More Food, Fewer Calories: "What a Concept"

Studying the diets of 7,500 Americans, scientists found that people eating a low-calorie-dense diet (plenty of fruits, vegetables, and fiber-rich grains) ended up eating a lot more food over the course of the day but a lot fewer calories than people eating calorie-dense fare like fatty meats, cheese, and sugar-rich, white-flour-rich foods.

As you learned in nutrition class at the Pritikin Longevity Center, this is “the calorie density solution.” And this is just one more study that demonstrates the beneficial effects of a low-calorie-dense diet.

Foods with a low calorie density, like nonstarchy vegetables, have relatively few calories pound for pound (65 to 195) compared to foods like chocolate bars or cookies that pack in more than 2,200 calories per pound.

The researchers found that compared with high-calorie-dense eaters, low-calorie-dense dieters took in several hundred fewer calories each day – an average of 425 fewer among men and 250 fewer among women.

Yet, the low-calorie-dense-eaters ate more food and more nutrients – more calcium, more iron, more potassium, and more vitamins A, C, B-6, and folate – than those eating fattier, richer, calorie-packed foods, reported the authors, lead by Dr. Jenny Ledikwe of Pennsylvania State University.

In an accompanying editorial entitled “Energy Density: What a Concept,” Dr. Linda Van Horn, one of the nation’s leading nutrition experts, applauded Dr. Ledikwe’s new study, noting that it “conveys the benefits of a low-energy [calorie]-density diet rich in complex carbohydrates and satiety compared to a high-energy diet.”

Go Veggie, Go Lean

For a leaner, healthier weight, skip the meat and focus on plant-based, fiber-rich foods, such as vegetables, fruits, whole grain cereals, and beans, concluded more recently published research on more than 55,000 healthy, middle-aged Swedish women.*

Studying dietary questionnaires the women completed over a ten year period, scientists found that “omnivorous women [those who ate meat and/or poultry every day] were significantly heavier than any of the three vegetarian groups,” stated lead author PK Newby, MD, from the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center at Tufts University in Boston.

The three vegetarian groups included vegans (no meat, fish, eggs, or dairy products), semi-vegetarians (some fish, eggs, and dairy products), and lactovegetarians (some dairy products).

More Meat, More Obesity

The prevalence of overweight or obesity (a Body Mass Index, or BMI, greater than 25) was 40% among the omnivores, 29% among both vegans and semi-vegetarians, and 25% among lactovegetarians.

Read Full Article...

Popular Pritikin Links

1. Pritikin Eating Plan
2. Reduce High Cholesterol
3. Success Stories From Our Guests
4. 200 Healthy Recipes
5. Typical Day at the Resort

What is Pritikin | Pritikin Center | Request Information

Copyright 2007 Pritikin Longevity Center & Spa. All rights reserved.
The Yacht Club at Turnberry Isle. 19735 Turnberry Way, Aventura, FL 33180
Phone (305) 935-7131