New diet: slightly less carbs and slightly more fat

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

It's no secret that the fashion repeats itself every 10 years, and we get new-old outfits with small additions. The same goes for diets. That only British scientists have not discovered as a result of their research. And today I want to share another rather pleasant and tasty discovery: in order to lose weight, it is not necessary to completely give up fat and meticulously calculate the calories consumed. It's much easier! Meet the new-old diet: less carbs and a little more fat;)

Fat in foods - good or bad? It was hammered into our heads that foods high in animal fat are bad (heart and blood vessel problems), but at the same time we forget that it is fats that are responsible for skin smoothness, hair shine and for thermoregulation in our body. It's just that fats are useful and not very good. Scientists once again studied the data of various studies and came to a rather interesting conclusion: people who eat more fat than carbohydrates (even saturated fat), as a result, lose excess weight faster, and the risk of earning cardiovascular disease is reduced compared to those who eat who monitor their diet and keep their fat intake to a minimum.

In general, this is a very controversial issue, and the point has not yet been put in it, therefore new hypotheses are considered and more and more new assumptions are made, usually beginning with the words "British scientists have established." So why not give another theory a chance, especially since it looks pretty appetizing?

To begin with, let's remember that some types of polyunsaturated fats are useful. - these are linoleic (omega-6 fatty acids) and alpha-linolenic acids (omega-3). That is, it is already a million times vaunted red fish (omega-3) and vegetable oils (omega-6). But even saturated fats, which everyone scolds so amicably, have a useful function - they provide our body with energy. And cholesterol, for example, is a part of cell membranes, and it is involved in the production of vitamin D, sex hormones (estrogens, testosterone, progesterone), stress hormones (cortisol, aldosterone) and, most interestingly, it spurs the production of serotonin, which also known as a good mood hormone. So the complete elimination of cholesterol from your food threatens you with at least a depressed mood.

So what else do scientists say? And they say that earlier findings were revised after a longer period, and the studies showed a more complex picture. That is, not everything is as straightforward as it seems. People who ate fewer carbohydrates and more dietary fat also decreased their chances of acquiring cardiovascular disease and were more effective at reducing their strategic fat stores and losing weight.

The new study was funded by the National Institutes of Health. A group of 150 men and women of various races were assigned a new diet to follow for a year. This diet for weight loss limited the amount of fat or carbohydrates, but in no way affected the total amount of calories consumed, that is, the calorie content of the products was not limited in any way.

In the end, it turned out that you can lose weight by limiting yourself in the use of carbohydrates, but at the same time absolutely not pay attention to the number of calories received. This means that in order to lose weight, it is not at all painful to count the calories eaten. It is enough to keep track of what you eat and that's it. It's much easier.

This diet was popular in the 1970s, but it was heavily criticized because it was believed that a person was losing weight in the form of water, not fat, and cholesterol clogs blood vessels and creates problems in the form of heart disease. This was due to the fact that people on this diet ate too much dairy and meat products containing a lot of saturated fat, that is, they did not control the amount and quality of fat. As a result, many nutritionists and doctors were against the low-carb diet and actively expressed their opinions.

New research has shown that this is actually not the case. By the end of the experimental year, people in the low-carb group had lost an average of 8 pounds more than the low-fat group, had higher fat loss rates, and increased muscle mass, although neither group changed the amount of exercise. … The group on the low-fat diet lost not only fat but also muscle mass.

Dr. Mozaffarian noted that loss of muscle mass is a problem, as maintaining a balance of muscle and fat mass in our body is more important than losing weight.

The low-carb group was allowed to eat a lot of fatty foods, but these were mostly unsaturated fats: olive oil, fish, and nuts. However, they were also allowed to eat other saturated fat foods, including red meat and cheese.

A typical diet consisted of an egg for breakfast, a tuna salad for lunch, and a protein dinner: red meat, fish, pork, or tofu along with vegetables. It was suggested to cook with vegetable oils, but butter was allowed. As a result, they got about 13% of their daily calories from fat, mostly unsaturated.

The low-fat group included cereals and grains that were high in starch. In doing so, they reduced their fat intake by 30%. The second group, on the contrary, increased their fat intake to 40%. Participants in both groups were also advised to eat more legumes and fresh fruits.

As a result, tests showed that in the group with a low-carb diet, the level of good cholesterol in the blood increased, and markers of inflammation and triglycerides (a type of fat circulating in human blood) decreased. These rates were better than those in the low-fat diet group. Another big plus for low-carb people is that they've been able to lower their risk estimates for Framingham, which calculates the risk of heart attack over the next 10 years.

Dr. Mozaffarian believes that it is necessary to gradually reduce the tantrum aimed at fat, and explain to people why these elements are important, while reducing the consumption of processed carbohydrates.

Conclusion: we need to analyze what we feed ourselves with. We can avoid consuming whole milk or rummage through the entire rack of fermented milk products in search of low-fat cottage cheese or yogurt, but at the same time completely ignore the amount of sugar it contains. As one familiar trainer said, fat-free ≠ low-calorie.;)