"Why are these grain- and cereal-based products a problem? First of all, thanks to USDA subsidies and marketing, they are cheap, abundant, and widely-believed to be an important part of a healthy diet despite the fact that there is no biological need for them. In addition, thanks to our industrialized food system, these products are conveniently available everywhere in hundreds of fun-filled varieties designed to appeal to our senses and our appetites. It is no coincidence that, thanks to human physiology, sugary and starchy foods have a number of addictive and fattening properties that protein, fat, and fiber foods do not. Not only do they create a "feed forward" mechanism in the central nervous system, they set up a hormonal environment in our bodies that encourages fat storage and prevents fat burning. When we are unable to access our fat stores for energy, we have no choice but to get that energy by eating more. The cheap, convenient, and highly-appealing carbohydrate foods that surround us set up a viscous cycle of hunger, fatigue, desire, and consumption, as our bodies store the calories we consume and send us back out for more.
"Misguided scientific theory, an agricultural policy created to promote quantity over quality, and a food industry happy to take advantage of human physiology have created a perfect storm of dysfunctional eating patterns within a food environment designed to perpetuate obesity and chronic disease. Scientists eager to protect their government funding have established their careers attempting to prove that a diet low in fat and high in grains and cereals is the healthiest diet possible. But human physiology trumps scientific agendas. Thirty years of trying has failed to produce substantial evidence that a low-fat diet leads to healthy outcomes. In fact, the science accumulated in the USDA's own Nutrition Evidence Library shows that in head-to-head comparisons, diets that limit sugars and starches produce increased weight loss and improved cardiovascular and diabetes risk factors compared to low-fat diets, even when those diets have the same calorie level.
"These results are especially significant for women, particularly minority women. A diet high in processed carbohydrates can lead to poorly regulated glucose and insulin, factors in the mechanisms behind obesity, heart disease and diabetes. Women tend to have higher baseline insulin levels and more glucose intolerance than men, conditions that can be exacerbated with pregnancy. As a result, diets high in sugars and starches can be especially detrimental to a woman's health."
No comments:
Post a Comment