What you think is healthy... isn't

The constant onslaught of information, usually from large corporations, governments, etc., as to what is healthy quite often isn't.  My beloved friend Mary Jo, who I have often mentioned here, asked me the other day if honey is really a healthy option.  This got me thinking, there are lots of products that are sold to us as healthy but really aren't.

Honey is a perfect example of this; it is a natural product made be bees and flowers - mother nature in her pure state.  As I said last week sugar is the new tobacco and honey has around 53% fructose.  Each teaspoon has nearly 4g of fructose, which means it can exacerbate pre-existing insulin resistance.  However, raw honey has antibacterial properties, while processed refined honey lacks many of these beneficial properties.  It is extremely difficult to find raw unprocessed honey on sale in any store.  In America, 75% of the honey on sale in supermarkets may be ultra-processed to the point that all  inherent medicinal properties are completely gone.  Nearly all "fake" honey is made in China.  The Food Safety News (FSN) tested 60 jars which all came back negative for pollen which is a clear sign of ultra-processing.

The FSN has stated:

"The removal of these microscopic particles from deep within a flower would make the nectar flunk the quality standards set by most of the world's food safety agencies.  The food safety divisions of the World Health Organization, the European Commission and dozens of others have also ruled that without pollen, there is no way to determine whether the honey came from legitimate and safe sources."

For example; the FSN discovered that 100% of honey sampled from drug stores (Walgreens, Rite-Aid, and CVS Pharmacy) were absent of pollen.  76% of honey samples bought at grocery stores such as TOP Food, Safeway, QFC, Kroger, Harris Teeter, etc., were absent of pollen and 77% of honey from big box stores such as Costco, Sam's Club, Walmart and Target, were also absent of pollen.

So your honey needs to come from a reliable source and for it to be raw and organic for you to receive all the beneficial properties that honey has to offer.

Other examples of the not so healthy foods are:

Agave Nectar - like honey, people think it is a good natural sweetener, but it has a much higher concentration of fructose than regular table sugar or even high fructose corn syrup!

Low-Fat and No-Fat foods.  I have often written about these.  If you remove the fat from foods you also remove the taste.  Taste has to be replaced with something otherwise no one will want to eat these products.  So, large amounts of sugar and salt are added to replace the lost taste.  You also need to remember that the human body needs some fat to absorb fat-soluble vitamins.

Fruit Juice, another sugar bomb.  Fruit has high concentrations of fructose, but it also has high amounts of fiber.  When you eat the whole fruit, the fiber content stops the fructose being released quickly into the blood stream and therefore causing a blood sugar spike.  Eating the whole fruit means that the sugar is released more slowly over a longer period of time.  Making juice - even fresh, means you remove the fiber and all you have left is sugar water that is flavored.

Butter got a bad rap for years because it is a saturated fat that we were told was really bad for heart health.  The government (The McGovern Report 1977) told us that we should be using vegetable fats instead.  So, America and then Europe turned to vegetable oils and margarine to replace butter and other fats.  This was just the beginning of what is now a huge heart disease and obesity problem.  Their insistence on changing to vegetable fats only made heart disease statistics worse.  Margarine, for example, is just a whole mix of chemicals with some oils added.  Take a tub of margarine and leave it in the sun and watch what happens.  Margarine is the closest thing on the "food" list to PLASTIC.

Protein Bars, granola bars, "health" bars... they may be high in protein and low in carbs but they are full of artificial flavorings and made with a whole host of chemicals.  If you need quick energy reach for a handful of raw nuts.

Cholesterol Lowering foods, like Danacol, etc.,  these boast a nutrient called phytosterols, which have been proven to lower cholesterol in humans.  However, there is "some science" that suggest the phytosterols can actually contribute to weakening the cardiovascular system and even contribute to heart disease - the jury is still out on this one!

Sports drinks such as Gatorade, Powerade, etc... do not just replace electrolytes after your workout, they are also packed full of sugar.  So if you really want to rehydrate afterwards, just plain old water is great o coconut water (not more than 1 per day).  Sports drinks should only really be used by professional athletes with high intensity training sessions.  I run between 8 and 10 km every day and never use anything other than water after a run.

Gluten-free diets are really in vogue at the moment.  Celiac Disease is a real and terrible disease that needs a specific gluten free diet, in 2015 gluten intolerance without celiac disease was finally recognized officially.  I know many people who have been diagnosed with gluten intolerance or celiac disease and most peoples' initial reaction is to try and substitute everything with gluten for gluten-free foods.  After all, who can live without pasta or bread or biscuits or cake?  Well, guess what?  You can!  Now I do get it, a person has just been told they can no longer eat all those things they have grown up on, and the desire is to find something to replace them with.  But just think for a minute... gluten free cake is still... cake.  Just because a package has been stamped with the gluten-free logo DOES NOT MEAN IT'S HEALTHY.  Chances are it will be full of sugar, salt and chemicals.

The one thing you can do to be sure you are making healthy choices is to eat REAL FOOD; whole fruits, fresh vegetables (and frozen - they are just as good and often conserve their vitamins and minerals), fresh, preferably organic meat, poultry, fish and eggs.  If you are vegetarian/vegan, the same applies, make it REAL and you'll be just fine.

I can help you improve your health.  If you would like to make an appointment with me either in person or via Skype, just send me an email to lucycarr@socialnutrition.com

Low Fat or Low Carb?

For years and years and years we have been told that fats are deadly.  They apparently cause heart attacks and obesity, especially animal fats.  In 1977 the McGovern report stated that animal fats were not recommended and that vegetable oils and margarines should be used instead.  Well, we all know what that caused... a huge increase in heart disease and obesity.

We now know today, that margarines for instance, are full of deadly trans fats and that eating animal fat doesn't actually do much harm at all.  Also our supermarkets are packed full with products screaming LOW FAT or NO FAT, from the packaging.  These products are usually packed full of sugar instead.  The dietary guidelines (the food pyramid or my plate) recommend basing your diet on grains... this is meant to be interpreted as whole grains, however, most people tend to interpret white bread, pasta, etc.. But which ever way you interpret that information, basing the diet on carbs is just wrong.  However, having said that carbohydrates seem to be getting a raw deal lately with a gluten free diet being in fashion - especially in Hollywood.

So, here I want to specify what a GOOD carbohydrate is - we all know which are the bad ones; white bread, pasta, anything with refined flour in it...  But there are many naturally occurring carbohydrates in healthy foods which are good for you.  But first you have to understand is that carbohydrates are not an essential part of your diet.  If you never ate carbohydrates ever again, you would be healthy.  Unlike fats... there are essential fats such as Omega-3 and essential proteins (amino acids), if you didn't get enough of these then you would not be feeling at all well.

Good Carbohydrates are found almost exclusively in plant foods such as vegetables, beans, whole grains, fruit, nuts and seeds.  This type of carb are important, they include high levels of vitamins and minerals, fiber, and plant compounds that have healing properties called phytonutrients, or phytochemicals.  These are medicinal molecules such as curcumin in turmeric, glucosinolates in broccoli, anthocyanidins in berries and black rice, for example.  However, the focus should be on slow carbs.  Slow carbs are the ones that release their glycemic load slowly into the bloodstream and do not cause spikes in glucose levels which in turn cause insulin to be released by the pancreas.

So, which plants are the best?

Eat as much as you like:

Slow burning, low glycemic vegetables such as broccoli, asparagus, spinach, chard, kale, cabbage, bok choy, etc..  You can eat as much of these as you like, in fact your whole diet should be based on them.  Sea weed is another one that is great for you.  Try Kombu, nori, hijiki, and wakame, they are all very high in minerals, protein and healing compounds.

Eat a moderate amount:

Whole grains, and I mean whole; black, brown and red rice, quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat, and teff are all delicious and all gluten free.  Legumes are fiber-rich, phytonutrient-rich and are not used enough.  You all know what they are, lentils, chickpeas, yellow split peas, soybeans - especially edamame, pinto beans, navy beans, adzuki beans, etc..

Dark berries such as blueberries, cherries, blackberries and raspberries are packed full of phytonutrients.  The richer in color the better they are for you.  Fruits with stones in their center such as peaches, nectarines, plums, etc., these are fiber rich.  Apples and pears are also great.

Fiber stabilizes blood sugar by slowing the absorption of carbohydrates, this is why you should always eat the whole fruit and not just the juice.  The fibre in fruit helps slow the absorption of the sugar.

Limit these carbs:

Starchy, high-glycemic cooked vegetables including winter squashes, peas, potatoes, corn, and all other root vegetables.  These vegetables raise blood sugar quickly and have a high-glycemic load, eat only occasionally.

There are also fruits that are high in sugar such as melons, grapes and pineapple.

All other PROCESSED CARBS should be avoided at all times.

As I said before; fat is essential to our bodies.  Fats make up our cell walls, if you don't get enough or you eat too much of the wrong type, you will not have the right building materials for healthy cell membranes.  Omega-3 fats are perfect for cell regeneration.

Good Fats:

Wild cold-water fish or sustainably raised cold-water fish such as wild salmon, sardines, herring,
halibut, etc.,  Eat avocados and olives these are great sources of monounsaturated fats.  Use extra virgin olive oil, rich in anti-inflammatory and antioxidant phytochemicals.  However, olive oil should not be used for high temperature cooking.  Walnut oil is another good one for salad dressings.  Coconut oil is one of my personal favorites, it can be used in high temperature cooking and contains lauric acid, a
powerful anti-inflammatory fat.

Grass-fed animals having been raised on a diet of foods natural to their breed have healthier fat profiles than factory farmed animals.

So, eat the right carbs and base your diet on plants and make sure your animal protein is the best type in order to get top quality nutrition.

I can help you improve your health.  If you would like to make an appointment with me either in person or via Skype, just send me an email to lucycarr@socialnutrition.com 

We are still getting fatter and sicker...

We are what we eat.  This is a fact.  And on the whole, the western world is fatter and sicker than it has ever been.  Even with the amount of free information available to us about what a healthy diet really is, we are still eating all the wrong foods.  A lot of this is just that people don't want to make the effort of cooking healthy meals at home and tend to rely on take aways and fast food options.  Governments are also to blame with food pyramids that encourage us to base our diets on starchy foods (carbohydrates) which only adds to weight problems and doesn't make us healthy at all.  If you add to that the vast amount of marketing by the food industry which tells us that we should all be eating McDonald's, Burger King, and KFC and if you are cool and hip you drink CocaCola, Pepsi, Monster, and Red Bull.

Kris Gunnars, a nutrition researcher, medical student and personal trainer at AurthorityNutrition.com, has compiled a series of graphs that appear to show a direct correlation between changes in the Western Diet and the current, seemingly uncontrollable, obesity epidemic.

Kris Gunnars says, as many others such as Zoe Harcombe and myself have, that sugar intake has increased drastically in the past 160 years and our diets have changed the type of fat we eat and we are consuming more processed food than ever before.

Gunnars also believes that there are other contributing factors such as eating fewer eggs and changing butter for margarine.

On his website he says:

"There is an immense amount of evidence I've found that runs completely contradictory to what the governments and dietitians around the world are recommending.  The modern diet is the main reason why people all over the world are fatter and sicker than ever before.

"Everywhere modern processed foods go, chronic diseases like obesity, type 2 diabetes and heart disease soon follow.

"The studies are clear con this... when people abandon their traditional foods in favor of modern processed foods high in sugar, refined flour and vegetable oils, they get sick."

First dietary guidelines for Americans were published in 1977, almost at the same time the obesity epidemic started.

 "Of course, there are many things that can contribute to these health problems, but changes in the diet are the most important factor."

"The first dietary guidelines for Americans were published in 1977, almost at the exact same time the obesity epidemic started." (1983 in the UK)

 "Of course, this doesn't prove anything (correlation does not equal causation), but it makes sense that this could be more than just a mere coincidence.

"The anti-fat message essentially put the blame on saturated fat and cholesterol (harmless), while giving sugar and refined carbs (very unhealthy) a free pass.

"Since the guidelines were published, many massive studies have been conducted on the low-fat diet.  It is no better at preventing heart disease, obesity or cancer than the standard Western Diet, which is as unhealthy as a diet can get.

"For some very strange reason, we are still being advised to follow this type of diet, despite the studies showing it to be completely ineffective."

SUGAR

 "People in Western countries are consuming massive amounts of refined sugars, reaching about 150 lbs (67kg) per year in some countries.  This amounts to over 500 calories of sugar per day.

"The sources vary on the exact figures, but it is very clear that we are consuming way more sugar than our bodies are equipped to handle.

 "Controlled human studies show that large amounts of sugar can lead to severe metabolic problems, including insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, elevated cholesterol and triglycerides - to name a few.

"Added sugar is believed to be one of the main drivers of diseases like obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and even cancer."

According to Zoe Harcombe, author of The Obesity Epidemic: What Caused it? How Can We Stop it? agrees with Kris Gunnars, she says:

"The UK chart looks very similar to this chart.  Just over 200 years ago we used to take 4-5lbs of sugar a year; by the middle of the 19th century, this had increased five-fold to about 25lbs a year; we now take about 100lbs per year."

FRUIT JUICE CONSUMPTION

"Of all the sugar sources in the diet, sugar-sweetened beverages are the worst.  Fruit juice is actually no better - it contains a similar amount of sugar as most soft drinks." Gunnar explains.

"Getting sugar in liquid form is particularly harmful.  The studies show that the brain doesn't "register" liquid sugar calories in the same way as calories from solid foods, which dramatically increases total calorie intake.

"One study found that in children, each daily serving of sugar-sweetened beverages is linked to a 60% increased risk of obesity."

Zoe Harcombe adds that: "It's a similar picture in the UK.  Figures show that sugar-sweetened beverages have increased in consumption from 512ml per person per week in 1975 to 1.142ml per person per week in 2005."

CALORIE INTAKE

"Although sources vary on the exact figures, it is clear that calorie intake has increased dramatically in the past few decades.

"There are many complicated reasons for this, including increased processed food and sugar consumption, increased food availability, more aggressive marketing towards children, etc.."

In fact, according to Zoe Harcombe things were different in the UK; "In 1975 we were eating 2,290 calories per person per day- but by 1999, this had fallen to 1,690 calories per person per day.  Yet there are an increasing number of people who are overweight or obese."

My opinion on this is that it depends on the type of calories you are eating.  Not all calories are used by the body in the same way so fewer calories of the wrong type of food could do more damage than lots of calories of the right foods.

ADDED FATS

The type of fat eaten has also changed, with oils being favored over butter.

"When health professionals started blaming saturated fat for heart disease, people abandoned traditional fats like butter, lard and coconut oil in favor of processed vegetable oils.

"These oils are very high in Omega-6 fatty acids, which can contribute to inflammation and various problems when consumed in excess.

"These oils are often hydrogenated, which makes them high in trans fats.  Many studies have shown that these fats and oils actually increase the risk of heart disease, even if they aren't hydrogenated.

"Therefore, the misguided advice to avoid saturated fat and choose vegetable oils instead may have actually fueled the heart disease epidemic."

BUTTER AND MARGARINE CONSUMPTION

Gunnars says that saturated fat has been "demonized", resulting in many people switching to unhealthy margarines containing trans fats which have been linked to heart disease

"Another side effect of the "war" on saturated fat was an increase in margarine consumption.

"Margarine was traditionally made with hydrogenated oils, which are high in trans fats.  Many studies show that trans fats increase the risk of heart disease.

"Grass-fed butter actually contains nutrients that are protective against heart disease (like Vitamin K2), therefore the advice to replace heart-healthy butter with trans-fat laden margarine may have done a lot of damage."

SOYBEAN IS A BIGGER SOURCE OF CALORIES THAN MOST PEOPLE REALIZE

Soybean oil is often used in cheap, processed foods

"The most commonly consumed vegetable oil in the U.S. is soybean oil.  Soybean oil actually provided 7% of calories in the U.S. diet in the year 1999, which is huge.

"However, most people don't have a clue they're eating this much soybean oil.  They're actually getting most of it from processed foods, which often have soybean oil added to them because it is cheap.

"The best way to avoid soybean oil (and other nasty ingredients) is to avoid processed foods."

EGGS

Eggs have been falsely accused of increasing the risk of heart disease, this has now been disproved.

"Eggs are among the most nutritious foods on the planet.  Despite being high in cholesterol, eggs don't raise the bad cholesterol in the blood.

"For some reason, the health authorities have recommended that we cut back on eggs, even though there is no evidence that they contribute to heart disease.

"Since the year 1950, we have decreased our consumption of this highly nutritious food from 375 to 250 eggs per year, a decrease of 33%.

"This has contributed to a deficiency in important nutrients like Choline, which about 90% of Americans aren't getting enough of."

LINOLEIC ACID

Too much linoleic acid

"Most of the Omega-6 fats that people are eating is a fatty acid called linoleic acid.

"Studies show that this fatty acid actually gets incorporated into our cell membranes and body fat stores.  These fats are prone to oxidation, which damages molecules (like DNA) in the body and may be increasing our risk of cancer.

"In other words, the increased consumption of processed vegetable oils has lead to actual harmful structural changes in our bodies.  That's a scary thought."

Sources:
Authority Nutrition
Zoe Harcombe

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

Myth Busting... again...

For years (and I mean years) most of the studies done on Nutrition were funded by the big corporations. For example... studies on the benefits of milk produce funded by Danone, or the importance of breakfast cereals funded by Kelloggs (I made these up so you get the gist!).  However, luckily for us, more and more money is being injected into nutritional studies by governments and universities.  This is great as we are finally getting an unbiased opinion as opposed to a bought one!  But, this can be very confusing for many as all the new information seems to contradict the old:

"A calorie is not a calorie." for example.

So here I am going to try and dispel some of those confusing statements based on evidence from new studies and I hope to clear up some of those myths:

Exercise does not burn off kilos:

This it TRUE.  Yes, I know, you are all going to start screaming and pulling your hair out wondering why you are paying for that expensive gym membership or "wasting" your time running every day.  Let's just clear one thing up, the fact that it doesn't burn off the kilos does not mean it isn't good for you so keep going to the gym or running as much as you like and you will still reap the benefits - they even say it makes you more intelligent!  But first, here are the facts:

A study with 411 female participants who worked out for over one, two or three hours a week for six months showed that these participants did not lose significantly more weight than those who devoted their time to sedentary pursuits such as video games or watching TV or crossword puzzles.  A review of another 15 similar studies came to the same conclusion: moderate workouts don't lead to weight loss, possibly because they tend to make us hungrier.  But there is also a more scientific explanation.  As with weight loss, one of the ways in which your body adapts to an increase in exercise is to lower your resting metabolic rate by roughly 7%, so you actually end up burning fewer calories - anywhere from 50 to 75 fewer per day, or so the scientists said.

So what are the benefits?  Well while exercise won't actually burn off that spare tyre it does help to reduce your waist circumference and generally tones up the body to make it firmer and leaner, not to mention the other benefits of having an active lifestyle.

Is it better to eat several small meals a day or just the regular 3 - Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner?

The reasoning behind the myth of eating several smaller meals during the day - about 5 is that your blood sugar level won't drop so much between meals, you will feel less hungry and you won't suffer from cravings when your blood sugar level drops.  

The facts are that in a study by the University of Missouri has found that people who eat 3 square meals a day are often no hungrier than those who eat smaller, more frequent meals. "Often people misinterpret the size of a mini meal and end up taking in far more calories than they realize, "says lead author Heather J Leidy. "Also, more meals means more exposure to food, which creates more opportunities for overeating."

It is my opinion that this is a very personal question.  There are people who feel better eating varias smaller meals per day rather than just 3 bigger ones.  As long as you are aware of what you are eating and you don't go overboard on quantity then go ahead and eat several times if that works for you. 

 Is it best to set more attainable goals or to be more ambitious and set a very challenging goal?

For years, weight loss specialists have said that setting an unrealistic goal for your weight loss means you will become easily discouraged and give up quickly.  In a recent Dutch study of 447 overweight adults, researchers found that the more weight loss the participants strived for, the more effort they made, and the more weight they reported losing after two months.  The theory is that being ambitious about your weight loss has a psychologically energizing effect, fueling your commitment and drive.  If you are over weight and need to shed the kilos set yourself a high goal of losing up to 14% of your current weight, this is the target that, on average, motivated the higher-reaching dieters in the Dutch study.

To lose half a kilo you have to cut back on 3,500 calories!

This is so FALSE!  This is a commonly quoted equation that doesn't account for the slowdown in your metabolism as you drop the kilos, say researchers at the National Institute of Health.  "It drastically overestimates how quickly people will lose weight," says senior investigator Kevin D. Hall.  His team has created a more accurate computerized model.   As an example a 46 year-old woman weighing 77kg by the traditional method she should drop half a kilo a week by cutting back on 500 calories a day and therefore lose 11.8 kg in six months.  The new model shows that the loss is more likely to be approximately 9 kg in the same time frame.  The truth is that where you get your calories from is very important.  The body does not metabolize the calories from protein in the same way it does the calories from carbs and if you add that to the fact that when you have been on a diet for a length of time the body slows down metabolism because it thinks it's going to starve!

If you know what to expect, you will not become so easily discouraged when the weight loss seems to slow down.

If you have been a yo-yo dieter for years your chances of weight loss success are ruined.

This is also FALSE.  This comes from way back in the '80s when studies on rats found
that those forced to yo-yo with their diets became more efficient at gaining weight.  Humans, however, are much better off.  The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, has found that a history of losing, then gaining, then losing weight wasn't linked to any negative effects on metabolism.  Even serial yo-yo dieters who reported losing 9 kg or more on three or more occasions, were able to follow a new diet and exercise programme as successfully as non yo-yo dieters.

Women are more prone to yo-yoing by trying crash diets one after another.  The way to go is to make healthy lifestyle changes that lead to slow and steady weight loss, and stick to them.  Become more active it will help tone up as the kilos come off.

Milk drinkers lose more weight!

Those of you who have followed this blog know that I am dead against milk and milk produce, which makes it so great for me to be able to say that this myth is FALSE!!!!  Harvard researchers analyzed 29 studies on this subject.  They found that while dairy MAY help dieters lose weight in the short term, ultimately it's not a successful strategy.  In most of the studies that had lasted a year or longer and that didn't restrict calories, found that adults who drank extra glasses of milk or ate more dairy actually gained more weight than those participants who didn't.

Another thing I will add to this from my own findings with patients I have treated and conversations I have had is that people that don't diet specifically to lose weight but do suddenly cut out dairy from their diets for other reasons, find that they lose weight suddenly for apparently no explanation.  I was talking to the mother of an adolescent with severe dermatitis last week, she had taken her daughter to loads of different doctors to try and find a solution to the child's terrible dermatitis.  She had finally given up on the traditional doctors and taken her daughter to a Naturopath who instantly cut out milk produce and provided a specific plan.  Within a week the dermatitis was notably better and the mother commented on how her daughter, although not over weight at all, had slimmed down.

You have to watch what you eat forever.

I'm sorry to say that this is TRUE.  Once you have lost weight and reached your goal, you'll want to stay there - I hope.  So many people make the mistake of thinking that now they have lost the weight they can come off the diet and go back to eating the way they did before, many don't stop to think that the way they ate before got them over weight in the first place.  However, I hope that whatever regime you choose to follow that works for you, your journey to your ideal weight will TEACH you how to eat healthily and you will therefore maintain your weight loss forever more.  This does not mean that every now and again your can't enjoy a piece of birthday cake or a yummy ice cream on your summer holiday, but it does mean controlling what you eat on a daily basis so that piece of cake or ice cream doesn't stay with you forever.

Controlling your carb intake is the best way to keep the pounds off.

Lots of you will be pleased to know that this is FALSE.  At the beginning of a weight loss regime it is better to limit your intake of REFINED carbs and go for a high protein diet BUT with lots of fresh vegetables and some fruit, water and exercise.  But once you are at the maintenance part of the diet a proper healthy balanced diet with all the food groups is essential.

Now, most people when they hear the word carbs think of bread, pasta and rice.  But carbohydrates are found in fresh vegetables, legumes, fruits, and nuts too.  The most damaging carbs are the white refined type - bread, pasta and rice.  

A balanced diet plan was found to be better than the usual technique of counting carbs or fat grams in a study of adults who had recently lost a significant amount of weight.  The least successful method was the one that counted fat grams.  Healthy fat is essential for a healthy body, eliminating it from your diet is not going to do you any good at all.  Fat counting caused the biggest slowdown in metabolism, leading dieters to burn an average of 423 fewer calories a day.

The carb-counting plan was problematic because it caused and increase in cortisol and C-reactive protein levels - factors that may elevate your risk of cardiovascular disease.

However, the balanced plan caused a less extreme drop in metabolism (under 300 calories a day) and didn't trigger any heart harming consequences.  The plan included lots of whole grains, fresh vegetables, legumes, fruits, nuts, healthy fats like olive oil and lean fish and meats.  It excluded heavily processed foods like white bread and instant rice.  This is a low-glycemic diet and is based on regulating blood sugar and hormone levels and does not restrict entire food groups so it is easier to stick to.

I hope I have managed to dispel some of those nagging doubts you may have about dieting and healthy eating.  See you next week!

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

Ever wonder why your diet isn't working?

The 6 mistakes we often make.

1. Skipping Breakfast. 
Most people think that skipping breakfast will encourage your body to use it's fat stores for energy instead.  And this is true to a certain extent.  Scientists have found that people who exercise before breakfast burn up to 20% more fat than those who exercise after breakfast (British Journal of Nutrition, Dr. Emma Stevenson and Javier González).  However, Dr. Marilyn Glenville, author of Fat Around the Middle, believes that skipping breakfast can make you hungrier later on during the day and can lead to night time bingeing as the body tries to make up for the lost calorie intake during the day.  The best form of breakfast for people wanting to lose weight is a high protein one; an omelette, smoked salmon, boiled eggs, raw muesli with nuts, etc.  "If you can't face breakfast, eating a handful of walnuts or almonds an hour after waking will be enough to stop you bingeing later," says Dr. John Briffa, author of Escape the Diet Trap.

2.  Falling off the diet wagon at weekends.
Many believe that if you eat healthily all week then you can treat yourself at the weekends.  However, just two days of carbicide a week will make you gain weight.

"They equate their working week with dieting and deprivation, which locks them in the mindset of 'good' and 'bad' eating.  If you feel compelled to overeat every weekend, it suggests that way you're eating most of the time ins't satisfying you," says Dr. Briffa, "You're waiting for the weekend when you can enjoy your diet.  But the healthy eating should be making you feel better, not be your penance."

To avoid the temptation of over eating at the weekend, pepper your working week with small amounts of what your fancy, such as a glass of wine, some cheese or a few squares of good quality plain chocolate.  If you love a fried breakfast on a Sunday morning, just make sure you go back to your healthy eating habits for the next meal.  The damage is really done when you start thinking; "Oh, I've been bad now, so I might as well continue all weekend."  It all about organization and planning, if you know you're going to a dinner party on Saturday night, then be strict with yourself all week, enjoy the dinner party, but get straight back to your healthy habits on Sunday morning.

3.  Diet drinks.
In general it is believed that diet drinks don't have any calories so do not affect weight.

However, a study from the University of Texas Health Science Center, found that people who drank 21 diet drinks a week were twice as likely to be overweight.  Another study that followed diet drinkers over a 10 year period found their waists grew a staggering 70% more than non-diet drinkers' waistlines.  Another study also found that a high intake of diet drinks could increase the risk of Type II Diabetes by 67%.

The problem is that on receiving the sweet taste of the diet drink, the body assumes it will also get the calories to match the taste.  When the calories don't arrive, it triggers sweet cravings that make you eat more.  Sweeteners have also been shown to have a similar effect to real sugar on blood glucose and insulin levels.  So, stick to sparkling or still water with fresh lime or lemon juice, or coconut water.

4.  You can eat as much "healthy food" as you like.
Quite often so called healthy foods such as hummus, pistachios, and peanuts contain healthy fats but also come packed full of calories and quite often "eating just one" is impossible.  Be careful of cereals proclaiming to be healthy, they are often high in sugar.  Read the labels, ingredients are listed by their quantity not alphabetically, so if sugar is first, second or third on the list then put it back on the shelf.  Many food manufacturers disguise the sugar content by using different names such as corn syrup, maltose, dextrose, sucrose, fructose or any other word ending in OSE.

So, no matter how healthy they are, don't keep or buy foods you find moreish.  It's all about choice, if you can't have just a teaspoon of hummus with your vegetables, then choose something different.  Raw almonds or brazil nuts are pretty difficult to binge on, for example.

5.  Fat does not make you fat.
Studies show that the small percentage of people (10%) who manage to lose weight and keep it off, actually eat moderate amounts of fat.

"Fat is highly satisfying," says Zoe Harcombe, "People who avoid it are invariably never satisfied by meals.  Dieters' obsession with low fat products merely fuels a craving for fatty foods, and that's why they end up bingeing on cakes, biscuits and ice-cream - all sources of fat their bodies need."

Low fat food is a waste of time for people wanting to lose weight because when real fat is removed so is taste and texture which then needs to be replaced, usually with sugar and flour, which are nutritionally poor.

The human body also needs dietary fat as certain vitamins are only fat-soluble.  Vitamins such as; A, D, E and K need the presence of fat to enable the body to absorb them.

So, add some butter to your steamed vegetables and make sure you are getting enough Omega-3 fatty acids found in oily fish, coconut oil, walnuts, flaxseed, etc., there is some evidence that these fatty acids may help the body to burn fat.

6.  Diets don't work.
At least not for longterm weight loss.

Most people who go on a strict diet, lose weight initially but a strict diet is difficult to maintain, and soon the dieter has stopped and the weight goes back on - and then some!  This is repeated periodically over the years - each time a little more weight is gained.  This cycle gave birth to the name "yo-yo dieters".

On a very strict diet, the body thinks that it's starving so compensates by switching on all the mechanisms it possesses to store food.  "One of these [mechanisms] is hormones.  Last October, a University of Melbourne study of 50 overweight women and men showed that after dieting, our hormone levels start to work overtime and react as though our bodies are starving.  The study found that participants' levels of ghrelin, a hormone that stimulates appetite, was 20% higher than before they went on the diet, and their levels of leptin, a hormone that suppreses appetite and registers satisfaction after eating, were lower." (Professor Alexander Miras, a obesity researcher at University College London).

"The only diets that have been proven effective for longterm weight loss in randomized controlled studies are those that focus on higher amounts of protein and vegetables, and limit carbohydrates to those with a low glycaemic index (GI)," says Professor Miras.

Statistics:

• 98% of people who go on a diet, regain the weight within a year.
• The famous 10% who didn't regain the weight - keeping off anything from 13kg to 136kg for 5 years or more, did it by:
• 78% ate breakfast everyday
• 75% weighed themselves at least once a week
• 62% watched less than 10 hours of television a week
• 90% exercised moderately for an hour everyday - most walked as their chosen form of exercise.

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