A 62 year-old health coach has claimed a bizarre diet of sardines and plant oil has helped her shed two stone and ease symptoms of an agonising pain condition.
The 5ft 7in paramedic weighed 13 stone in May of this year, meaning her body mass index (BMI) was firmly in the overweight category.
However, within just 10 days on her tinned fish eating plan she’d dropped nearly a stone, which was ‘all fluid’.
By day 70, she’d dropped to 11 stone and 7lbs — just two lbs of weight loss away from being classified a healthy weight.
Jane, 62, lost 30lbs in two and a half months thanks to a sardine-only diet.
What’s more, she claims the high protein diet also helped resolve pain caused by a common foot problem known as plantar fasciitis.
The condition causes pain at the bottom of the foot, around the heel and arch, particularly when walking.
Scientists aren’t sure what exactly causes the condition, but carrying excess weight is known to make it worse due to excess pressure on the feet.
Speaking to social media doctor Annette Bosworth, better known as Dr Boz, the woman claimed her foot pain had gone ‘from a 10, to a two’ following the sardine diet.
‘At week one I was in tears [with pain],’ said the woman, who Dr Boz referred to as Jane.
Sardines have long been recommended by experts for their high calcium content which can help keep bones strong in old age.
‘Initially my goal was to reduce the pain but now it is further recognising the problem I have with [food] volume addiction,’ she said in a video posted to Dr Boz’s YouTube channel, where she has nearly 700,000 subscribers.
‘I’m learning that I can have small bowls of food and still be satisfied.’
Jane explained she decided to embark on the diet when her previous carnivore-style eating plan stopped helping her lose weight.
The former military worker had gained two and a half stone within a year due to the excess calories she was consuming on the low-carb, meat-heavy diet.
When she first discussed the idea of a sardine-only diet to friends and family, they thought she was ‘nuts’ and that she was ‘depriving’ herself of nutrition.
‘My sister is a nurse, so the first we did was work out that I would be getting enough nutrition,’ she said, adding that she takes a daily multivitamin.
Jane logged her blood sugar levels throughout the experiment and found they dropped as time went on.
Jane said she was also concerned about the quantity of heavy metals such as mercury in the quantity of sardines she was eating.
Mercury is a naturally occurring heavy metal that can build up in the bodies of fish in the form of methylmercury, which is highly toxic.
However, UK studies show that level of the metal in our tinned fish is mostly negligible.
‘Sardines are the smallest fish,’ said Jane. ‘We don’t think theres a lot ofmercury in there because they don’t live for very long.’
Her diet constists of four tins of sardines per day, along with two tablespoons of a type of plant oil called MCT at every meal.
MCT oil is a laboratory-made, flavourless substance extracted from palm kernels and coconuts.
Some social media diet influencers argue that the fat in MCT oil can aid weight loss as the body breaks it down more effectively than other fat molecules.
Jane kept her energy intake tightly controlled to ensure she was never eating more than 1500 calories per day.
Images show Jane at her heaviest last year, before embarking on a carnivore diet which saw her lose two and a half stone.
The NHS recommends women should eat around 2000 calories and men 2500 in order to maintain their weight.
Detailing her daily diet, Jane said she begins with her first tin of sardines stomach-churningly early; at 8am.
At lunchtime, around 12pm, she ‘doubles up’, opting for two tins along with four tablespoons of MCT oil.
Unusually, she ensures her last meal of the day is before 3pm, when she eats her final tin.
‘It hit me by day 30,’ she said. ‘Sardines satisfied my hunger.
‘I didn’t have the need to wonder where my next meal was going to be, or where it was going to come from.
‘I wasn’t munchy and going to the cupboard….it was like this lightbulb that went off. I’m not hungry — I don’t need to eat.’
Jane measured her daily blood sugars throughout the experiment and claimed that, after just five days, her levels had ‘dropped’ into a healthier category.
Blood sugar that consistently measures over 7mmol/l before eating is associated with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes.
Jane says her daily fasting blood sugar dropped from 9mmol/l before the experiment, to between 6 and 7.
As for whether she’s getting bored of eating sardines every day, Jane said she’s ‘so happy’ to eat the tinned fish so often.
‘I am not done — I’m going to keep going,’ she said.
Sardines and other oily fish are thought to be particularly nutritious due to the multitude of vitamins, minerals and macronutrients they provide, despite being relatively low in calories.
The NHS recommends eating fish like sardines or pilchards as they are high in vitamin D and calcium, which are essential for strengthening bones.
One tin of sardines also contains nearly 20g of filling protein, vital for strong muscles as well as ensuring fullness. This is just under half the amount the NHS recommends an adult woman should eat daily.
A tin contains roughly 230 calories, making it a relatively slimming meal choice.
Some scientists who advocate for an abundance of oily fish in the diet argue that it can boost brain health and even protect against dementia, due to high levels of omega 3 fats.
However, a series of recent analyses have concluded that fish oil supplements containing omega 3 make little difference to dementia risk.
