Posts Tagged ‘healthy food’
Let’s hear it for potato chips
It must be the summer as the level of science has dropped, but the level of important information has remained at an all time high. We now have an article that included 120,877 men and women who were all healthcare professionals. They were followed for up to 20 years. The participants in this study gained an average of 3.35 pounds every four years. This number correlates with our general medical belief that people gain an average of 10 pounds a decade.
Published in the N Engl J Med 2011; 364:2392-2404 this study proved once and for all that eating potato chips causes obesity. This is followed in second place by eating potatoes or fries. The best foods to eat are yogurt and nuts. It should also not be a surprise that drinking sugar sweetened beverages of any kind wasn’t such a good idea either. No calorie soda seems to be ok. I told you not to super size it.
One of the most surprising findings was that it doesn’t seem to matter what type of dairy products you eat. There was no apparent difference between fat, low fat and no fat milk and other products so I guess we can go back to milk that tastes like milk. At least my cappuccino will taste better.
This article also sheds light on the eternal foolishness of low carb, high carb, no carb, low fat, etc. etc. that is the fodder of every magazine in this country except the National Review. (Unless they are discussing what Ronald Regan ate for breakfast) Here it is, the unblemished truth directly from the paper: “changes in the consumption of refined or processed foods and liquid carbohydrates or alcohol (OH NO) were positively associated with weight gain, whereas changes in the consumption of unprocessed foods such as whole grains, fruits, nuts and vegetables were inversely associated with weight gain.”
If you eat the way we eat now you, are doomed to gain weight. If you eat like we did in 1776, you are set. I wonder where Veal Parmesan fits in. This is probably the reason the Italians who live in Italy have never heard of it.
I have more good news. As I have blogged before, watching TV will kill you. That is unless you watch it standing up and while doing something (like exercising) and not eating potato chips and drinking soda. It may be as bad as smoking but not quite. This of course does not relate to watching anything with Oprah in it, which is allowed at all times and gets a free pass.
Speaking of smoking, when you stop, it does seem to cause an initial weight gain but then is responsible for little change after. The benefits of not smoking clearly outweigh the risks of smoking even if you gain weight.
Either good or bad is the news that 50 to 100 kcal of energy either way is enough to cause a weight gain or loss over time. This probably accounts for the constant refrain that I and most physicians hear, which is that I eat nothing and can’t lose weight.
Let’s summarize. I know you have heard it before but it seems to be the best way to lose weight. Get some exercise daily. The more you do, the less you will weigh. Eat as much non processed food as possible. We might have to go back to cooking. Don’t smoke. Don’t watch TV. Live long and prosper.
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