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Transcript of “How to make your cola habit more healthful”
Drinking sugar laden beverages is not a health move. BUT, they taste GOOD. So, can you enjoy them, without the consequences ? Maybe. It is all in the timing.
I’m not going to say, drinking sugar laden beverages is a health move – it’s NOT. Hello, they’re a chemical soup, packed full of calories, which in excess, make you FAT.And you already know that……….
BUT, they taste GOOD.
It’s true…………….. “Coke adds LIFE”.
You know cutting them out of your life, would improve your body chemistry, but knowing and doing, is not the same thing. After all, they’re a tad addictive.
So, can you enjoy them, without the consequences ?
Mmm…. maybe.
A group of researchers from the Academic Medical Centre in Amsterdam, accidently found a way, to mitigate some of the metabolic damage, associated with excess calories.
The secret……………
It is all in the timing.
Loading up on calories
The team enlisted the help of 37 young healthy men……………… and set about making THEM FAT.
Yup. These guys volunteered to eat 40 % more calories than they needed.
Impressed ? I know I am, as a card carrying member of the weight conscious club, aka the metabolically challenged, I would NEVER sign up for something, with a high potential to make me FATTER. NEVER !
But, these guys were brave, skinny and metabolically healthy.
The eat more diet
The participants were required to eat 40 % more calories than needed for 6 weeks. The extra calories were served in two formats …..
- A nutritionally balanced shake, designed as a meal replacement. The marconutrient composition was 16 % protein, 49 % carbohydrates and 35 % fats. This was classified as a high fat, high sugar diet.
- A sugar laden beverage, which was a 100 % carbs, it contained no protein and no fat. Think Coca Cola. This was classified as a high sugar diet.
Now, to make it more interesting, they were given two ways to consume these extra calories. They could add them onto their meals or they could eat them between meals.
Ultimately there were 4 groups of eight….
- Group 1 – did the high fat, high sugar with meals (HFHS-S)
- Group 2 – did the high fat, high sugar between meals (HFHS-F)
- Group 3 – did the high sugar with meals (HS-S)
- Group 4 – did the high sugar between meals (HS-F)
So what happened ?
Fattening up
They all put on weight. SURPRISE SURPRISE.
But, if you’re thinking they went from skinny bean pole to the “Michelin Man” – you’re mistaken. The amount of weight that they actually put on, was pretty small.
Baseline BMI and BMI gain after the hypercaloric diets. HFHS = high fat + high sucrose meal. HS = high sucrose meal. The – S groups, ate the extra calories, with meals. The – F groups, ate the extra calories between meals. Copyright 2014 Koopman et al.
In the worst case scenario, they went from a BMI of 22.56 ± 1.5 to 23.56 ± 1.3.
Hello, these guys were PIGGING OUT, BIG TIME for 6 weeks and they put on approx. 2 kg.
NOT FAIR !
Mmmm…. this research, just goes to show, weight problems are not caused by, EATING TOO MUCH and EXERCISING TOO LITTLE.
Bad body chemistry drives it.
And one of the signs of bad body chemistry, is the accumulation of fat in the liver. The technical name for this problem is hepatic steatosis…… it is a sign of insulin resistance and can progress to liver failure.
A time to snack
Our PIGGING out participants, didn’t show any signs of insulin resistance, when tested using the HOMA-IR test. But, they did accumulate a little extra fat in their livers, when they consumed the excess calories. A sign that eating all those calories, was causing a little metabolic distress.
Change in % fatty liver (IHTG) by the different hypercaloric interventions. Copyright 2014 Koopman et al
But, the distress only happened, when they consumed the excess calories BETWEEN MEALS.
SNACKING was the problem ! Not calories.
Did the type of snack matter ?
Sugar only snacks were more damaging
The team observed, the “Coca Cola” snacking diet, had a bigger impact on intra hepatic triglyceride levels, than the nutrient shake. The high sugar diet, caused fat levels to rise, around 1.5 %, while the high sugar/high fat snacks caused a much smaller increase, of around 0.4 %.
This is good news if you LOVE CHOCOLATE.
The take home message from this research…..
Indulge yourself
At meal times, but stick to THREE SQUARE MEALS a day.
The health gurus have told us for years………….
“Eat lots of small meals throughout the day”
This nibbling approach to eating, is actually a recipe for BAD BODY CHEMISTRY -if you want to create, BETTER BODY CHEMISTRY, you want to snack less.
Further reading
It might be time to try the TRF see food diet – it works
Human biology runs on a schedule. Modern living, disrupts this schedule. A TRF see food diet, puts metabolism back on schedule – so fat fails to accumulate.
Why midnight feasts cause bigger hips
If you eat, when you should be asleep, the enzymes contracted to work the night shift clock in for work, but they don’t do the work, so fat burning ceases.
Stop grazing it will stop you packing on the pounds
The health guru recipe for healthy living is to eat lots of small meals throughout the day, but grazing continuously actually stops you from burning fat.
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