feel fuller.’

Steve’s hot chocolate recipe calls for 8 ounces of warm milk, with two heaped tablespoons of cocoa powder and two teaspoons of stevia sweetener.

Fiber is not only helpful in weight loss but also has other health benefits. A 2015 study found that people who eat a high-fiber diet are less likely to die from any cause.

According to health coach Steve, adding fiber to your diet can help you feel full longer and reduce your snack cravings (stock image)

The authors behind the study, which involved 1,000,000 people, said fiber has the potential to lower the risk of chronic diseases, including heart disease, stroke, diabetes and several types of cancer.

Individuals should be encouraged to increase their dietary fiber intake “to potentially reduce the risk of premature death,” they said.

Yang Yang, from the Shanghai Cancer Institute in China, and colleagues write in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

They combined data from 17 previous studies that followed 982,411 men and women, mainly in Europe and the US, and recorded around 67,000 deaths.

Yang’s team divided participants into five groups based on their daily fiber intake.

Those in the top fifth, who ate the greatest amount of fiber daily, were 16 percent less likely to die than those in the bottom fifth, who consumed the least amount of fiber.

In addition, eight studies showed that the risk of any cause of death decreased by 10 percent for every 10 gram increase in fiber intake per day.

According to NHS guidelines, adults should consume around 30 grams of fiber daily, but most only eat around 20 grams.

“On average, dietary fiber intake in the US and other economically developed countries is much lower than recommended targets – in the US about half of what is recommended,” says Victoria Burley, a nutrition researcher at the University of Leeds in Britain. , who was not involved in the study.

These study results are “very consistent with previously published meta-analyses of the relationship between dietary fiber and the risk of serious chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and cancer,” Burley told Reuters Health in an email.

She said the benefits of consuming fiber-rich foods have been known for decades, including lowering blood cholesterol, blood pressure, blood glucose and insulin, and possibly reducing inflammation.

High-fiber foods can also help people feel full sooner and for longer, which helps combat overeating and weight gain, she added.

‘Some or all of these factors may underlie the decline in mortality observed here.’

It’s not difficult to consume an extra 10 grams of fiber per day, Burley said.

‘For example, this can come from two portions of whole grain products, such as breakfast cereals, and two portions of fruit or vegetables.’

However, she cautioned that the current research does not prove that eating more fiber is the reason some participants lived longer.

Their reduced risk of death may be due to another common characteristic, such as an overall healthier lifestyle, or perhaps some other property of high-fiber foods, which are generally nutritious.