Opinion of the scientific community
Until now, doctors and scientists have not come to a consensus on what is better to limit in the diet - fats or carbohydrates. At the latest European Congress on Obesity, held in Vienna last month, this issue was discussed, as always, but scientists again could not say unequivocally that it is better to exclude a person from the diet when losing weight. The debate goes on endlessly, but there are no concrete conclusions. There are several points of view.
Anti-fat
It seems logical to me that it is better and more effective to limit your fat intake. The fact is that fats are synthesized faster into fat in the human body.
It is important to note here that carbohydrates release insulin into the blood, which also triggers the process of weight gain. True, now the situation with carbohydrates has changed. People think they eat sweets, but along with sugar they also eat fat. Most often, carbohydrate foods are understood as so-called heavy desserts: cakes, cookies, muffins and others. These are not pure carbohydrates, but carbohydrates with fat, which makes the situation even worse. If you consume complex carbohydrates (whole grain cereals) without added fat, there will be no spike in blood sugar, as well as extra calories, and the feeling of fullness will remain for a long time.
But, nevertheless, if we talk about what is more profitable to exclude from the diet for weight loss, I insist that it is still better to give up fat. If only because 1 g of fat contains about 9 kcal, and 1 g of carbohydrates contains about 4 kcal. If you calculate in 100 g, then this is 900 kcal of fat and 400 kcal of carbohydrates. Therefore, by reducing your intake of fat and heavy desserts containing fat, you will significantly lighten your caloric intake.
Please note that “hidden” fats are now present in many foods: processed foods, sausages, cheeses, sauces, frozen meals and others.
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Choosing a low-fat diet
A diet with limited fat is primarily Mediterranean. Olive oil is probably the main source of fat in this diet, as well as oil from marine fish. Seafood contains virtually no fat. This diet contains a lot of fiber - from fresh vegetables and carbohydrates (pasta, brown rice).
It is also effective to simply start limiting fats on a daily basis. The easiest way out is to change the way you cook. Stop frying foods and start baking or grilling them. In addition, it is useful to exclude fatty sauces and processed foods from your diet. Follow the “one touch” rule when the product falls into your hands without pre-processing.
By reducing calorie content by eliminating fat, you can maintain portion sizes due to a large amount of fresh vegetables, fruits, and side dishes without oil. It's tasty, satisfying and low in calories.
There is such an influx of fat in the modern person’s diet that it is beneficial for everyone to reduce its consumption. And especially for people suffering from cardiovascular diseases, obesity, and diabetes.
Healthy and unhealthy fats
At the same time, fats are the building material of cell membranes. Fats are necessary for the absorption of vital fat-soluble vitamins, for the synthesis of hormones and nutrition of the heart muscle. The brain also consists of fat, and it needs to be nourished. Therefore, you should not completely eliminate fats.
“Good” fats are fats from vegetable oils, nuts, avocados, and fatty fish.
“Bad” fats are saturated animal fats that “congeal” and, of course, trans fats.
No-carbohydrate diets
The protein diet is the most striking example of a carbohydrate-restricted diet. It contains only proteins and fiber. A protein diet is close to sports nutrition, it allows you to increase muscle mass, dry out the body and make it more prominent. At the same time, it significantly loads the kidneys and is not suitable for many gastrointestinal problems.
A low-carbohydrate diet, close to sports nutrition, can be indicated for absolutely healthy athletes with certain needs.
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Healthy and harmful carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are primarily a source of energy, good mood and well-being. We need carbohydrates, and it is very unwise to completely refuse them. Cells of the brain, eyeball, and kidney tubules feed only on glucose, and in the absence of carbohydrates in the diet they will die.
There are complex and simple carbohydrates. Complex ones are whole grain cereals, durum wheat pasta, and bran bread. These are healthy carbohydrates that should be included in a person’s diet.
There are simple or fast carbohydrates, which you can live without and which lead to weight gain. These are, for example, sugar, honey, jam, white flour products.
If you decide to lose weight, definitely exclude fats from your diet. A couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil per day will be enough. If you dream of a sculpted body and are involved in athletics, your diet is protein with the addition of complex carbohydrates. And ideally, and for the greatest health benefits, your diet should be as balanced in composition as possible.
Now scientists have refuted the health theses and advice that the nutritionist council promoted in 1983: consuming fatty oil is not harmful to health and figure, and carbohydrates cause obesity. Modern scientists came to this conclusion after analyzing the nature of people’s diets, which was proposed 30 years ago by the same council of nutritionists.
In 1983, the Dietetic Council published recommendations that emphasized the importance of eliminating fat and focusing on carbohydrates. Also among the basic principles that were released to the masses was the advice to avoid butter and whole milk from . This was considered dogma for the next 40 years.
According to experts, these tips would significantly reduce the high mortality rate from heart disease, but doctors lacked strong evidence for these claims. Low-fat was introduced after scientists discovered that English people who ate a lot of butter, cream and very lean meats had heart problems. Therefore, they were asked to reduce the consumption of fatty foods to 30-40%, but to lean more on carbohydrates.
However, contrary to expectations, this only led to widespread obesity. Following the advice of nutritionists led to results opposite to expectations. And nutritionists themselves now say that the advice should not only be changed, but completely cancelled. However, many scientists justify this diet by saying that there are many examples that the number of deaths from cardiovascular diseases has sharply decreased.
The study spanned five years and included 2,467 men with heart disease. Doctors were interested in the dependence of heart disease on the consumption of fatty foods. They were asked to consume along with a low-fat diet. The results showed that eliminating fat from the diet has a positive effect on the body.
But advice to consume large amounts of carbohydrates and very little fat, on the one hand, led to the decline of the dairy industry in America and England, and on the other, became the cause of mass obesity and type 2 diabetes.
The famous scientist Tom Sanders, in justifying the mistake nutritionists made 40 years ago, said: instead of inaction, scientists, using the example of an experiment, obtained facts indicating that reducing fat consumption prevents the onset of obesity and reduces cholesterol in the blood. And from 1997 to 2008, mortality from cardiovascular diseases decreased by 60%.
When choosing foods, we are interested in their calorie content and the percentage of fat and carbohydrates. After all, these components increase the calorie content of foods and can lead to obesity. Let's try to figure out whether it is possible to give up fats or carbohydrates, giving preference to protein foods. What's healthier: fats or carbohydrates?
What are fats for?
If you want to lose weight, a person most often refuses fat. Indeed, why replenish supplies of what we already have in abundance? However, fats make food more filling and it is with these elements that our body receives vitamins A, E and D. The caloric content of fats is very high and it is twice as high as that of carbohydrates. There are animal and vegetable fats. The first include butter or pork fat. Vegetable fats are found in plant oils. Fats can also be divided into saturated and unsaturated.
Animal fats, or beef for example, can lead to metabolic disorders. They increase cholesterol levels and can lead to atherosclerosis. That is why you should not eat fatty meat in large quantities. Vegetable fats do not contain cholesterol and are less dangerous for our body. By consuming exclusively vegetable fats, you can reduce cholesterol and “heal” blood vessels. Vegetable fats must be present in the human diet, but animal fats must be reduced to 30 percent.
Animal fats are part of the foods we eat every day - sausages, cheeses, butter and fatty meats. Nuts and cereals are rich in vegetable fats. It is best to consume vegetable fats fresh. Heat treatment destroys their properties and they can become harmful. With a lack of fat in the body, problems with the nervous system and immunity can occur. While excess animal fats lead to atherosclerosis, problems with the cardiac system and obesity.
What are carbohydrates for?
Carbohydrates provide energy to our body. Simple carbohydrates are glucose, lactose, sucrose, and complex carbohydrates are fiber, starch and glycogen. Almost all simple carbohydrates enter our body through confectionery products. Complex carbohydrates are found in cereals, potatoes and bread. Fiber and pectin, which are complex carbohydrates, are considered ballast substances that are necessary for digestion. They normalize metabolism, reduce cholesterol levels and remove harmful substances from the body.
To avoid obesity and metabolic problems, it is best to consume complex carbohydrates, which are found in large quantities in cereals and vegetables. A lack of carbohydrates can cause nervous disorders and exhaustion. The person becomes weak and experiences difficulty in mental and physical work. Lack of fiber most often leads to digestive problems and increases the risk of intestinal cancer. An excess of simple carbohydrates leads to excess weight, atherosclerosis and diabetes.
In order for the body to develop and function normally, you should not give up carbohydrates and fats. It is worth replacing simple carbohydrates with complex ones, and giving preference to vegetable fats. These elements are necessary for our body and refusal of them will cause a metabolic failure.
Depending on our lifestyle, we need an average of 2000 - 3000 kilocalories per day. The calorie content of food depends on the three macroelements found in it - proteins, fats and carbohydrates. These three macro-elements are the only sources of energy. For optimal health, we don't need to consume equal amounts of protein, fat, and carbohydrates. On average, a person needs to consume 70-100 grams of protein per day, 6-10 grams of linoleic acid (a type of fat that we need). Despite the fact that carbohydrates are the most “available” source of energy for our body, the amount of carbohydrates necessary for health is zero!
It turns out that eating large amounts of carbohydrates (replacing fats and proteins with carbohydrates) stimulates our body to store fat. Carbohydrates are converted into glucose as a result of digestion, and in order to assimilate it, our body must secrete the hormone insulin, which helps transfer glucose from the blood to the organs. The greater the percentage of our diet made up of carbohydrates, the more insulin our body will need to release.
What does insulin have to do with it, you might think? In addition to regulating blood sugar levels, insulin has many other important functions:
Controls fat deposits;
- controls the flow of amino acids, fatty acids and carbohydrates to tissues;
- regulates the release of cholesterol by the liver;
- functions as a growth hormone;
- controls appetite;
- causes the kidneys to retain fluid in the body and much more.
This wonderful hormone is simply necessary for life, without it you will simply disappear very quickly. However, this wonderful hormone also has a dark side. An optimal amount of insulin is essential for a healthy life, but too much insulin can cause serious health problems. Excess insulin can cause high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, obesity, high blood cholesterol and diabetes.
What to do to tame this “monster”? The answer is to limit carbohydrates in your diet.
Doctors Michael and Mary Eades developed a diet called Protein Power.
In addition to the “Power of Proteins”, developed by the Eades couple, there are several other diets that are based on regulating (reducing) the amount of carbohydrates consumed. These are the South Beach Diet developed by Dr. Arthur Agatson, the Zone Diet developed by Barry Sears, the healthy eating pyramid compiled by nutritionists at Harvard University and, to some extent, the Atkins Diet (Atkins diet).
According to the "Power of Protein" diet, it is customary to divide the body into three parts - lean body mass - LBW, fat necessary for normal functioning of the body (essential fat) and just fat. LBW is the skeleton, muscles, internal organs and tissues. Those. everything that makes up your body, with the exception of fat. There are formulas that can be used to calculate BW, but in any case, BW will be less than just your body weight. The more muscle you have, the larger percentage of your weight will be at LBW.
The Power of Protein diet requires you to consume approximately 1.3 grams of protein per kg. (NMT).
Include fish, poultry, meat, low-fat cheeses, and eggs in your diet. Your body cannot “store” protein, so if you are hungry, you can eat more protein than you need, according to your lean body mass.
Formula for calculating lean body mass (LBM).
For women:
BDC = (1.07 x weight) - 148 x weight squared (kg)
height squared (cm)
For men:
BDC = (1.10 x weight) - 128 x weight squared (kg)
height squared (cm)
For example, for a woman with a height of 176 and a weight of 60 kg, the BW will be as follows:
BDC = (1.07 x 60) - 148 x 3600 = 47kg
30976
Add 30 (or less) grams of carbohydrates if you need to lose weight. Eat up to 55 grams of carbohydrates per day if you just want to get rid of a little excess fat and improve your health a little. Divide carbohydrates between all meals throughout the day. Eat greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, eggplants and zucchini, avocados, cabbage, mushrooms. All of these vegetables contain carbohydrates, but you may want to subtract a few grams that come from fiber (carbohydrates that the human body cannot digest). Fiber helps intestinal function.
Try to consume at least 25 grams of fiber per day.
Don't worry about fat, but try to eat "good" fats - olive and sunflower oil, nuts.
Don't let yourself get too hungry, eat regularly.
A glass of wine or beer won't hurt your health, but keep in mind that alcohol contains a lot of carbohydrates and will need to be subtracted from your daily allowance.
If you are trying to lose weight, eliminate sugar and starch from your diet (temporarily). This means you will have to abstain from potatoes and pasta.
Be sure to engage in physical activity and sports. Any physical exercise “until you sweat” is good, but according to the “Power of Protein” diet, it is recommended to do strength exercises with weights (dumbbells, barbells, weights) or on weight training machines.
When you're not sure what you should eat, eat lean meat, fish or poultry and a large salad with fresh vegetables.
Eliminating carbohydrates from your diet completely can be difficult. After all, carbohydrates are found even in such “healthy” foods as, for example, tomatoes and carrots. If you watch your diet very carefully and almost completely eliminate carbohydrates from your diet, as Dr. Atkins recommends, you can completely “rebuild” your metabolism. This is the so-called “ketogenic diet”, where your body will receive energy through beta-oxidation of fats and the production of ketones. So your body will use fats as its main source of energy. As a result, you will lose weight.
Many people have successfully lost weight by trying Dr. Atkins' diet.
If the complete exclusion of carbohydrates is not entirely to your liking and you are of the opinion that nutrition should be balanced, then you need to learn to distinguish “bad” and “good” fats and carbohydrates from each other.
Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats - found in olives, olive, sunflower, corn and cottonseed oils, nuts, avocados, fish. Health effect - lowers “bad cholesterol” LDL, increases “good” HDL. But palm oil, on the contrary, is a saturated fat, although it also belongs to vegetable oils.
Saturated fat - (animal fat) found in milk, butter, cheese, red meat, chocolate, ice cream - increases both types of cholesterol - LDL and HDL.
Trans fats are fats produced by heating vegetable oils in the presence of hydrogen. These are margarine, butter substitute, fried foods (especially French fries). This fat only raises the “bad” LDL cholesterol. Trans fats are the most “harmful” fat.
Fats significantly improve the taste of food. Some studies have found that eating plenty of vegetable oils, nuts and fish not only makes your diet more interesting, but also has positive health effects. Fish is also good because it contains fats called OMEGA-3 fatty acids - one of the types of polyunsaturated fat. OMEGA-3 fatty acids have many beneficial properties.
Scientists first noticed the link between omega-3 fatty acids and health in the 1970s while studying the Inuit Eskimos who live in Greenland. On average, Inuit suffered from obesity, cardiovascular disease, rheumatism and diabetes much less than the average Europeans. The Inuit diet consisted of a large amount of fat, because... they ate a lot of salmon, whale and seal meat. Scientists soon realized that all these foods are rich in OMEGA-3 fatty acids and have beneficial effects on health, namely:
1. reduce the level of triglycerides in the blood (high levels of triglycerides are a harbinger of cardiovascular diseases).
2. reduce the growth of atherosclerotic deposits in blood vessels.
3. reduce the risk of arrhythmias.
4. lower blood pressure.
5. Omega-3 fatty acids can increase your body's sensitivity to insulin, meaning your body can make do with less insulin to lower blood sugar levels after eating.
"Bad" and "good" carbohydrates can be distinguished from each other by their glycemic index. This index tells you how quickly and how strongly your blood sugar levels rise after you eat something that contains carbohydrates. It has been found that people who eat a lot of foods with a high glycemic index, which cause rapid and severe "spikes" in blood sugar, have a high risk of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Canned foods, refined foods, refined cereals, etc. have a very high glycemic index.
On the other hand, the fiber that is lost during refining is very beneficial. The more fiber, the lower the glycemic index.
The following characteristics affect the glycemic index:
Fiber Content – Fiber prevents carbohydrates from being digested quickly, so glucose from fiber-rich foods takes significantly longer to digest.
Fruit maturity - a ripe fruit or vegetable contains more sugars than fruits that are not yet fully ripe; accordingly, the glycemic index is higher in ripe fruits.
Type of starch - The type of starch granules in a food affects how quickly carbohydrates are digested and released into the bloodstream. The starch in potatoes, for example, is digested and enters the bloodstream quite quickly.
Physical form - finely ground flour has a higher glycemic index than coarser flour. It might make sense to replace your favorite loaf with a doctor's bran bun.
Scientists at Harvard have paid a lot of attention to healthy eating. Their focus was also on the combination of fats and carbohydrates and that's what they recommend.
The best source of carbohydrates (your body still needs some of them) are unrefined grains. These cereals take longer to digest, the level of sugar and insulin in the blood does not change much, so the feeling of hunger occurs much later. They have a low glycemic index.
Vegetable oils are “good” unsaturated oils.
Vegetables - with every meal, fruits - 2-3 per day.
Fish, poultry, eggs - up to two servings per day. These are important sources of proteins. Fish is good for OMEGA-3 fatty acids; chicken and turkey contain relatively small amounts of saturated fat. Eggs are rich in protein, unsaturated fats, vitamins and minerals.
Nuts and legumes (1-3 servings per day) are excellent sources of protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals.
Dairy products or calcium in supplement form for musculoskeletal health. Attention! Try to use low-fat dairy products, as milk contains a lot of saturated fat.
Don't get carried away with red meat and oil. These foods contain huge amounts of saturated fat. If you are used to eating meat every day, try to replace it with fish or chicken at least a few times a week. If you like butter, try replacing it with olive oil.
Avoid refined white rice, white bread, potatoes, pasta and sweets. These foods cause a rapid and very strong increase in blood sugar. This can lead to obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Take a multi-vitamin.
Moderate consumption of alcoholic beverages (1-2 glasses of wine per day) can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. It is very important to drink alcoholic beverages IN MODERATION.
Reducing fat in the diet is better for weight loss than limiting carbohydrate intake, an American study shows.
Scientists carefully analyzed the results of people who followed controlled diets, examining every bite of food, every minute of exercise and every breath they took.
Both diets analyzed by the National Institutes of Health promoted weight loss when they cut calories, but people lost more weight when they cut back on fat.
Previously, it was argued that limiting carbohydrates is the best way to get rid of excess weight, because it changes the metabolism in the body.
Chemical processes
There is a theory that reducing carbohydrates helps lower insulin levels, which in turn helps reduce fat tissue.
"All of these things do happen when you reduce carbs, and you do lose weight, but not as much as when you limit fat," says lead researcher Dr. Kevin Hall of the US National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
In the study, 19 obese people were initially given 2,700 calories a day.
Then, for two weeks, they followed diets in which the number of calories consumed was reduced by a third, by reducing either carbohydrates or fat.
Scientists analyzed the amount of oxygen and carbon dioxide that study participants exhaled, as well as the nitrogen content of their urine, to accurately calculate the chemical processes occurring in their bodies.
The results, published in Cell Metabolism, showed that after six days of each diet, those who cut their fat intake lost an average of 463 grams of fat—80% more than those who cut their carbohydrate intake and lost an average of 245 grams.
Image copyright Science Photo Library Image caption Experts say the most effective diet is one you can stick to.However, Dr. Hall says there is no "metabolic" reason to choose a low-carb diet.
At the same time, research shows that in the real world, where diets are less strictly controlled, people can lose more weight by reducing their carbohydrate intake.
Dr Hall told the BBC News website: "If it is easier to stick to one diet than another, and ideally to do it consistently, then you are better off choosing that diet."
He is now analyzing participants' brain scans to better understand the effects of diets.
"Debunked" Representations
Doctors Susan Roberts and Sai Das of Tufts University noted in a commentary that the diet debate has been the source of "intense controversy."
They say the study has "debunked" many notions that low-carb diets are best, but it is too early to tell about the long-term impact.
The researchers add: "The most important message now is that some carbohydrates are perfectly acceptable, especially healthy, low-glycemic whole grain foods."
Professor Susan Jebb, from the University of Oxford, said: "Researchers have rightly concluded that the best diet for weight loss is one that you can stick to."
"All diets work if you stick to an eating plan that cuts calories, whether from fat or carbohydrates. Dieting is easier said than done, especially given the long time it takes to lose weight," says the researcher. .
