At my son's encouragement, I looked into whether or not we should be drinking whole milk. I was surprised not only to find the wealth of research on the benefit of fat in our diet, but also to find that it is NOT new information! About the time the "low fat" diet was being touted, other research pointed to sugar as the culprit to weight gain and poor health. Yet, low-fat eating became the norm, and the sugar studies - with the more solid evidence - was ignored. The low-fat diet has been a disaster. We are fatter than ever. How did this happen? "In her painstakingly researched book, The Big Fat Surprise, the journalist Nina Teicholz traces the history of the proposition that saturated fats cause heart disease, and reveals the remarkable extent to which its progress from controversial theory to accepted truth was driven, not by new evidence, but by the influence of a few powerful personalities, one in particular." The Sugar Conspiracy - How did the world’s top nutrition scientists get it so wrong for so long?
In the process of researching this issue, I discovered a "radical" new diet book, "Always Hungry?" by Dr. David Ludwig, who says overeating doesn’t make you fat; the process of getting fat makes you overeat. "The low-fat/high carbohydrate diet we’ve been told to eat for 40 years has raised insulin levels and triggered our fat cells to hoard too many calories, leaving too few for the rest of the body. Recognizing this problem, the brain responds in a logical way – by making us hungry (to get more calories) and slowing down metabolism (to conserve them). But as long as fat cells remain on calorie storage overdrive, the extra calories we eat won’t stay in the blood for long, and will instead fuel the growth of more body fat. Think of insulin as “Miracle-Gro” for fat cells."
Could this explain why, since I climbed on the low-fat bandwagon, I'm now 30 pounds heavier than when I started? If you know me, you have probably been one of many who tell me I am the healthiest eater they know. I rarely eat sweets, my meals always, ALWAYS feature fresh vegetables, and I'm very active, between tennis, biking, gym, and hiking. I bought the book and joined the Dr. Ludwig's Facebook page dedicated to followers of this "new" way of eating. I reveled in the freedom of bringing back whole foods: whole dairy, chicken with skin on it, nuts, and real butter. Although most people on the diet report feeling better than they have in years, and many have lost weight, some of us--me included-- are very frustrated with the lack of progress moving down the numbers on the scale. Dr. Ludwig and his wife counsel people to listen to their body, to learn to eat just enough. Unfortunately, it is tricky to find that tipping point, just what does my body need, without eating too much.
I feel hopeful that someday, they'll discover the secrets as to why some people have lucky metabolisms, and why some of us smell chocolate cake and gain a pound. It's frustrating to watch people eat twice as much as I do, some who wear half the size as me. Obviously, I need less. I'm reminded of a cooking class I took with a friend years ago. The class started at dinner time, so we arrived hungry, prepared to be delighted at a winery chef's creation. She began by making dessert: fresh ice cream. It looked wonderful, but she made only a couple quarts, and there were at least 20 people in the class. I began to worry that we'd have to stop for a "real" dinner afterward. The first appetizer was tiny - barely a bite or two. The next course, a salad, was also very small, but it was topped with a poached egg and a few bits of bacon. I was convinced we'd leave hungry. The main course, a braised rib and polenta, was served on a plate the size of a small saucer. Yet by the time dessert was served - two of the smallest scoops of ice cream I have ever seen - I could barely finish it. I was stunned to realize I certainly don't need as much food as I think I do. Unfortunately, that experience did not recondition my habits in portion sizes. For now, I'll have to rely on portion control to budge the scale. But I'll be doing it with delicious, whole foods...if only a bite or two.
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