Cancer Data Base

During the last thirty years we have blamed various food groups as the problem in weight gain, from starches in foods, breads and lately the fats. The food you consume contains nutrients, fat, carbohydrates and protein. To the surprise of many it is not the amount of food you eat that causes weight gain, but when one of the nutrients plays havoc chemically with our body. The key to weight loss is to eliminate foods that are at fault. Today it is possible, there are so many specialized and varied foods on the market that will have reduced or eliminated the nutrient that is causing the problem.

Many believe fat is the cause of are weight gain. It is broken down into triglycerides and is stored in fat cells by the body. The fat is burned very slowly and only after all other sources of energy are used. This works against weight loss and can lead to heart problems and cancer. Fat is very dense, contains more than 9 calories per gram, twice that of carbohydrates or protein. If we replace it with carbohydrates or protein we can lose weight. Reducing your fat intake will reduce calories. Studies have shown that diets low in fat, saturated fat and cholesterol lower blood cholesterol levels lowering the risk of heart disease. The foods we eat today all have labels on them showing the various ingredients so that we can make a wise choice. We should not try to eliminate fat completely because it does provide the body with many vitamins that aid in the absorption of nutrients. There are good and bad fats and ones from vegetable oils and fatty fish are considered necessary.

Some people believe carbohydrates that are consumed in large quantities are the problem. Carbohydrates can make us fat because they force the body to over produce insulin. To keep our blood sugar at optimum levels, the body converts blood glucose from carbohydrates into fat and pushes them into fat cells. It can also prevent the cells from releasing the fat for energy. The carbohydrates can make the body overproduce insulin, our blood sugar goes down and our body tells us to eat more as a result. If the food we intake is a carbohydrate than the cycle of fat retention begins again. We become resistant to insulin and gain weight. The answer is to cut back significantly on carbohydrate use and you will notice a quick weight loss. Over the last twenty years the amount of carbohydrates in our diet along with the percent of calories from them has increased. Much has come from sweetened fruit juices and soft drinks. Interestingly our calorie intake has risen significantly but the calories derived from fat have decreased about 6 percent. That leads carbohydrates to be the problem in many diets. If we reduce carbohydrates our calorie count goes down which causes weight loss. Just like fat we do need some in our diet for energy. The sugar in these products or glucose is required to fuel different parts of the body. Many of these foods are nutritious but make sure you use ones that are low in fat to help your overall health.

The best way for a person to lose weight and to maintain it, is a healthy ratio of fats along with nutritious carbohydrates. Your diet should contain all food groups supplying you the essential vitamins and nutrients needed for a healthy lifestyle. For many it may mean change, which could be a drastic reduction in carbohydrates or fats in their new eating habits. Most people over consume carbohydrates but we are fortunate today in that most foods we purchase at the supermarket are labeled with the contents for us to read. This allows us to avoid foods that are high in carbohydrates or fats.