The federal nutrition data considered " physiologically plausible '
In the U.S. , Nutritional and health data are collected by the Nutrition Survey ( NHANES ) National Health 0.4 Collect data and self -reported consumption of foods and beverages for children and adults , as well as reviews to assess the physical health of the participants . This information is then used by researchers studying the effects of nutrition and diet on the health of Americans .
Now , researchers estimate that the methods of NHANES data collection and have come to the conclusion that the data are simply " not physiologically credible " and that the blame for obesity on excessive consumption of calories is " no empirical foundation . "According to the feature article : 5
"The data study6 examined 28,993 men and 34,369 women aged 20 to 74 years , NHANES I ( 1971-1974) through NHANES (2009-2010 ) , and analyzed the calorie intake of the participants and their energy expenditure predicted by the height, weight , age and sex.
The results show that - based on the memory of the subjective perception of food and drink - the vast majority of NHANES data ' are physiologically unlikely and thus invalid , says Archer. In other words , the " calories " reported by the participants and the " calories out , " do not add up and it is impossible to survive in the most reported energy intake .
This distortion energy intake varies between participants , and was higher in men and obese women underestimate their consumption by an average of 25 percent and 41 percent (or 716 and 856 calories per day, respectively ) . "
Failure to provide accurate estimates of usual caloric intake of Americans may have profound implications regarding federal nutrition guidelines . First, it emphasizes the limited ability to create public policy that accurately reflects the relationship between diet and health.
It also suggests that much of the nutritional research produced over the past four decades is unreliable at best, not an accurate reflection of the actual calorie intake of people. According to Archer :
" Greater oversight of the nation to examine the relationship between nutrition and health tool is invalid. 's Time to stop spending tens of millions of dollars in health research and find valid data collection more accurate measurements . "
Reality Check - health depends on Real Food
I agree that we should stop wasting money on collecting invalid data. The question is , what would be " more precise measurements ? " He argued against counting calories at all, because they are a poor way to evaluate the real security of your meal.
You will not improve your health by eating less cookies than before, if your entire diet consists of different types of cakes. If you really want to lose weight and, more importantly , improve your health , you should replace "empty" calories of processed, denatured with nutrients from whole foods , real fat healthy foods , especially , to address below.
Three decades ago , the food available was all fresh and locally grown . Today, most of the food served , whether at home, at school or in restaurants , are highly processed foods full of sugars and chemical additives. During this same time , childhood obesity has more than tripled. In the United States, more than one third of children and teens are overweight or obese.
No matter if our guidelines are based on federal nutrition calorie accurate or not , reducing calories alone will not solve the problem of childhood obesity and the alarming rise of chronic diseases in children and adolescents. Children need to be fed properly, and Oliver TV program clearly identifies what is wrong with the American diet.
Why counting calories does not work
In a word , it is much more important to consider the source of calories that count . Contrary to popular belief , you do not need 45-65 percent of their daily calories from carbohydrates, as recommended by the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.7
It is this type of nutritional guidelines that are responsible for the promotion of obesity in the first place! It would be one thing if the recommendation was that half of your diet should consist of carbohydrate vegetables, but this is not the case. No federal guidelines for carbohydrates promoted by health agencies and nutritionists around the country include starches , fiber , grains , sugar and alcohols of natural and added sugars - the same things that the training rates of obesity and chronic diseases in the sky ... According to the report of the Advisory Committee on the Dietary Guidelines 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans , eight of the top 10 sources of calories in the American diet are:
To optimize your health , pay attention to the source of the calories
In order to curb the current obesity epidemic , we need more accurate calorie information , we need to start focusing on eating the right kind of calories. I firmly believe that the keys to successful weight control and optimal health are:
Carbohydrates (sugars severely restrict , fructose and grains ) in your diet
Increased consumption of healthy fats
Unlimited alcoholic and non-starchy vegetables . Because they are so low in calories , most of the food on your plate is vegetables
Limit the use of proteins of less than half a gram per kilo of body weight
Healthy fats can be high in calories, but those calories will not affect your body the same way as vegetable calories from carbohydrates. As explained by Dr. Robert Lustig , fructose , in particular, is " isocaloric but not isometabolic . " This means that you can have the same amount of calories from fructose or glucose , fructose and protein , or fructose and fat, but the metabolic effect will be quite different , although the same amount of calories. Food eating fat is not what to pack on the pounds. This is the sugar / fructose and grains that add padding .
So please do not fall into the low-fat myth , as it is also a factor in the increase in chronic health problems such as heart disease and Alzheimer 's disease . The brain, heart and cardiovascular system healthy fat needed for optimal performance . In fact , new evidence suggests that most people need at least half of their daily calories from healthy fats, and perhaps up to 70 percent. My personal plan is about 60-70 percent of healthy fat. Add to that a small or medium amount of protein and lots of high quality vegetables . You really need very little carbohydrates and more vegetables, so you see, the federal guidelines are as unbalanced as they could be ... pushing to obesity and poor health , if you follow .
Hunger can be used as a guide to determine the amount of fat you need
Many do not realize this, but frequent hunger may be important that you do not eat properly and used as your main index carbohydrate fuel . Not only is it an indication that you eat the wrong kinds of food , but also a sign that it is likely to be consumed in balanced proportions for individual biochemistry , and when your diet can benefit adjustment. Fat is more satiating than carbohydrates, so if you cut carbs and feel hungry , thinking that "you can not do without carbohydrates " , remember that this is a sign that you have not replaced a sufficient amount of fat. so go ahead and add some more . You want to make sure you add the right kind of fat too. and vegetable oils like canola and corn oil with National Institutes of Health (NIH ) recommends not on the list ... Healthy sources of healthy fats include:
Healthy eating begins at home
Home used to be the heart of the transmission of food culture. This happens more often , and children suffer the consequences. School meals also tended to be much more nutritious . Today, as evidenced by the video above , most of the food served in school food is processed , requiring only to be reheated .
Unfortunately , many parents today do not even know how to cook with fresh ingredients, because their parents have accepted the novel convenience of TV dinner in the 50s. I've said for many years, and it is worth repeating several times as it is one of the main solutions to the obesity epidemic - cook your food from scratch at home!
Many people have the mistaken impression that cooking from scratch is a very complex issue that takes time and costs more than they could . Part of Jamie Oliver 's mission is to show the fallacy of such thinking . There are many sources of simple recipes, many of which are free, if you have Internet access . In a previous article , Colleen Huber offers a list of helpful tips on how to cook food from scratch while keeping your day job .
It requires a bit of advance planning , in many cases, but do not forget to learn how to plan your meals can actually reduce your stress levels rather than increase them ! Many people turn to fast food and processed foods simply because they are too exhausted at the end of their working day to figure out what to cook . Planning a menu and shopping before I could actually turn mealtime a family time more relaxed.
Also, do not forget that all the money that you think you are saving now with processed foods , you end up paying several times later, when his health begins to fail . Good nutrition , composed mainly of fresh food really is the number of health insurance contract . Also, children do not know what healthy food unless as a parent , teach them . Please understand that unhealthy eating habits at home, coupled with poor food choices at school, your child can put the physical and behavioral problems in the long run .
Are you trying to eat healthy on a budget?
While not immediately obvious to people who grew up relying on packaged convenience foods and snacks , you can replace these foods with something as good as support and not ruin your health. This requires a bit of strategy , especially if you are working with a tight budget, but you can do :
Identify a person to prepare meals . Someone has to spend time in the kitchen. It will be necessary for you , your spouse , or maybe someone in your family healthy meals locally grown food . This includes lunches for their children to take to school .
Become ingenious : it is an area where your grandmother can be a lot of information, such as how to use up every morsel of food and stretch a meal was notorious for the past. Trying to get back to the basics of cooking - with a roast chicken bones to make stock pot , the extent of use for a Sunday roast dinners during the week , learn how to make inexpensive cuts of meat dishes using leftovers and so on.
Plan your meals : If you do not think you plan to fail . This is essential because you have to be prepared for meals in advance to succeed. Ideally , be recognized in the local farmer's markets products for the season which is the selling price , and plan your meals accordingly , but you can also use the same principle of supermarket sales .
Generally , you can plan a week of meals at a time, make sure you have all the ingredients on hand and do all the prep work as you can before time for dinner is easy to prepare , if you're short of time afternoon.
It is a mystery that will have lunch at noon every day so instead of relying on fast food at work, before going to bed , make a plan of what it will take for the next job . It's a simple strategy that wonderful to eat healthier , especially if you take healthy food at home to work .
Avoid food waste : According to a study published in the journal PLoS ONE , Americans waste about 1,400 calories of food per person per day . The above two steps will help reduce food waste at home. You can also see my article entitled " 14 ways to save money at the supermarket. " These tips are suggestions to keep your food fresh longer and suggest checking out these tips now .
Buy organic foods of animal origin. The most important foods to buy organic are animal , not vegetable , products (meat , eggs , butter , etc) , as animal foods tend to concentrate pesticides in quantities greater . If you can not afford to buy all organic food , opt for the first organic animal foods .
Reduce the cost of beef grass fed . Finish grazing meat is much healthier than grain - fed beef ( I do not recommend the consumption ) . To reduce costs , find cheap roasts or ground beef. You can also save money by buying a whole side of beef ( or split with two or three families ) , if you have enough freezer space to store it.
Buy in bulk in nonperishable food will be sold . If you are lucky enough to live near a club or a buyer of a co -op may also be able to take advantage of buying the book in the trash , saving you and the supplier the cost of expensive packaging .
Frequent farmers markets or develop your own product. You may be surprised to find that by going directly to the source that you can get locally grown, very healthy food , organic for less than what you can find in your supermarket. This gives you the best of both worlds : the food that is grown close to home , reducing your carbon footprint and gives optimum freshness and grown without chemicals, genetically modified seeds and other potential toxins