CARBOHYDRATES: They stimulate a rise in blood sugar spiking the hormone insulin. Refined carbohydrates, like hidden sugar in processed foods, candy, pastries, and sweets in general are like a match to gasoline. A boom is created and makes energy, BUT it’s fast and you burn out quickly, making you hungry. AND any excess is converted directly into fat around your belly and organs by the hormone insulin. Think “belly fat.” That’s not good. The minimum daily requirement for carbohydrates in human nutrition is essentially ZERO! “Heart healthy grains” are also a NO, because they spike insulin and store calories as fat. Consuming a lot of non-starchy vegetables (healthy carbs) is the best way to get an abundance of nutrients, as they contain “net carbs” reduced by the fiber they contain. PROTEINS: They are necessary for a million reasons, but not as many as you might think. Unless you are training for the Olympics or are a teenage football player, 3–4 ounces per meal is really all that is necessary for tissue repair and general good health. Too much protein will elevate insulin levels, which increases fat storage where you don’t want it. Yes, belly fat again! A “fist-sized” portion is adequate. FATS: Since the early 1960s, everyone has known that fat will make you fat and kill you slowly or give you a heart attack for sure, right? FALSE! Ancel Keys, a nutrition researcher with drug company funding, linked fat to heart disease with skewed data and junk science (his Seven Countries Study), and the rest is history: a government food pyramid emphasizing bread, cereal, and grains. Look around. Notice most people are heavy, including teens and young children. Childhood obesity and Type 2 diabetes is rising to the point where 1 in 3 Americans will be diabetic by 2050. Altered insulin metabolism is linked to heart disease, stroke, and Alzheimer’s disease and is now more frequently referred to in the literature as Type 3 diabetes. Fat is the only macronutrient that is insulin-neutral, meaning it does not spike insulin leading to fat storage, specifically around your belly. Healthy fats like avocados; raw unsalted nuts; olive and avocado oil; hormone-free whole milk dairy; real, hormone-free butter; organic eggs; grass-fed hamburger and steak; fatty fish like tuna and salmon; olives; and hormone-free aged cheeses are safe and very satisfying. Including them in your meals will help minimize hunger and cravings, provide needed nutrients, and make you feel satisfied for longer periods of time, especially between meals. I’m recommending you regulate your body’s insulin response to these macronutrients and skip the calorie confusion as my family and I do. Some of you have asked me how many calories I consume daily and my response is always, “I don’t know because I don’t count calories.” It really makes creating a HEALTHY EATING PLAN (not a diet) much simpler. I suggest you purchase your copy of the “Get Healthy to Lose Weight” booklet at my office for $10. Become a health expert to help minimize future health risks to you and your family.
DR. BRAADT’S WELLNESS COLUMN
A 300-calorie doughnut is not the same as a 300-calorie chicken thigh. But, of course, you already knew that. Doughnuts spike the fat storing hormone insulin like crazy, making you hungry in no time and raising your blood sugar. Chicken provides muscle-building and hunger-fighting protein. Most nutritional discussions rarely go deeper than “calories in and calories out/ burned.” Calories are like the Kardashians of nutrition: confusing, overrated, and completely inescapable! Every time you see them, you’re probably being fed misinformation. So, a bit of discussion based on known facts might help to clear up some of this calorie confusion. A CALORIE DEFINED: The word is from a Latin root meaning a unit of heat . Calories are “burnt” in the production of energy in the body. This is called metabolism. Calories from food consumed are utilized for energy OR stored as fat. This metabolic process, burn or store, is regulated by “hormones” and not the “amount” of calories consumed. I personally never count calories. I simply choose foods that “burn” for energy and reject foods that “store” as fat. I’m also conscious of the nutrient density of the foods I choose to eat. SOLVING THE CALORIE CONFUSION Burn Energy vs. Store Fat! Here’s what I know and how I handle calories for myself and my family.
THERE ARE THREE MAJOR MACRONUTRIENTS THAT MAKE UP THE FOODS WE EAT:
We’re here to get you out of pain and help educate you to maximize your health and energy so you can chase your dreams!
Proteins, Carbohydrates, Fats
Each influences your hormones in different ways.
–Dr. Paul Braadt
Remember, burn calories for energy vs. store calories as fat!
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