Are all calories the same?

Ultra-processed food and weight gain

You’ve likely heard it: Calories in – calories out. If you want to lose weight, consume fewer calories.

It presumes all calories are created equal, which many doctors will tell you is true. It isn’t, but false data can be hard to overcome.

Is it all about calories and exercise?

Further, there’s the thought that eating is just about satisfying hunger and if you exercise enough and don’t overeat, it really doesn’t matter what you eat. But there’s that niggling point about “don’t overeat”. Easily said but, what if you’re still hungry? What if you eat but never get satisfied? What if you’re driven by cravings?

I’ve always said the quality of what you eat is tantamount to good health and a normal weight.

Researchers finally answer the question of food quality and weight gain

A recent study published in Cell Metabolism showed what happened when researchers put twenty “healthy weight-stable” adults, 10 men and 10 women on two different diets. Each group experienced both diets for a duration of 2 weeks. They were in a facility that completely controlled their meals and beverages for 4 weeks total.

The goal was to evaluate what happened when individuals were provided with meals that were unprocessed vs. ultra-processed.

Sadly, over-processed foods make up the majority of calories consumed in the U.S., and they are strongly associated with poor health outcomes, including not just obesity but degenerative disease such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

Do ultra-processed foods cause cravings?

The high salt, sugar, fat, and calories of ultra-processed foods seem to move individuals consuming them towards obesity. Their ability to produce cravings and their addictive-like properties are not replicated in foods that occur naturally in nature.

In the study, the meals offered to each group were “matched” for calories, sugar, fat, fiber, and macronutrients. To “match” fiber the participants had to consume a beverage with powdered fiber because ultra-processed food has almost none.

They were served their meals on a plate, but they could consume as much or as little as desired during a one hour time period allotted for each meal. In other words, they could request more food or not finish what they were given at their own discretion.

Individuals served ultra-processed foods ate 500 calories extra per day

Interestingly, those receiving the ultra-processed diet tended to consume 500 extra calories each day, resulting in a 2-pound weight gain during the two weeks they remained on the diet. When they were switched to the unprocessed diet, they lost 2 pounds.

Participants, despite being healthy and weight stable, reached for about 500 calories more per day when they were being fed the ultra-processed food meals. The excess calories were in the form of carbohydrates and fat, not protein.

Does food quality interfere with brain satiety signals?

Do ultra-processed foods interfere with your gut’s ability to signal your brain that you’re full and should stop eating? Yes; this study confirmed it.

The hormone causing appetite suppression increased with the unprocessed diet, making it easier for those participants to realize they were full and stop eating.

Additionally, the hunger hormone ghrelin decreased during the unprocessed diet. Clearly feeling less hungry makes it easier to eat less.

Do you suffer from cravings?

Have you ever eaten but not felt satisfied? Have you felt hungry despite “knowing” you’ve likely eaten enough? It’s a frustrating phenomenon to experience, most especially when you’re trying to lose weight.

Food engineers are very good at manipulating man-made ultra-processed foods to keep you coming back for more. Have you ever seen the documentary Supersize Me? It’s a very real and frightening truth that ultra-processed foods drive you to crave more ultra-processed foods.

Unprocessed foods created many health benefits

Weight gain, lack of satiety, and increased hunger wasn’t the only result of the ultra-processed food diet.

The unprocessed diet resulted in weight loss plus profound healthful changes in participants’ blood values. Total cholesterol, C-reactive protein (an inflammatory marker), triglycerides, fasting glucose and insulin levels all decreased.

Confirmed: Workable strategy for obesity prevention

The researchers wanted to test the theory that ultra-processed foods cause weight gain. Their conclusions confirmed it: After a 4-week study of 20 individuals, their data supported that a diet high in ultra-processed foods lead to weight gain, while a diet that eliminated ultra-processed foods resulted in weight loss.

The researchers concluded that a lower exposure to ultra-processed foods could reduce the obesity epidemic and be used as a strategy for obesity prevention.

One country, Brazil, already has national dietary guidelines in place to avoid ultra-processed foods.

Ultra-processed foods are cheap but cause disease

Unfortunately, the lure of ultra-processed foods can make them difficult to avoid. They are inexpensive, have a long shelf life, and are convenient as ready-to-eat or heat.

And then there’s the dark side…

The rise in obesity and type 2 diabetes coincides with the over-processing of food around the industrialized world.

Is the decision to choose the right food easy?

We live in a country where it’s “cool” to drink Coca-Cola and eat Snickers bars. But it’s not “cool” to be fat and sick.

Hmmm. Food marketers do a good job of luring us in to eat their ultra-processed foods, and Big Pharma is right there with the medications to “handle” the symptoms those bad foods cause.

The picture is not pretty. The “tasty” and “addictive” ultra-processed foods abound and so does the degenerative diseases they cause.

You need a helping hand

Having treated patients for over 25 years, I know that everyone needs some hand-holding to make lifestyle and dietary changes.

We specialize in getting to the root cause of why your body is giving you symptoms.

If you’re ready to get healthy and enjoy robust health, we’re here for you.

Contact us for a Free Consultation – Call (408) 733-0400.

If you are not local to us you can still receive help. It is the reason we created our Destination Clinic that treats patients from across the country and internationally.

We help the world’s busiest people regain, retain, and reclaim their health, energy, and resilience.

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