Lighter Life Ingredients

Had a very interesting exchange with a club member on Lighter Life! Thought you may be interested…

Member:  I was wondering whether you would have time to answer a question for me…  Upon looking at the ingredients (in Lighter Life),  I wondered if there might be stuff in them that don’t try and cure my intolerances.  Wondering if this diet is minimally injecting me in minute amounts of the items that cause cravings etc.  I am at my wits end, so picked up your book and refreshed myself and then had this thought, maybe I am not illiminating all traces?

Zoe:  Please check out my blogs – there are 2 particularly on lighter life. It won’t surprise you to know I wouldn’t touch it with a barge pole and yes it is full of milk, sugar and sweeteners, so is likely feeding all sorts of cravings. Don’t do it! Eat real food!

Member:   It is totally incorrect that there is sugar in the lighter life packs, yes, slim fast hence why I never did that, but not lighter life, have the ingredients in front of me. I agree with everything else you say and the article but not that there is sugar in lighter life, that is totally wrong.  There is no sugar or salt at all.

Zoe: I have a packet in front of me too – a client kindly gave me one for research. The ingredients are:
Skimmed MILK powder, soya protein, soya oil, dietary fibre, thickeners (guar and xanthum gum – nice!), flavourings, GLUCOSE SYRUP, SODIUM citrate, potassium chloride, maltodextrin (this is starch SUGAR), colouring, magnesium oxide, vitamin and mineral mix (because you have to put some nutrients in) and aspartame (SWEETENER).

I said it is full of milk, sugar and sweeteners and the number one ingredient is milk, glucose syrup is the sugar (they are not going to make it easy for you and actually call it sugar). More sugar in maltodextrin – let’s hide it again. Plus the nutritional analysis says 31.8g sugars per 100g (that’s high enough to justify my comment) and the final ingredient is sweeteners, so I stand by my view of the heap of junk!

I didn’t mention salt, but, as you did – sodium is listed – again – let’s not call it salt and make it easy for the consumer. To get the salt figure from the sodium content you multiply by 2.5, so this has 3g of salt per 100g.

Can you see how food manufacturers lie to you?! I won’t – I have no reason to! Eat real food! Nature provides it – not someone out to make money from you!
Very best wishes – Zoe x

UPDATE: Member: Hiya! Made me laugh as that shut ME up LOL!!  Fair enough.  They have hidden it via another name, so hence why I thought otherwise.  That is SHOCKING then with most of it sugar! Nothing more to say other than thanks for taking the time to prove to me Zoe. One now has your book strapped to my hip. xx

Zoe: p.s. I forgot to say from whom I got the Lighter Life packet – it was from a lovely nurse (who freely admitted she should have known way better). She lost 4 stone,  then developed gall stones (was flown home from an anniversary round-the-world trip-of a lifetime) and then spent the next few months in and out of hospital (regained the weight) and ended up having her gall bladder removed.

(There is a direct connection here as our gall bladder is required to ’emulsify’ fats – effectively to separate and break down the fat so it can be removed. With virtually no fat being consumed, the gall bladder thinks it’s redundant!)

8 thoughts on “Lighter Life Ingredients

  • July 8, 2015 at 7:16 pm
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    Hi Zoe
    Question regarding the nurse who had to have her gall bladder removed. You allude to cause being lack of fat in the diet.
    But if someone already has gall stones, should they now need avoid a high “good” fat diet?
    My mother has non- painful small gallstones, but needs to lose weight. I would like her to cut the processed carbs and sugars and eat more fat, but don’t want to cause problems for the gall stones. She was warned by her doctor that a diet high in fat could make them move.
    ? Thanks

    • July 9, 2015 at 10:41 am
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      Hi Charlotte
      I can’t advise on this – sorry – you’d need to be in the personal care of an expert in this area with all the patient facts. Not sure if mum is seeing a specialist or a GP? This one may be worth a specialist and/or a second opinion?

      You may find this interesting: http://www.dietdoctor.com/gallstones-and-low-carb

      You’re right in your thinking that cutting carbs is going to help weight loss (and thus health). If only we ate real food and chose that real food for its nutritional content, we would naturally end up eating meat/fish/eggs/veg as our staples https://www.zoeharcombe.com/2014/04/healthy-whole-grains-really/

      Forums on the topic could well be interesting too – others will gall stones will have tried different things and shared what helped/hindered.

      Good luck!
      Best wishes – Zoe

  • April 30, 2010 at 12:10 pm
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    Hi Christina
    I have just happened upon your comment as I was surfing the internet looking for help to lose weight when hypothyroid. Like you, I am also on HRT and have slightly raised cholesterol. I also do not want to take statins in addition to my other medication. Did you get any answers?

    • April 30, 2010 at 12:27 pm
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      Hi there – we’ve started a club for queries like this so that lots of people are able to help each other – it’s impossible for me to keep up anymore!

      Come and join us on http://www.theharcombedietclub.com

      On the cholesterol – I cannot recommend highly enough a book called “The Great Cholesterol Con” by Dr Malcolm Kendrick. On p160 (it is available free on scribd) Kendrick says “Statins do not save lives in women.” “Statins do not save lives in women.””Statins do not save lives in women.””Statins do not save lives in women.” He literally says it four times – as people are just not getting the message!

      Put “cholesterol” in the search engine (top right hand corner) on http://www.zoeharcombe.com and see some starter info – the Kendrick book will ensure that you never worry about cholesterol again.

      The body makes cholesterol and it is a vital substance for the health of every single cell in our body – do you think the body, in normal circumstances, would make any substance intended to kill you?! It literally is as daft as that. If you have familial hypercholesterolemia (1 in 500 people) – you fall into the ‘not normal circumstances’ category. Everyone else – Lipitor (one statin alone) is worth $12 billion. Why do you think drug companies want you to take statins!?

      Hope to see you in the club – Zoe

  • November 9, 2009 at 6:47 pm
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    Hi,
    A lot of what you say rings true ( the hagen daaz does not spike blood sugar in a diabetic) and my (spanish) gp told me to eat pata negra pork products for my high cholesterol. My question is that I have hypothyroidism (controlled with meds) but weight loss and trying to bring the cholesterol down is nearly impossible. Will this diet help? Im reluctant to use statins as I already take enough meds for the hypothyroidism and HRT. Are there any foods I should be eating to help my thyroid?
    Thanks
    Christina

  • November 9, 2009 at 1:45 pm
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    Jane – no to milk (just for the first few days). Anything not mentioned is left out for a reason. If you’re interested it really is worth getting the book – it’s only £3.14 used on Amazon or £5.93 new. It will explain all about the 3 conditions that cause food cravings, how the diet came about, why the weight loss is so good, how you get in control of food forever etc. If it’s not worth the money I’ll give whatever you pay to the RSPCA!
    Best wishes – Zoe

  • November 9, 2009 at 10:54 am
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    can i have milk with the kallo puffed rice cereal breakfast? it doesnt state in the best magazine

  • November 6, 2009 at 10:10 am
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    Zoe the thing I love about you ..is you ALWAYS DO YOUR HOMEWORK!!! KUDOS TO YOU…AND THANK YOU!!!

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