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Wednesday 21 November 2018

New Major Study: A Calorie Is Not A Calorie




"Despite what the sugary beverage and processed snack food companies want us to believe, all calories are not created equal.

A new study from Harvard shows that individuals following a low-carbohydrate (20% of total calories) diet burn between 209 and 278 more calories at rest (each day) than those on a high-carbohydrate (60% of total calories) diet. So the type of calories we eat really does matter. 

The New York Times: How a low-carb diet might help you maintain a healthy weight 

This isn’t the first study to investigate this topic, but it is likely the best. 

The current study was a meticulously controlled, randomized trial, lasting 20 weeks. Even more impressive, the study group provided all the food for participants, over 100,000 meals and snacks costing $12 million for the entire study! This eliminated an important variable in nutrition studies — did the subjects actually comply with the diet — and shows the power of philanthropy and partnerships in supporting high-quality science. 

After a run-in period where all subjects lost the same amount of weight, participants were randomized to one of three diets: 20% carbs, 40% carb, or 60% carbs, with the protein remaining fixed at 20%. Importantly, calories were adjusted to stabilize weight and halt further weight loss, thus making it much more likely that any observed difference in calorie expenditure was not from weight loss, but rather from the types of food consumed. 

After five months, those on the low-carb diet increased their resting energy expenditure by over 200 calories per day, whereas the high-carb group initially decreased their resting energy expenditure, exposing a clear difference between the groups. In addition, those who had the highest baseline insulin levels saw an even more impressive 308-calorie increase on the low-carb diet, suggesting a subset that may benefit even more from carbohydrate restriction. 

Why is this important? It shows why the conventional wisdom to eat less, move more and count your calories is not the best path to weight loss. Numerous studies show better weight loss with low-carb diets compared to low-fat diets, and now studies like this one help us understand why. 

Our bodies are not simple calorimeters keeping track of how much we eat and how much we burn. Instead, we have intricate hormonal responses to the types of food we eat. It’s time to accept this and get rid of the outdated calories in-calories, calories-out model, thus allowing for more effective and sustainable long-term weight loss. 

Additional coverage of this dramatic new study: 

LA Times: The case against carbohydrates gets stronger (by study author Dr. David Ludwig) 

The Times: Low-carb dieters “shed more weight” 

MedPage Today: Low-carb diet wins for weight maintenance "

All words and picture above from Diet Doctor site here

All the best Jan

21 comments:

Valerie-Jael said...

Very good information, thanks! Valerie

Tom said...

...complex stuff.

DUTA said...

Counting calories may not be the best path to weight loss, but it's the only path that works for me.

Christine said...

Thanks for sharing, interesting.

Pam said...

I know that sugar is bad for you but it sure does make eating more tasty! I have gotten back into sugar since my surgery almost 2 yrs ago and I need to find a way to stop wanting it.

Sami said...

Interesting study. I'm glad it's this way as I was never one to count calories.

Thickethouse.wordpress said...

This is very interesting and helps explain why low carb diets work so well. And perhaps some of why I feel I have more energy on them.

Elephant's Child said...

How nice to get positive affirmation of your chosen life style.

Miss Val's Creations said...

Very interesting study.

DIMI said...

Hello Jan!
This is a new study that I didn’t know!
Thank you for sharing all those interesting informations!
Have a relaxing evening!
Dimi...

Out on the prairie said...

I won't be watching any tomorrow while eating mass amounts

William Kendall said...

I hadn't heard that yet.

Chris Lally said...

Great to know! Thanks, Jan!

Lorrie said...

We are certainly complex in the way our bodies work.

Linda said...

Interesting. So much of what was accepted as "science" was just a theory.

Carol Blackburn said...

Thanks for the great information. As always, enjoy your day.

Bill said...

Very interesting info, thanks for sharing.

Snowbird said...

How fascinating!xxx

Lisabella Russo said...

It's an interesting study, thanks for the read!

Conniecrafter said...

This has been over all the news here in the states this past week, I have found this to be true in my diet so I already knew this.

Magic Love Crow said...

This is very interesting! Thank you!