What You Eat
Makes A Difference
The study
The study, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, followed 120,877 men and women between 12 and 20 years old to explore how multiple factors influenced weight loss or gain over a four-year period.
The results
Let’s get the bad news out of the way first. Participants gained an average of 3-1/2 pounds every four years, resulting in almost 17 additional pounds over 20 years’ time. Some conclusions weren’t surprising. Non-exercisers, for instance, became fatter than exercisers. Likewise, TV-watchers and poor sleepers (fewer than six hours or more than eight) saw their scale numbers increase.
And wine-drinkers, listen up: One daily glass didn’t trigger weight gain, though other forms of alcohol did.
Most interestingly, however, this study destroys common food dogmas that junk food manufacturers and so-called health experts have nonsensically argued for eons. You hear this prescription often: everything in moderation, reduce your calories, ditch the higher-fat foods, and oh yeah, a calorie is a calorie, period. Research blows these myths to bits. “What you eat makes quite a difference,” said Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, the study’s lead author. “Just counting calories won’t matter much unless you look at the kinds of calories you’re eating.”
He also dispelled the oft-repeated claim that there are no bad foods. “There are good foods and bad foods, and the advice should be to eat the good foods more and the bad foods less,” he said. “The notion that it’s OK to eat everything in moderation is just an excuse to eat whatever you want.” Tell that to your fast food addicted friend the next time she devours a McDonald’s cheeseburger and milkshake while smugly repeating the mantra “everything in moderation.”
The bad and good lists
So which foods made the “bad” list? No mystery here. French fries topped it, followed by processed meats, sugary drinks, refined grains and other junk foods. Similarly, the study showed refined grains, which manufacturers sometimes manipulate as healthy foods, can actually slow your metabolism and stall fat burning. The good guys included – no surprise here – fruits, vegetables and high-fiber grains.
While the study concluded that dairy as a whole does not affect weight loss or gain, people who ate yogurt lost almost a pound every four years. Study co-author Dr. Frank Hu contributes that to yogurt’s beneficial bacteria, which keeps you full and raises your metabolic rate so you burn fat more efficiently.
What you need to know
The take-home message from this study: It’s not the calories, but rather where those calories come from, that determine whether you burn or store fat. Let me give you two meals to drive that point home. One consists of wild salmon and steamed garlic spinach, and the other includes pizza and ice cream. Both contain exactly 500 calories. Which would you bet helps you burn fat?
No contest. The high-quality protein, omega-3 fats and fiber in the nutrient-dense salmon/ spinach combo keep you satiated, support the maintenance and/or development of muscle and trigger your fat-burning hormones.
The carb-heavy pizza and ice cream, on the other hand, will spike your insulin and crash your blood sugar levels, leaving you hungrier, tired, nutrient-deprived, and oh yeah, fat.
This study supports my belief that your body is a chemistry lab and not a bank account. Calories do matter, but hardly constitute the whole fat-burning picture. If you want to be thin and sexy, ditch the sound-bite nutrition clichés for lean protein, high-fiber starches, good fats and plenty of non-starchy vegetables.
JJ Virgin, PhD, CNS, author of Six Weeks to Sleeveless and Sexy, is the premiere voice of scientific reason in the world of nutrition and wellness. She is one of the nation’s foremost celebrity nutrition experts, public speakers and media personalities. With 25 years in the health and fitness industry and 10 years in holistic nutrition and functional medicine, JJ Virgin has earned recognition as the go-to weight loss expert who can unlock the door to life-long weight management through her sensible, no-fail approach to health. You can learn more about her work at JJVirgin.com
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