Can healthy foods lead to weight gain?

In a recent study published in The Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, it was found that when trying to lose weight people tend towards eating healthy foods.

The paradox is that people also tend to eat more of the food if they think it is healthy. People believe that healthy food is less filling, therefore they eat more of it, leading to weight gain, not loss.

What is metabolic syndrome?

Metabolic syndrome is a combination of 4 conditions which can also be seen as prediabetes.

The co-existing conditions are high blood pressure, high levels of LDL cholesterol & triglycerides, low levels of HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol) and excess fat around the waist.

In the US about 34% of the population have this condition which is also known as CHAOS (in Australia), Reaven's Syndrome, and Metabolic Syndrome X.

This condition may be a result of stress, age, sedentary behaviour, diet, as well as excessive alcohol use.

The first line of treatment is a change of lifestyle.

Is food addictive?

A recent study on 120 University of Michigan students found that the more processed the food, the more addictive it was. Highly processed foods (that is, added fats and/or refined carbs) are altered specifically to be rewarding and therefore trigger the addictive-like response in the human brain.

Why is chewing your food thoroughly so important?

1) Digestion: Saliva is a digestive enzyme which starts the first phase of digestion. Food passes down the esophagus when properly chewed.

2) Hormonal Signaling: If not chewed properly food passes into the stomach not ready for the next phase of digestion. Chewing also starts the secretion of other digestive hormones furhter along the chain as in the stomach (hydrochloric acid) and the pancreas (bicarbonate).

3) Pylorus: Chewing relaxes this muscle which allows food to move into the small intestine.

4) Dental Health: Chewing keeps teeth and jaw strong. It also helps prevent tooth decay.

5) Bacteria: Chewing reduces food borne bacteria from moving into the stomach. Bacteria can cause bloating, cramping, and other digestive discomforts. 

What are the benefits of eating slowly?

First of all, how does one eat slowly?

Simply put, by chewing your food longer, such as up to 40 times a mouthful. Most people eat as an unconscious act, just chewing and swallowing their food without  really noticing what they're doing.

Studies show that overweight people eat more quickly than normal weighted people. A 2008 study published in the British Medical Journal found that eating until full and eating quickly triples the risk of becoming overweight.

Why is this?

1) The slower one eats the less calories consumed during the meal, and as well in snacks afterwards.

2) Eating slowly allows the hormonal network tell the brain when one is satiated (full) . It takes the body about 20 minutes to realize it's full during which time the hormone, leptin is released to prevent overeating.

3) Mastication (chewing) starts the digestion process by breaking down carbs and proteins so that the nutrients can be made properly available to the body. If the body does not get enough nutrition, cravings for more food, in general,  can cause overeating.

4) Slow eating also helps prevent diabetes.


If you think you may be a food addict by eating too much and eating compulsively, contact Birgit Schinke to develop a relapse prevention or mindfulness plan to help control your food intake.

What is Neuroadaptation?

This term refers to the process  of our senses getting used to sensations because of the way our sensory nerves and brain interact.  When we ease into a tub of very hot water, we slowly adapt until the temperature feels normal. When we enter a room with a humming fridge, we soon get used to the irritating buzz and forget about it.  We all eventually get used to accustomary smells, sounds, sights, tastes, and tactile sensations.  

Unfortunately  taste buds have maladapted (gotten used to ) to our industrialized diet of high sugars, fat, and sodium.  A diet without the stimulatory effects of the Standard American Diet (SAD) tastes bad.  A health promoting diet of no sugars, less animal fats, less salt is not as enjoyable to the palate used to the excess stimulation of refined foods, artificially concentrated delights, and hormonally  engineered meats. "Ice cream is an extraordinary invention for intensifying taste pleasure- an artificial concoction of pure fat and refined sugar". (The Pleasure Trap by Douglas Lisle and Alan Goldhammer)  French fries and potato chips are by far the most popular vegetable in our Western society.

A major obstacle in changing to a "clean" diet is this concept of the neuroadaption to artificially intense foods.  A change to  less stimulating foods can result in a reduced pleasure experience, hence many people continue to crave their former diets.  

Scientific research shows that re-sensitization of taste nerves can take 30 to 90 days of consistent exposure to less stimulating foods.
And during this period most people experience less pleasure from eating food. It requires more motivation and self-discipline to re-calibrate the taste buds, hence the frequent relapses to former ways of eating.  Most Western citizens are addicted to processed foods and many feels that a switch to clean food is being condemned to less pleasurable eating.  

Some people manage this "food addiction" by allowing their palates to detox. Experiences have shown that a one week water  only fast is enough to re-calibrate the taste buds. After this detox week,  clean foods can actually tastes better than artificial and processed ones.

Others,  just knowing, that food will once again become pleasurable in one to three months,  is enough to stay on course.