Following its success across the world, the most recent diet craze product, Zero Noodles, is expected to take the UK by storm.
Containing just 10 calories, zero sugar and zero fat, the noodles are pitched as a viable alternative to pasta that can greatly help weight loss.
Laura Lamont of Glow Nutrition, makers of the revolutionary diet food, explains: “Replace your usual carbs with ZERO NOODLES on a regular basis and you will dramatically reduce your calorie intake - while still enjoying a tasty and satisfying meal.”
Naturally, HuffPost UK Lifestyle were suspicious intrigued and so we called on a expert dietician and our trusty taste buds to put Zero Noodles to the test.
Taste Test Verdict:
Guinea Pig Number 1: "To me noodles are comfort food, but these taste like a rubbery health snack and refuse to soak up flavour, however much you douse them in soy sauce."
Guinea Pig Number 2: "Zero fat, zero sugar, zero taste. I couldn't chew them and they didn't fill me up at all. There was nothing else in the fridge but a roll leftover from yesterday's lunch, so I had that. It was a sad day."
Glow Nutrition claim that the product's key ingredient, Glucomanan, helps prevent hunger pangs and over-eating.
However, Alison Hornby, a registered dietitian and spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association, told HuffPost UK Lifestyle: "Glucomanan might help you feel full for longer after your meal. But it is only present in very small quantities in these noodles, which are mostly water."
She added: "It would be inadvisable to replace the carbohydrates at every meal with these noodles as this food group is a key source of energy and nutrients in a balanced diet."
Other foods, such as fruit and vegetables, contain similar ratios of water and soluble fibre, as well as many useful micronutrients, and are a cheaper food choice for those wanting to reduce their calorie intake."
"The common sense rule generally applies to all extreme diet foods: if it sounds too good to be true it generally is."
"The fail safe recipe for healthy weight loss is reducing the number of calories you eat by choosing lower fat and lower sugar foods, eating modest portions and including plenty of fruit and vegetables in your diet. Eating fewer calories combined with burning off more calories through exercise will reliably deliver weight loss," she continues.
Alison also warns that it's tempting to load 'neutral' tasting food, such Zero Noodles, with calorific sauces.
"Ensuring that the foods eaten with these noodles are also low calorie is significant if weight loss is to be achieved.
"Loading a 10 calorie plate of noodles with a 300-calorie sweet and sour sauce would defeat the purpose of making this food choice."
Available from Holland & Barrett stores nationwide and online at www.hollandandbarrett.com priced at £1.99 for a 200g pack.