define what it means to eat healthy or what constitutes a healthy diet, what thoughts, principles, and rules would come to mind? Is it a certain number of meals per day?
shawn Wells, R.D. with Tim Skwiat, Pn1 2 8 Healthy Foods That Cause Flab If we were to ask you to define what it means to eat healthy or what constitutes a healthy diet, what thoughts, principles, and rules would come to mind? Is it a certain number of meals per day? Is it a specific number of grams of fat or carbohydrates? Is a low-fat or a low-carbohydrate diet better? Does it involve eliminating certain types of foods (e.g., gluten, dairy, sugar)? Does it involve counting grams of sugar? Does it revolve entirely around counting calories or points? Does it entail not eating after a certain time of day? Perhaps you can fill in the blank below: Healthy eating is _____. This mindset and these rules, which are influenced by what youve read in books, magazines, and on the Internet as well as what youve heard from personalities and professionals on the TV and radio, shape your eating choices. Ultimately, its these food choices that have a significant influence on your health and your waistline. While were confident that the folks who have molded your nutrition mindset have your best interests in mind, the unfortunate reality is that many of these recommendations 3 are misguided and outdated, which leads to poor food choices that contribute to adding unwanted flab instead of fighting fat. This is further compounded by the fact that you likely find it challenging to prepare every meal at home. Out of convenience, you end up searching supermarket shelves and local health food shops for quick and convenient healthy snacks and smoothies. While this may not be a completely lost cause, theres a much higher probability that the options youll findand have been told to seek outare not the best for your health and fitness goals. As a matter of fact, many of these so-called diet and health foods may actually be causing you to gain weight and adversely impacting your health. With that in mind, lets take a look at the following healthy foods that could be negatively affecting your waistline. #1: Whole Wheat Bread, Bagels, and Pasta You likely already know that refined flour versions of these carbohydrate-dense foods are off limits if your goal is a slim, tight waistline and clean slate of health. But, the whole wheat versions are supposed to be so much healthier, right? Not so fast. While these versions may be slight improvements over their refined wheat cousins, they are still a far cry from the true whole grains themselves. True whole grains contain the entire grainthe bran, the germ, and the endospermwhereas refined grains involve the removal of the bran and the germ, which all but removes the fiber, B vitamins, and iron. While consuming minimally-processed whole grains may indeed have some significant health and body composition advantages, what happens when these whole grains are pulverized into a fine flour with which the actual products are made? 4 The fact of the matter is that the milling processes involved in creating floureven flour made from whole wheatessentially pre-digests the grain into smaller, more rapidly digesting particles. As a matter of fact, the average whole wheat bread has a similar glycemic index as white bread, which is made with refined flour. (1) Speaking of the glycemic index, it is a measure of how quickly and significantly the carbohydrates from food are broken down and enter the bloodstream (as blood sugar). In a 2000 review, Ludwig listed the following benefits of consuming a low glycemic diet: (2) Better micronutrient and fiber intake (i.e., better nutrition) Increased feelings of fullness Decreased hunger Lower energy intake in subsequent meals Fat loss Better fasting insulin and blood sugar concentrations Consumption of higher glycemic, fast-digesting, processed carbohydrates and refined sugarslike those found in most pre-packaged store-bought goodsresults in elevations in blood sugar and insulin…; Shawn Wells, R.D. with Tim Skwiat, Pn1 2 8 Healthy Foods That Cause Flab If we were to ask you to define what it means to eat healthy or what constitutes a healthy diet, what thoughts, principles, and rules would come to mind? Is it a certain number of meals per day? Is it a specific number of grams of fat or carbohydrates? Is a low-fat or a low-carbohydrate diet better? Does it involve eliminating certain types of foods (e.g., gluten, dairy, sugar)? Does it involve counting grams of sugar? Does it revolve entirely around counting calories or points? Does it entail not eating after a certain time of day? Perhaps you can fill in the blank below: Healthy eating is _____. This mindset and these rules, which are influenced by what youve read in books, magazines, and on the Internet as well as what youve heard from personalities and professionals on the TV and radio, shape your eating choices. Ultimately, its these food choices that have a significant influence on your health and your waistline. While were confident that the folks who have molded your nutrition mindset have your best interests in mind, the unfortunate reality is that many of these recommendations 3 are misguided and outdated, which leads to poor food choices that contribute to adding unwanted flab instead of fighting fat. This is further compounded by the fact that you likely find it challenging to prepare every meal at home. Out of convenience, you end up searching supermarket shelves and local health food shops for quick and convenient healthy snacks and smoothies. While this may not be a completely lost cause, theres a much higher probability that the options youll findand have been told to seek outare not the best for your health and fitness goals. As a matter of fact, many of these so-called diet and health foods may actually be causing you to gain weight and adversely impacting your health. With that in mind, lets take a look at the following healthy foods that could be negatively affecting your waistline. #1: Whole Wheat Bread, Bagels, and Pasta You likely already know that refined flour versions of these carbohydrate-dense foods are off limits if your goal is a slim, tight waistline and clean slate of health. But, the whole wheat versions are supposed to be so much healthier, right? Not so fast. While these versions may be slight improvements over their refined wheat cousins, they are still a far cry from the true whole grains themselves. True whole grains contain the entire grainthe bran, the germ, and the endospermwhereas refined grains involve the removal of the bran and the germ, which all but removes the fiber, B vitamins, and iron. While consuming minimally-processed whole grains may indeed have some significant health and body composition advantages, what happens when these whole grains are pulverized into a fine flour with which the actual products are made? 4 The fact of the matter is that the milling processes involved in creating floureven flour made from whole wheatessentially pre-digests the grain into smaller, more rapidly digesting particles. As a matter of fact, the average whole wheat bread has a similar glycemic index as white bread, which is made with refined flour. (1) Speaking of the glycemic index, it is a measure of how quickly and significantly the carbohydrates from food are broken down and enter the bloodstream (as blood sugar). In a 2000 review, Ludwig listed the following benefits of consuming a low glycemic diet: (2) Better micronutrient and fiber intake (i.e., better nutrition) Increased feelings of fullness Decreased hunger Lower energy intake in subsequent meals Fat loss Better fasting insulin and blood sugar concentrations Consumption of higher glycemic, fast-digesting, processed carbohydrates and refined sugarslike those found in most pre-packaged store-bought goodsresults in elevations in blood sugar and insulin…
