TWO INTERESTING EXPERIMENTS
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I’m going to tell you about two very similar dietary experiments. Each group at the same number of calories a day: 1560-1570. Why did one group suffer miserably while the other group thrived? The difference between the two diets was simple, but the results were profound.
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Toward the end of World War II, American scientist Ancel Keys wanted to know how severe food shortages in would affect Eastern Europeans. He recruited conscientious objectors and fed them a diet designed to simulate the food available in famine areas. Staples were potatoes, cabbage, bread, macaroni, peas and beans with small amounts of milk, cheese and meat. As expected, all the men lost weight and some became startlingly emaciated. But more alarming was widespread depression, lethargy, and food obsession. One of the men became so disturbed that he chopped off fingers from his left hand.
About twenty-five years later, British nutritionist John Yudkin headed an experiment where the men selected ate the same number of calories as Key’s conscientious objectors. None of the subjects suffered any ill effects. None of them even complained about being hungry. What made the difference? Not calories—they were the same. Not protein, either. Yudkin’s group actually ate 17 fewer grams of protein daily than Key’s men.
Where the groups diverged was in the relative proportions of carbohydrate and fat. Key’s diet was about 58% carbohydrate and 17% fat. Yudkin’s was almost the opposite: 17% carbohydrate and 61% fat.
What’s the take-home message from these experiments? Fat is an essential component of a healthy diet. It tastes good and it helps to keep your appetite satisfied. Yes, some fats—trans fats especially—are best avoided. But if all fats are severely limited, one of the other macronutrients—protein or carbohydrate—must be increased to reach daily caloric goals. Over the last thirty years of America’s low fat craze, carbohydrate consumption—much of it refined—has soared along with the incidence of obesity and diabetes.
Avoid refined carbohydrates like bread, crackers and sweets. Embrace good fats like cold-water fish, nuts and olive oil. You’ll be more healthy and less hungry.
