Wondering if that piece of plastic you use to wrap your fish and burgers will help you lose weight?
Yes, the food-storage covering can, also known as “saran wrap”, “plastic wrap”, or “aluminum foil”, can help you shed those extra pounds. (Bold text is mine).
Saran wrap is one of the most useful products when it comes to cooking and convenience. It is thin, pliable, and easy to wrap around foods.
It is also easy to see how wrapping foods in saran wrap can help reduce food waste. When you purchase pre-packaged foods that are already partially cooked, the chances of you eating something bad are fairly high. This is why people often throw away food that is wrapped in saran wrap — they are afraid that something bad will happen.
A study from the United Kingdom found that people who wrapped their potato halves in aluminum foil lost one and a half pounds over the course of a year. That’s equivalent to about six and a half pounds on a five-foot-nine-inch person. (Bold text is mine).
It would be interesting to see if the same results could be replicated in the U.S. However, this study also showed that participants experienced some negative side effects.
- Wrapping food in plastic caused some people to feel less hungry, resulting in weight loss
- Some participants in the study experienced cold sores and a greater chance of infections as a result of eating lots of raw vegetables and fruit
- People who had a higher body mass index (BMI) were more likely to experience sleep problems as a side effect of using plastic wrap to prevent food waste.
- According to the study, those who used plastic wrap to store food experienced “significant reductions in anxiety and stress.” As a result, they felt less restricted in eating what they want and less likely to overeat
This is similar to studies that have shown a direct link between wrapping foods and improvements in mental health. A 2013 Cochrane review of 15 studies found that “food packaging that prevents or limits access to food can assist weight loss.” The review authors wrote that there is preliminary evidence that “selectively buying foods that are already packed could reduce food waste, enhance portion control, and improve dietary choices.”
So, can a few layers of plastic wrap help you lose weight? Well, it sure can. But, you need to be aware of the potential downsides.
Use It Smartly
As with any new trend or fad diet, people are on the lookout for ways to lose weight. And just like any other fad diet, the popularity of using saran wrap to lose weight has soared. But just because a trend is popular doesn’t mean that it’s safe or effective. We need to be smart about the role that food packaging plays in our weight loss efforts.
First and foremost, stay away from using saran wrap to wrap foods that you plan on eating within two days. You should only use it if the food is going to be stored for a while. This is because repeated studies have shown that the longer a food is stored, the more likely it is to become contaminated with bacteria. When you use saran wrap to store food, you are actually creating an environment where bacteria can thrive. This is why when you are ready to eat the food, you need to remove the plastic and microwave it for a few seconds to make sure that all the nutrients are retained. You don’t want to risk getting food poisoning just to lose a few pounds.
In addition to storing foods properly and avoiding toxins, you must also make sure that you are paying attention to the right kind of fats. Yes, some fats are much more beneficial than others when it comes to weight loss. Trans fats, for example, have been known to be directly linked to heart disease. Avoid these fats as much as possible. That being said, some fats are more suitable for weight loss than others. For example, saturated fats can increase cholesterol levels in the bloodstream. But there are various types of unsaturated fats that don’t necessarily raise cholesterol, making them a viable option for those looking to shed some pounds. Oats, for example, contain a form of unsaturated fat known as oleic acid. This acid can speed up metabolism and cause weight loss. Also, olive oil and avocado are both rich in unsaturated fats.
Some people have also tried using saran wrap to make their own “skinless” chicken recipes easier to digest. However, this is a waste of time and all that effort is simply gone. If you want to save that much time and effort, just use regular old kitchen twine to tie your chicken pieces for cooking. There is no need to go through the trouble of using saran wrap when you can simply use what you have already and what is probably sitting in your kitchen cupboard.
How Does It Work?
It’s not exactly clear how wrapping food in saran wrap helps with weight loss. But there are many possible explanations. First of all, storing foods in the refrigerator reduces their metabolism, making them less available for consumption. This may also mean that when you are finally ready to eat the food, you are going to be more satisfied than if you had eaten it straight away. In other words, the food seems to taste better and give you more calories because it has been frozen (this seems to be specific to meat, though). But the best theory is that by limiting the exposure of raw foods, especially vegetables, to air you prevent the onset of food-borne illnesses. This is why when you are eating food that was stored in the refrigerator, you must first pre-heat it before consumption. Otherwise, you run the risk of getting sick.
Is It A Scam?
While there is no evidence that saran wrap is dangerous or unhealthy, there is also no evidence that it is beneficial for weight loss either. So, on one hand, you have no idea what is actually in it or how it works. On the other hand, you have no proof that it isn’t helping you lose weight either. So, it’s kind of like an edible placebo. Not that there is anything wrong with that — quite the opposite, in fact.
In conclusion, if you are looking for a way to lose weight, it’s best to look into other options. There are plenty of proven ways of increasing a person’s metabolic rate and making them burn calories faster than usual. If you want to try saran wrap, it’s not a bad idea. Just make sure that you are not using it to store foods that you plan on eating soon because it may have some negative side effects. Always remember: we are what we eat and what we put into our bodies affects us both mentally and physically. This goes for the foods we eat as well as the substances we put into our bodies. So, being mindful of what we put into our mouths and how we use products that contain chemicals is crucial to staying healthy.