6 Foods That Might Change Your Life...or Might Not

   

   It's important not to get too bogged down in the minutiae of your diet. Worrying about whether your meal contains enough selenium or niacin makes for a troubled existence. However, the odd fleeting glance over some supported and insupportable dietary facts does make for interesting reading. Luckily for you, all of the below are founded in solid research, often Danish research. So, if you harbour any xenophobic feelings towards the Danes, their medical research centres or are just plain fed-up with reading subtitles, because your partner finds 'The Killing' “absolutely enthralling” (incidentally you now despise the word 'enthralling' – it's ridiculous), then please look away now...

The following foods should be incorporated into your diet for their ability to aid in weight loss:

• Red Onions – contain 'chromium' which removes sugar from the blood, therefore less is turned into fat.
  
  
• White Vinegar – inhibits the breakdown of starch, which stabilises blood sugar levels.
  
  
• Cinnamon – proven to lower your blood sugar levels. Penn State University showed that it can reduce the fat in your blood by up to 30%. Sprinkle on porridge or in a curry, not on a bun.
  
  
• Mackerel – high in 'taurine', which is an amino acid that has been found to inhibit fat growth.
  
  
• Sweet Potato – the more talented and considerably better loved sibling of the white potato. Why? It's lower GI (slower release of energy) and filled to the brim with carotenoids. Carotenoids are powerful antioxidants that boost your immune system, have been shown to prevent against cancer and heart disease...do I have to carry on? Bueller?
  
  
• Chilli – the capsaicin in the chillies cause 'thermogenesis' (the process by which the body produces heat) thus having a profound effect on the metabolism. Furthermore, capsaicin lowers caloric intake. Be warned: do not get carried away, decide every meal warrants a sprinkle of chilli and turn in Gwyneth Paltrow; her infection of the Sunday supplements is loathsome.

So, there we go. It's a fairly modest list, plucked from a sea of often ambiguous nutritional information, but I feel it sufficient for now; more will follow.