I’m interested not only in growing food, but its nutritional aspects as well and how they impact on total health. So Stephan Guyenet’s website, Whole Health Source is one of my must reads.
I like to eat, too (who doesn’t?), so I need to watch my weight (again who doesn’t?). What to watch the most? Fat or carbohydrate? Or just total calories, forget about where they come from?
This latest post from Stephan Guyenet gives some answers: Fat vs. Carbohydrate Overeating: Which Causes More Fat Gain?
It seems that:
…….the clear winner is the hypothesis that total calorie intake determines body fatness, but not the proportion of dietary fat or carbohydrate.
So I just have to worry about the quantity of food (calorie intake) I eat, and not so much where it comes from. But then…..note the first comment following the post, re blood sugar metabolism.
It’s never easy, is it?
Foodnstuff 
May 2, 2014 at 5:16 am |
I have a simple rule to keep me fitting frontways through doors… I love to eat. I REALLY love to eat. I eat a whole LOT of vegetable matter and tuck the higher calorie and more starchy stuff in the holes that the vegetables leave. Seems to work for me 😉
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May 2, 2014 at 12:32 pm |
I know, I know. But I’m a sucker for a big bag of lollies, chips or a handful of sweet biscuits. 😉
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May 2, 2014 at 3:58 pm |
Don’t talk to me about chips…especially hot chips. Heaven on an earthy stick ;). If I could live on potatoes I would (so long as I could have oil and butter and salt to go with them 😉 )
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May 2, 2014 at 9:41 am |
Intersting post. Its great to see a link to a well considered, evidence based article (which I have to say is far from the norm in nutrition on the interwebs). If you are interested, this is another good nutrition science blog http://www.scepticalnutritionist.com.au, but has slightly more of a public health focus.
Being a dietitian who works in diabetes, I was a bit perplexed by the first comment in the article you noted. There is some evidence that weight management is more challenging in people with diabetes, but overweight and obesity also contributes to diabetes risk. Its a chicken and egg scenario. And I don’t think there is perfect evidence to state that blood sugar spikes are related to hunger – there is so much more to it than that: the neurological hormones acting on the hypothalamus (of which we only understand about 8 of them, there may be more), the recent gut hormones (GIT, GLP etc) which we have only been studying for the last 5 years or so, and no doubt we will discover more. Only in the early 2000s did the fat regulating hormone leptin come out, hailed as a breakthrough in obesity management only to fail spectacularly.
I totally agree with narf77 – eat heaps of veggies and whatever room is left for protein and carbs. Very difficult to overeat veg! And only 2-6% of Aussies eat 5 serves of veg a day. If there was one thing I wish all my clients did it would be eat more veg! And no, I don’t include potato in that 😉
Michael Pollans food rules are also tops, and so well quoted I’m sure I don’t need to repeat them here.
Sorry for the excessive reply.
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May 2, 2014 at 12:40 pm |
Excessive replies gratefully accepted, especially when they increase my knowledge! I’d forgotten you’re a dietician. Thanks for the link to that blog; it’s hard to separate the facts from the myths sometimes. That’s why I like to read someone who quotes all the proper studies.
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May 2, 2014 at 12:57 pm |
What goes in must come out is my basic rule and I’m not being crude there either but if you eat 5000 calories you need to burn off over the course of the day 5001 calories in order to maintain/lose weight. I’m fairly fortunate that I used to be able to eat what I wanted with zero obvious consequences which probably slapped my father in the face (massive weight and related health issues) but my 30’s brought about a change that means I need to be somewhat careful these days. Adding in a gluten intolerance and choice to avoid all processed sugars has seen my weight cease its couple of kilo fluctuation each month and although I would like to lose a few I am also very stable for the first time ever and eating probably the best food I’ve ever eaten. Not to mention working my butt off chasing goats, sheep, 3 kids and veggie gardens around the year. 🙂
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May 3, 2014 at 4:35 pm |
Home grown is ALWAYS the best you’ll ever eat.
(Not chasing chooks too? I’ve forgotten whether you have them; would be surprised if not 😉 )
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May 5, 2014 at 3:55 pm |
Yep I have chooks and sucks by the kids chase them. 😉
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