The Sensa Diet is essentially no diet at all. In fact, using Sensa allows you to eat as much as you want, just sprinkle this proprietary blend of ingredients onto any food you want, including chips, brownies and pasta. Manufacturers claim that one bonus of using Sensa is that you don't have to exercise. The idea of being able to gorge on your favorite foods and avoid exercise while dropping pounds is appealing. However, the plan does cause controversy, as it does not promote healthy eating or exercise as part of weight loss.
Identification
The Sensa Diet plan was developed by Dr. Alan Hirsch. People on the plan use tastants, or sprinkles that are used like salt. The tastants come in two containers. One is used for sweet foods, the other shaker is used for savory foods. To use the Sensa shakers, pour the tastants on all the foods you eat throughout the day. The tastants are not effective on liquids, so are not used on soups or beverages.
How It Works
The Sensa diet was developed to affect appetite through smell. Dr. Hirsch claims that food that is sprinkled with tastants will stimulate the olfactory bulb. According to the New York Times, the olfactory bulb is responsible for transmitting smell from your nose to your brain, signaling that you are full. The theory is that if you feel full, you stop eating, thus lose weight.
Weight Loss
Dr. Hirsch conducted studies using 2,436 overweight or obese subjects, reports Ereka Alert. Each one of the subjects was instructed to use Sensa tastants on all the food they ate. After six months of using the tastants at home, results showed that the average weight loss was about 15 percent of their body weight, or 30.5 lbs. Dr. Amanda Peeke claims, there is no real proof that Sensa works, as the subjects were not monitored during the study. Without monitoring, the subjects were allowed to weigh themselves and report it. This of course can lead to unreliable results. There have also been no follow-up studies on whether or not the subjects kept the weight off.
Keeping Weight Off
Keeping the weight off once it is lost is an important factor in any diet. 20/20 found four people that participated in Hirsch's study. All of them reported that the weight they had lost came back. Others that participated in the study claimed that as soon as they stopped using the tastants, they started to gain weight again. According to Hirsch, once the study was over, it was over -- the bottom line is that people lost 30 lbs. in six months.
Speculation
Although Dr. Hirsch claims that Sensa tastants are a proven way to lose weight, some dispute his findings. Barker Bausell, a professor at the University of Maryland, and one of the nations top authorities on clinical studies, claims that as Hirsch's research has yet, not been published in a major medical journal, it has a negative value. Hirsch claims that his research on Sensa's effectiveness on diet was reviewed and approved by the Endocrine Society. Yet the Endocrine Society claims this is not true. The truth is that it only invited him to show his work for debate. In fact, it claims to be troubled by the promotional value of his presentation, reports the New York Times.
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