Category Archives: Health

What is Calorie Density?

What is Calorie Density?

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Calorie density is the simplest approach to healthful eating and lifelong weight management. This common sense approach to sound nutrition allows for lifelong weight management without hunger; more food for fewer calories, and is easy to understand and follow. In addition, by following the principles of calorie density, you will also increase the overall nutrient density of your diet. Nutrient dense foods give you the most nutrients for the fewest amount of calories. In other words, nutrient dense foods give you the “biggest bang for the buck.” You get lots of nutrients, and it doesn’t cost you much in terms of calories. The basic principles of calorie density are really quite simple.

Definition: Calorie density is simply a measure of how much energy (calories) is provided per unit measure of food. Usually expressed as calories per pound.

Example:
1 lb. of vegetables = 100 calories (approx.)
1 lb. of ground beef = 1000 calories (approx.) – regular ground not lean

Calorie dense foods, (high in calorie density) such as beef, chicken, refined sugars, provide many calories in a small amount of food and provide less nutrients than whole plant foods.

Foods with low calorie density — fruits, vegetables — provide fewer total calories and greater nutrition in a larger volume of food. Therefore, by following a diet lower in calorie density, one also automatically consumes a diet higher in nutrient density.

All Calories Are Not Equal !

The image below gives an excellent picture of what calorie density looks like and why when consuming foods high in calories density (on right side) i.e., the Standard American Diet (SAD)–which is mostly based on animal-based products and processed foods including vegetable oils–many Americans consume too many calories and are vitamin and mineral deficient.
Calorie Density Image 2

As you can see foods low in calorie density fill the stomach (satiety) and the foods high in calorie density don’t fill the stomach. Just imagine how a person could consume many more calories in just one meal, easily adding hundreds more calories in just one meal because your stomach is not full. As you can see with the potatoes it is even overflowing because the stomach is full and when that happens your brain is sent a signal, via stomach stretch receptors, that you are full and you can’t eat anymore. With foods high in calorie density it is easier to overeat.

Summary
Calorie density really is a common-sense approach to sound nutrition and is the cornerstone of good health. It is the simplest way to lose and/or manage your weight for life; more food for fewer calories, and is easy to understand and follow. By following a few simple principles, you will increase the amount of food on your plate while decreasing your overall caloric intake, all without ever having to go hungry. At the same time, you will be optimizing your overall nutrient intake (vitamins, minerals, fiber, protein, essential fats, etc.).

Studies have shown that diets based on low calorie density foods tend to be more healthy and effective for weight management. So, eat freely of unrefined, unprocessed fruits, veggies, starchy veggies, intact whole grains and legumes without the addition of salt, sugar and/or fat/oil and you will reap the benefits of a healthy nutrient-dense diet.

Are Meat and Dairy the New Tobacco?

Are Meat and Dairy the New Tobacco?

Health

A new study published by the USC School of Gerontology analyzed 6,318 middle-aged adults for 2 decades and found that those consuming high amounts of animal protein were twice as likely to die of all causes and 4 times more likely to die from cancer than those eating low amounts of protein. Vegetable sources of protein did not have the same effect. Moderate protein intake also had detrimental effects. In contrast, the researchers found that plant-based proteins, such as those from beans, did not seem to have the same mortality effects as animal proteins.

While high protein diets are have been all the rage over the last few years for their waist-whittling goodness, a new study says they could be as bad for you as smoking.

Read the articles:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/04/high-protein-diet-risks_n_4896501.html

http://bit.ly/1eVWOhI

Low-Carb Diets

Low-Carb Diets

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Low-Carb Low Point
bread

Source: pcrm.org

Despite the overwhelming evidence that low-carbohydrate eating is not beneficial, low-carb diets manage to resurrect themselves under different names and on the pages of new books—some desperately declaring new benefits. Whether the scheme is to eat like a caveman, avoid wheat, or eat lots of meat as dictated by your blood type, chances are the unfortunate result is a diet touting high intakes of animal products.

People who consume animal-based, low-carbohydrate diets have a shorter life expectancy, compared with those who consume more plant-based sources of protein or fat and compared with those who consume more carbohydrates, according to a new study published in The Lancet. Researchers combined data from the US-based Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study and seven other multinational prospective studies and found that consuming less than 40 percent or greater than 70 percent of one’s calories from carbohydrate was associated with a higher risk for dying, compared with consuming between 50 and 55 percent of calories from carbohydrate. However, when carbohydrate sources were exchanged for animal-based protein or fat sources (chicken, beef, lamb, pork), the risk for death increased by 18 percent, compared with an 18 percent decreased risk for death when those substitutions were plant-based (nuts, whole-grain breads, and vegetables).

References

  1. Seidelmann SB, Claggett B, Cheng S, et al. Dietary carbohydrate intake and mortality: a prospective cohort study and meta-analysis. Lancet. Published online August 16, 2018.

The Protein Myth

The Protein Myth

Health, , ,

Where do get your protein?

Protein_GorillaI get asked this question all time when people find out I eat a plant-based diet just like the gorilla in the cartoon.

The Truth: All plant foods contain all the essential amino acids, which are the building blocks of proteins. The essential amino acids are called ‘complete proteins’ and called essential because the body does not produce them and must be obtained from our diet. For example, broccoli contains 45% protein from its calories and beans contain 23% to 54% depending on the variety.

As long as one is eating a variety of plant foods in sufficient quantity to maintain one’s weight (enough calories), the body gets plenty of protein. Plants are the only foods eaten by elephants, horses, and hippos, and all three have no trouble growing all the muscle, bone, and tissue they need.

Humans Require Very Little Protein
Without sufficient protein from your diet, your body would be in trouble – but, aside from starvation, this never happens. Yes, a little protein is good, but more is not better. Protein consumed beyond our needs is a health hazard that can be as devastating as excess dietary fat and cholesterol.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that men and women obtain 5% of their calories as protein. This would mean 38 grams of protein for a man burning 3000 calories a day and 29 grams for a woman using 2300 calories a day. This quantity of protein is impossible to avoid when daily calorie needs are met by unrefined starches and vegetables. For example, rice alone would provide 71 grams of highly useable protein and white potatoes would provide 64 grams of protein. The body only needs approximately 30-60 grams/day.

Our greatest time of growth—thus, the time of our greatest need for protein—is during our first 2 years of life—we double in size. At this vigorous developmental stage our ideal food is human milk, which is 5% protein. Compare this need to food choices that should be made as adults—when we are not growing. Rice is 8% protein, corn 11%, oatmeal 15%, and beans 27%.8

Unlike fat, protein cannot be stored. Consumption in excess of our needs overworks the liver and kidneys, and can cause accumulation of toxic protein byproducts. Once the body’s needs are met, then the excess must be removed. The liver converts the excess protein into urea and other nitrogen-containing breakdown products, which are finally eliminated through the kidneys as part of the urine. These unneeded amino acid wastes (proteins) can injure the structures of the kidneys, and over time diets high in protein may promote the development of kidney stones and other health issues such as bone loss, osteoporosis, kidney damage, immune dysfunction, arthritis, cancer promotion, and low-energy. In fact, the recommended diet by the medical community for chronic kidney diseases is a low-protein diet which can be met with whole food, plant-based diet.

Unfortunately, almost everyone on the typical Western diet is overburdened with protein. The public has almost no awareness of problems of protein overload, but scientists have known about the damaging effects of excess protein for more than a century.
Proteins Intake Varies Worldwide

The healthy active lives of hundreds of millions of people laboring in Asia, Africa, and Central and South America on diets with less than half the amount of protein eaten by Americans and Europeans prove that the popular understanding of our protein needs is seriously flawed.

Protein Intake Table
Protein-Intake-Table

** The McDougall Program is the protocol I follow in my nutrition practice.

References:
1) J Pennington. Bowes & Church’s Food Values of Portions Commonly Used. 17th Ed. Lippincott. Philadelphia- New York. 1998.
2) The December 2003 McDougall Newsletter: A Brief History of Protein: Passion, Social Bigotry, and Enlightenment.
3) The January 2004 McDougall Newsletter: Protein Overload