NOT all calories are the same.

For as long as I can remember I have been hearing the age old theory that all calories are equal and that the only way to lose weight is to eat less and exercise more.  For as long as I can remember I have been saying that this isn't so.

Not all calories are equal.  It all depends on where you get your calories from e.g: protein, fat or carbs, and how your body uses those calories.  The body does not use protein in the same way it uses carbs, etc.  I am pleased to say I am not alone in my struggle to get people to understand that a low-fat high-carb diet is NOT THE WAY TO LOSE WEIGHT!  Yes, I have to admit I sometimes feel like screaming when I read yet another article in the medical or general press about the benefits of eating carbs or the food pyramid that governments in the Western world seem hell bent on stuffing down our throats!  Zoë Harcombe, an Obesity Researcher has been saying it for years too!  I highly recommend any of her books and once you've read one you'll be hooked for life - and at your natural weight should you choose to follow her advice!  Click on her name and it will take you to her books, I can honestly recommend The Obesity Epidemic and Stop Counting Calories and Start Losing Weight.

However, today I had one of those HALLELUJAH! moments today when I read about a personal trainer from East London, Sam Feltham, who has done is own diet experiment on himself.  This brought the results I would expect, and I am sure that Zoë Harcombe would also expect, but from the tone of the article the journalist seemed to be amazed.  Sam Feltham's doctor was also amazed at the negative effects the high-carb diet had on his health in just 21 days, remember this guy is a personal trainer and was fit to start off with.

What Sam did:

Sam decided that the only way to prove the theory that all calories are equal was to try out two different diets over a 21 day period each.  He ate a high-fat, low-carb diet for 21 days and followed a moderate exercise plan.  For the next 21 days he ate a high-carb, low-fat diet and carried out the same moderate exercise plan.  In both diets he ate a staggering 5000 calories a day.  Now, according to what we are told, if all calories are equal, the weight gain would be the same on both diets.  However, that was not what Sam discovered.

On the low-fat, high-carb diet Sam packed the weight on and gained more than a stone (7.25kg) and added 9.5 cm to his waist measurement.

However, on the high-fat, low-carb diet he gained just 2.5 lbs (1.33kg) and LOST 2.5 cm from his waist.

For the low-carb, high-fat diet Sam ate 5000 calories per day by eating the following foods: eggs, mackerel, steak, green vegetables, coconut oil, and snacked on three rounds of nuts - walnuts, pecans or almonds - all naturally high in fat.  Total daily intake: 72% from fats, 22% from protein and just 5.9% from carbs.  All meals were the same everyday.

For the high-carb, low-fat diet he ate 5000 calories from: garlic bread, low-fat lasagne, crumpets, low-fat yoghurts and rice pudding, chocolate muffins and wholemeal bread.  Total daily intake: 63% from carbs, 13% from protein and 22% from fat.

Sam says: "It was an experiment to test the idea that different foods affect your body's biochemistry differently.  If it is true that cutting calories is the key to weight loss, then excess calories should put on the same amount of weight whether they come from a healthy diet full of fat or a poor diet full of carbs."

As I said before, Sam's doctor was even more surprised.  His low-fat, high-carb diet had potentially devastating effects on his system even after only 21 days.  Dr. Aseem Malhotra, a cardiologist at the Royal Free Hospital in London said:

"The diet effectively gave him metabolic syndrome."

Metabolic syndrome is a precursor to heart disease and diabetes.  He then went on to explain that:

"Particularly worrying was that his triglycerides (fats in the blood) had gone up four times, while his so-called good cholesterol (HDL) had dropped.  That is not a good combination.  Add to that the increase in his waist measurement, and he was looking a lot less healthy than he had been.  What's more, the level of inflammation in his liver had doubled, which is also linked with diabetes and heart disease...

"...It is alarming to think that if a high-carb diet can have that effect on him in three weeks, what is it doing to people who don't exercise and eat like that for years?"

One country seems to be getting the message:

Swedish dietary experts have recently made a dramatic U-turn and are now recommending a low-carb, rather than low-fat diet for weight loss.  This came about thanks to the Council on Health Technology Assessment, advisor to the Swedish Government.  The Council reviewed 16,000 studies and came up with the theory that the best types of foods for losing weight were the likes of olive oil, double cream and bacon!

Why?

As I said previously it all depends on WHAT your body does with the different types of food it gets.  For example protein is used for growth and repair.  Carbohydrates are used for quickly accessible energy.

However, there is another important point to cover... hormones have a lot to do with weight loss or at least one crucial one... insulin.  Yes, I know, I have rattled on about insulin before but it is important.

Insulin is the hormone that controls FAT STORAGE.  A high-carb diet increases the amount of glucose in the bloodstream, which in turn means you produce more insulin.  The more insulin your body produces, the more fat gets stored, it really is that simple!  A low-carb diet means less insulin, making weight loss easier to achieve because the body uses the fat for energy and doesn't need to store as much.


Dr. Malhotra goes on to confirm that standard dietary advice is WRONG:

"This (Sam Feltham's experiment) is a vivid illustration of the fact that the conventional idea of what causes weight gain is back to front.  We've been told for years that eating fat will make you fat because it contains twice the calories that are in carbohydrates.  That is to misunderstand how fat storage works.

"Research has already shown that if you are eating a high-carb diet, and so have high levels of insulin, you are likely to have more fat in your blood than someone on a high-fat diet.  This is what happened to Sam." 

So, if you are looking to lose weight, and become healthier you know what you have to do.  Less carbs, more protein and fat and lots of vegetables!  It really is that simple!

Social Nutrition:
You can make an appointment to improve your health with Social Nutrition either in person (Madrid) or online (Skype).  Just send an email to lucycarr@socialnutrition.com