Markus Andrews

There is seemingly no end to what we’ll try to keep trim: down spoonfuls of apple cider vinegar and even combine coffee with lemons. Now, enter the new It-Girl of weight loss: sea moss.

The spiny plant, which grows abundantly in the ocean, has been used for ages as a thickening agent, because of a compound called carrageenan. Now, people are eating spoonfuls of the stuff in the hope that it’ll shift kilos, clear up skin and boost their health.

What is sea moss?

Sea moss is a sea vegetable that’s used commercially to thicken foods. Scientifically, it’s known by the name Chondrus crispus, and it’s a type of algae that grows along Atlantic coasts. It’s also known as Irish Moss. It grows in different colours, from purple, white and green, and each have their own benefits.

What are the benefits of sea moss?

“Up until recently, sea moss had not been extensively studied, but its benefits are believed to be like those of other seaweeds,” says registered dietician Cally Frost of Nutritional Solutions.

They contain a few vitamins and minerals that have escalated their status from overlooked seaweed to certified superfood. Per the USDA, sea moss is low in calories and has a moderate amount of protein, while being high in fibre. It’s also high in calcium, iron, magnesium, copper and zinc. Because it’s a sea veg, sea moss supports thyroid health because it’s high in iodine, a micronutrient that’s clutch for healthy thyroid function. They’re also touted to be imbibed with live bacteria, which supports a healthy gut.

“There are, however, many factors that can reduce the bioaccessibility and bioavailability of seaweed components and further randomised controlled clinical trials are required in large human cohorts.,” says Cally.

Sea moss also supports your immune system, since they’re rich in bioactive compounds like proteins, peptides and amino acids. These “are responsible for imparting various health benefits and immune system support,” says Cally. But they’re not the Holy Grail.

“Whilst these elements are important, it is by no means superior to supporting your immune system through a healthy lifestyle such as eating nutrient rich food sources, regular exercise, cessation of smoking and alcohol etc,” Cally cautions.

So, does sea moss work for weight loss?

It might. But that’s only due to a few factors, the biggest of which is its high fibre content. Fibre isn’t digested in the gut, which leads to a feeling of satiety for longer, making you eat less in the long run. But tons of foods are high in fibre, like lentils, beans and complex carbohydrates. So filling up with those could mitigate the need to add sea moss into your diet.

Next, sea moss is full of a compound, fucoxanthin, which some studies in rats have found can help with fat metabolism and could prevent the absorption of fat. But we need more studies to understand this process more fully in humans.

“By adding sea moss to the diet, a person may inadvertently be improving other factors of their diet at the same time, which may contribute to weight loss,” says Cally. “There are currently no scientific articles or research to support the claim that sea moss directly facilitates weight loss.”

What are the downsides?

Before using any product, it’s important to do your research and see if the ingredient list stacks up. Since it’s a key contributor of iodine, you’d need to make sure you don’t take too much, especially if you’re struggling with hyperthyroidism or take thyroid medication. Then there’s the issue of heavy metals. “Seaweeds possess the risk of accumulating heavy metals such as arsenic, mercury and lead. This depends on where it has been harvested from,” Cally notes.

“There is still so much to learn about the efficacy and safety of sea moss, and it is important to be aware of the potential risks and to not get caught up in the hype of the next trend, especially if the source of information is not coming from an accredited health care professional.” More

Being pregnant is a journey with its ups and downs. That’s how it was for fitness influencer Ophela Mhlauli, who kept up her workouts throughout the journey. Here’s how she adjusted her fitness while pregnant.

Ophela Mhlauli’s first trimester

When Ophela, 25, found out she was pregnant, her first trimester didn’t go as easily as she’d hoped. Instead of feeling blissful, she spent most of her time resting because of morning sickness that lasted most of the day. “I need people to know that there is the good and the bad to that, you know, and we need to just stop sugar-coating it so much,” she says. “It is a wonderful journey. However, it also has its own obstacles.”

One of those obstacles was her difficulty keeping any food down. For the first trimester, she subsisted on ice, frozen drinks and a little fruit. “I could not stomach anything. That was what was so frustrating,” she recalls.

Added to that, her energy levels were low and her workouts, which she’s so well known for on Instagram, took a knock. Instead, Ophela turned to light swims in the pool. “I would go for a swim, for forty-five minutes, maybe an hour, depending on how I felt,” she says.

The second trimester

By the time her second trimester started in November, Ophela’s energy levels started coming back, along with her appetite. “From then I just really started enjoying my pregnancy because I could eat anything and everything that I wanted,” she says.

“Pregnancy just changed everything. It just took me back,” she says. Ophela would find herself wanting to eat foods from her childhood, like Maltabella, masi, meat and potatoes and infuse it with her usual healthy foods, like broccoli, brown rice and asparagus. She also loved to mix potatoes with spinach and cabbage, as she had in her childhood.

For her workouts, her energy levels and doctor gave her the go-ahead to train the way she’d been doing before pregnancy. She returned to cardio and weighted workouts. “ I would do some squats, weighted squats. I would do walking lunges. I would do single-leg deadlifts,” she says.

The third trimester

By the third trimester, her baby was growing and so was she. She kept at her workouts, but scaled them down to keep her heart rate in check. “I told myself that I’m just going to go with the flow, whatever it is, that is within my control,” she says. This involved light, simple weighted workouts, like squats with a Bosu ball and simple dumbbell presses. She’d also stick to swimming with her flippers on and did walks on the treadmill.

Looking back, Ophela thinks of her pregnancy with mixed feelings. “I can overall describe my pregnancy as a little both rocky (in the beginning because of the sickness) and a walk in the park (after the sickness),” she says.

To others, she advises to take things as they come and listen to your body. “My approach to health and fitness during pregnancy is to block all the noise, people’s opinions and experiences, social media (especially Google) and listen to your doctor and body and you’ll have the most blissful experience,” she shares. “When you feel like training, go and when you feel like resting, take that rest.” More

TikTok has taught us many things: how salads can become more popular than celebrities, the historical accuracy of Bridgerton costumes and that nothing catches on faster than a dance. There’s something about watching people move joyfully to some juicy tune that just makes you want to get off your butt and do the same dancing workouts. What’s uncanny is how long you’re bouncing around before you realise your quads hurt. “You don’t even notice that you are doing jumping jacks and jump squats and whatever it might be because you’re so focused on the enjoyment of the song,” says Kirsten Johnson, former dancer and founder of the Find Balance Kindly workout app, a series of dance-inspired functional workouts. 

And right there lies the beauty of dancing workouts: you’ll be working hard without even knowing it, all while having the time of your life. 

If joy – and sticking to a workout, any workout – is what you’re after, dancing could be the key. But there’s a caveat: just swaying along for hours like a dandelion in the wind isn’t going to cut it. Not least because swaying around indicates that you’re not having much fun at all. We’ve dug around to find what you should be doing instead. 

Dance ‘till you drop 

As a teenager, professional dancer Kelly Ernstzen danced constantly. In the hallways between classes, in the bathroom, while chatting to friends. It’s no wonder, then, that she was incredibly fit and slim. “You enjoy it so much that you don’t think about how tired you’re getting,” she says. Now that she’s in her thirties and dancing professionally, she’s realised just how fit her dancing has kept her fit for so long. Science backs it up: a Los Angeles study found that just 20 minutes of hard dancing is also the equivalent of running for 20 minutes but is a more balanced workout, engaging the core, upper and lower body all at once. 

“A Los Angeles study found that just 20 minutes of hard dancing is also the equivalent of running for 20 minutes but is a more balanced workout, engaging the core, upper and lower body all at once.”  

But in order or gain the benefits, you’d need to be going hard. That means dancing to a faster song and using more vigorous movements than say, simply bobbing your head. While you can take your pick of the kinds of dances you’d like to try (there are many), know that each kind affects your body in different ways. 

Ballerinas have long, slim lines because they’re lifting their legs and arms constantly, working against gravity. As a student, Kelly needed to study various forms of dancing – and felt the different muscle groups from class to class. “African dancing is much more grounded, so I felt like my legs – or the bottom half of my body – were developing much faster,” she says. “My upper body and my core were developing much more when I was doing contemporary [dance]. And with hip-hop, it’s more cardio-based, fast, keeping with the rhythm and the tempo.” 

Boost your brain  

A study in the journal Psychology of Sport and Exercise found that when dance class participants were at just 60% of their maximum heart rate, cognitive function improved. That’s because dance class is a little more than jumping up and down to Drake on a Friday night – there’s choreography to learn. And since dancing incorporates your entire body, you need to pay attention to cross-body movements, coordinating the left side of your body to move in sync with your right (like rubbing your tummy and patting your head at the same time). Research has found that dance promotes brain plasticity – that is, it’s as much a workout for your brain as it is for your body. The results are exciting: because of the cross-body movement, the connection between the hemispheres of your brain is strengthened. Think: improved balance, memory and attention.

“Research has found that dance promotes brain plasticity – that is, it’s as much a workout for your brain as it is for your body.”

There’s more. Grooving can even ward off dementia by as much as 76% – greater than the effects of doing crossword puzzles four days a week, according to a study of seniors by the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. 

Shake it off   

“We are too busy being active and enjoying ourselves to feel the aches and pains,” is the title of one Cape Town-based study on the effects of dancing. Investigating the effects of dancing on women between the ages of 60 to 80, researchers found that participants did not subscribe to the typical belief that mental capacity and physical endurance start to decline when a woman hits 60. They just didn’t see it that way. Makes sense, since dance is its own kind of therapy, capable of alleviating depression, increasing mindfulness and boosting self-esteem. 

For Johnson, the biggest shift she’s seen is in her clients’ mindset. “My biggest objective with any client is that they change the way they see exercise,” she says. “On bad days in the past, clients would always say, ‘I’m having a bad day, I don’t feel well and therefore, I’m going to cancel my session,’ whereas now I notice they say, ‘I’ve had a really bad day, I really need to work out today.’” 

“My biggest objective with any client is that they change the way they see exercise”
Kirsten Johnson, dancer and instructor

For Ernstzen, what’s great is seeing how her students start feeling more confident. “I think besides all the physical aspects of it, once you start dancing, you kind of get to learn about your body a bit more,” she says. “I think you just get a little bit more in tune with your body. And you start appreciating what your body can do more.” 

So where to begin? Pick the right kind of music and start jamming. It can not only chisel your bod and mind, but make you feel so good, too. And when you’ve got only one body to work with, shouldn’t you appreciate it as joyfully as you can? 

Dancing workout apps

Steezy

Steezy has a plethora of dance classes of different styles to choose from, including ballet, contemporary, hip hop and salsa.

FitOn

Try out something new with FitOn, which has not only regular workouts but dance routines, too.

TikTok

Why not try one of the many viral TikTok dances? Play the clip back at half-speed so you can learn slowly. More

It’s time to ditch the fad diets and embrace the power of simple, healthy eating habits. These habits may seem small, but they can have a big impact on your overall well-being. By adopting these righteous rituals, you can change your body for the better and feel your best. And the best part?

These habits aren’t complicated or time-consuming. They can easily be integrated into your daily routine without much effort. So, whether it’s swapping out sugary drinks for water, adding more veggies to your plate, or eating mindfully, these gastronomic good deeds should be at the top of your to-do list today.

Habit 1: Say yes to beans

Top your salads with half a cup of black beans or kidney beans. Legume eaters have smaller waistlines and a 22% lower risk of obesity than bean shunners.

Faithful to Nature Black Beans

Woolworths Split Red Lentils

Komati White Kidney Beans

Habit 2: Squeeze in goodness

Squeeze a lemon wedge into every glass of water you drink. One lemon provides just 63kJ, but more than 45 percent of your daily immune-boosting vitamin C (and it costs a lot less than flavoured bottled water).

Habit 3: Garlic for the win

Use crushed garlic when cooking vegetables. It slashes your risk of everything from food-borne illnesses to heart disease and the common cold.

Habit 4: An apple (or two) a day…

Eat two apples as an afternoon snack. They act as nature’s energy bar and, if you leave their skin on, two of these crunchy gems help you meet 20 percent of your daily fibre quota for just 500kJ. They also deliver loads of the antioxidant vitamin C and the mineral potassium, which reduces the risk of stroke and heart disease while soothing feelings of anxiety, irritability and stress.

UCook Curried Chicken & Butternut Recipe

5. Ed’s tip: UCook Meal Kits

One of the biggest saboteurs of healthy eating? Time.

Try the UCook meal kits or frozen dishes to take out the hassle of planning dinner tonight. They offer restaurant-quality meals planned, packed and delivered to your doorstep.

Opt for the Veggie and Carb Conscious options.

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