1. Will I ever get rid of this baby weight?
2. Can a multi really work like a diet pill?
3. Help! My blood pressure won’t go down!

Will I ever get rid of this baby weight?    The other day I saw a news report saying that new moms who want to lose their pregnancy weight need to sleep more.  This is a joke, right?  With a three-month-old and a full-time job, I can’t sleep more than five hours a night!  What else can I try? 

It is possible to shed the baby weight without extra sleep.  The trick is to jump-start the body’s production of the appetite-regulating hormone leptin.  Sleep deprivation hinders leptin production—internal levels fall by 19 to 26 percent after less than a week of impaired sleep.  This switches the brain into false “starvation mode,” which increases appetite.  To offset this effect, aim to consume three daily servings of whole grains such as brown rice and bread with at least 3 grams of fiber per slice.  Their complex carbs are proven to rev production of leptin.  Also helpful: Up your daily intake of magnesium, which improves cells’ ability to process the hormone, to 400 mg.  Rich sources of the mineral include sunflower seeds (225 mg per ½ cup) and spinach (240 mg per cup, raw). 

Can a multi really work like a diet pill?  My pal and I have always joked that we have a little extra “junk in the trunk.”  But she recently lost 15 pounds—so now the joke’s on me.  She claims that all she did was start taking a multi-vitamin.  Are these results for real?

Believe it or not, a groundbreaking study in the United Kingdom found that women who took a daily multi shed three times more weight than those who skipped the vitamins, plus they experienced a significant reduction in appetite and cravings.  Here’s why: Stress and common meds (like aspirin) can drain weight-controlling nutrients from the body.  But a multivitamin corrects shortfalls.  Its vitamin C lowers levels of the stress hormone cortisol, B vitamins metabolize carbs and calcium prevents cravings and hormonal imbalances.

Help!  My blood pressure won’t go down!   After being diagnosed with hypertension, I started opting for foods labeled “low sodium.”  But at my last checkup, my doctor said that my blood pressure had barely improved.  Why aren’t these dietary changes helping?

You’ve wisely taken steps to limit your intake of sodium chloride, the salt in most processed fare.  But there’s another unhealthy salt on the scene: sodium benzoate, which is used as a preservative in everything from soda to cereal.  The body considers this compound foreign and scrambles to flush it out, causing a rise in blood pressure.  While sodium benzoate is listed on food labels, it’s too widespread to avoid completely.  The easiest fix: Increase your intake of potassium.  This mineral removes bad salts from cells, so the body doesn’t strain to eliminate them.  In a Johns Hopkins University study, subjects who ate potassium-rich foods experienced a 19 percent drop in blood pressure in under two weeks!  Great sources of potassium include bananas and potatoes.  Or take a daily supplement of potassium gluconate (an easily absorbed form), like Nature Made Potassium Gluconate 550mg ($5 for 100 tablets, at drugstores).