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Dave Brown
Senior Member
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Posted: 23 May 2005 04:58 pm |
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Most weight control experts teach that reducing caloric intake and increasing caloric expenditure through exercise are absolutely necessary to achieve and sustain weight loss. Many dieters have been successful with this approach but does it work for everybody? Not really. Why? Well, some people are not genotrophically equipped to thrive on a low-fat/low-calorie diet no matter how much exercise they get. (The genotrophic concept, by the way, simply refers to the fact that each of us is biochemically and physiologically unique and that this uniqueness is determined by genes.)
A number of books have been published over the years suggesting that adding calories (especially fat calories) to the diet can produce weight loss. The first I'm aware of is Calories Don't Count by Herman Taller, MD. It caused quite a stir as reported by Ruth Adams in her 1972 book Did You Ever See A Fat Squirrel? In Chapter 7 subtitled Calories Do Count or one foot is a lot different than ten feet she reports, "The case of Calories Don't Count reached the halls of Congress in the fiery address of one knowledgable congressman who called the FDA's attack on the book "Trial by press release." A lot of unfair and inaccurate things were said about Dr. Taller and his book in the decade following its publication. The government seized his books and safflower oil capsules displayed nearby from health food stores calling the capsules "drugs" and the book "labeling" of these drugs. While Dr. Taller's book contained a few inaccuracies and despite it's apparent contradiction, his approach, which recommended a daily intake of 3935 calories (more or less) as calculated by Ruth Adams, did work for a lot of people. But on to the next book.
Published two decades later, Why Calories Don't Count by biochemist Paul Stitt, MS did not attract any attention, probably because Robert Atkins was taking so much heat at the time. Poorly edited and clumsily written, the book actually contains a reference to research documenting unabsorbed calories.
Another book entitled How to Lower Your Fat Thermostat by Remington, Fisher, and Parent describes force feeding experiments where subjects were unable to gain more than small amounts of weight despite huge amounts of extra eating. Most subjects quickly returned to their pre-study weight after a return to normal caloric intake. There's also some interesting discussion describing how food denial (caloric restriction) can increase the surface area of the gut which increases efficiency of calorie absorption. They noted, "Rats eating only one meal a day have a markedly increased rate of food digestion and absorption. Many obese people also seem to digest food more quickly, perhaps because of dietary efforts and periods of food denial."
Fastforwarding to the present, Prevention magazine recently released a 52-page booklet advertising The Doctors Book of Food Remedies. I'm ordering a copy to see if the book contains any references to research that documents what the advertiser asserts; namely that some fats, calories, and cholesterol do not get absorbed but are excreted when certain fiber-containing foods are eaten with every meal. Here's a few pages of that advertisement:
Fat-Blocker foods!
Foods that fill you up...block absorption of calories & fat...and make it easy to shed 10, 20, 30 pounds, or more.
Page 9 - Imagine being able to shed all the pounds and inches you want, NOT by starving yourself, but by actually eating MORE of certain types of food?
Oh, how satisfying that would be! But it couldn't possibly be true, could it? Doctors are responding with a resounding YES! Here's the story...
Medical researchers have identified dozens of delicious foods bursting with this amazing combination of benefits - they're not only scrumptious, but they also block the absorption of fat and calories in the other foods you eat!
What's more, the same foods leave you feeling full - totally satisfied - for much longer periods of time, so you automatically eat less during the day. In other words, these delicious foods give you an enormous DOUBLE advantage in your efforts to lose weight. First, you automatically eat less because you feel full and satisfied longer. And then, (Page 10) when you do eat, you absorb far fewer fat and calories! (Their mistake, not mine.)
That's why these "fat-blocker foods" are a dieter's dream-come-true. And in The Doctors Book of Food Remedies, you're going to learn all about them, and how to use them to lose more weight than you've ever thought possible.
The Greatest Weight-Loss Secret of All-Time ?
The secret behind Mother Nature's incredible fat-blocker foods can be summed up in a single word - fiber.
But not just any fiber. In recent years, researchers have discovered that foods rich in a certain type of fiber have an almost magical power to trap fat and calories as they pass through your system...block their absorption...and carry these unwanted fats and calories right out of your system before they have a chance to pack their weight on your thighs, hips, rear, or belly.
But only one type of fiber does this, and on pages 201-203 of The Doctors Book of Food Remedies, you're going to discover the many foods that are richest in it. Thank goodness, there are dozens of these fat-blocker foods to choose from, so you'll easily find a host of favorites to enjoy for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks, as you watch pound after pound melt away so easily.
Blocks Out the Fat in Your Steak...So You Don't Absorb It!
Just how easily does it work? Let's look at an example...
A big reason we gain weight - and find losing it so hard - is because of the fat in our diets. Fat makes you fat! When you eat a steak, for example, molecules of fat and cholesterol pass through your intestinal wall and into your bloodstream...and eventually get deposited as fat someplace in your body where you least want it.
Page 12 - But before that can happen, the special fiber in these fat-blocker foods prevents you from absorbing these fats and calories in the first place. When you eat these foods, their special fiber dissolves in your digestive tract, forming a sticky gel that acts like a protective coating, preventing fat and cholesterol from getting through your intestinal wall.
Remember the example of the steak? If you accompanied it with a heaping serving of one of these fat-blocker foods, its special fiber would turn into gel, trapping molecules of fat and cholesterol and preventing them from getting into your body. And because this fiber itself isn't absorbed, it passes out of your body, taking the fat and cholesterol with it!
You'll get complete details of this wonderful form of fiber on page 201 of The Doctors Book of Food Remedies. Then on page 202, you'll see all the foods richest in this near-miraculous ability. This information is worth its weight in gold because it makes losing weight so much easier than you've ever experienced!
Now you can lose by eating, not starving! There are no pills to take, no unhealthy fad diets to follow, and, best of all, no starvation! Losing weight was never so easy!
What's more, these fiber-rich fat-blocker foods bring you many other benefits, as well. They keep you as regular as a Swiss watch. They lower your cholesterol, and cut your risk of heart disease in half. They can also reduce your risk of cancer by 31% because they sweep food particles out of your colon faster and keep your insides cleaner. This is why some doctors call fiber "Mother Nature's broom."
In another section starting on page 32 and titled Cut Your Risk of Heart Attack by 80 % or more, there's further mention of unabsorbed fat and cholesterol. For example, on page 33 under the heading Traps Cholesterol in Your Body Like Velcro and Flushes It Away Harmlessly one reads, "Take Pears for example. They contain an all-natural compound called lignin, which is Mother Nature's most ingenious antidote to high cholesterol. Lignin acts just like nutritional Velcro, attaching itself to the cholesterol in your body, trapping it in your intestine, and ushering it right out of your system so you don't absorb it!"
Finally, on page 35 under the heading Your Internal Cholesterol-Busting "Police Force" one reads, "You'll get an entire list - plus lots of recipes - of the best cholesterol-busting foods you can eat. All share this incredible benefit: they're filled with a substance that forms a gummy gel in your digestive tract that mops up fat and cholesterol, dragging it straight out of your body before it gets deposited on your artery walls."
Well, don't you just love advertising copy? Considering the darth of information on the subject, one wonders where the author(s?) of Food Remedies got the idea that fiber can "sweep" fat, calories, and cholesterol out of the body. I look forward to finding out.
Dave BrownLast edited on 2 June 2005 05:29 am by Dave Brown
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flyawayana
Senior Member
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Posted: 23 May 2005 05:45 pm |
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oh my god, thats really long. haha.
now to the point - i personally think its hiarious how they keep refering to this "special fiber" .. its just insoluble fiber! thats all! nothing special about that. haha.
this isnt some kind of breakthrough diet at all - its been know that increased fiber intake lowers cholesterol, lowers risk for heart disease, clears out the system, lowers colon cancer risk. thats old news. now, like any other diet people create - they are trying to take a peice of information and make millions from people who fall for their diet plan. of course people will see some results - people in american get maybe 10g of fiber a day ...... of the needed 25-30g. so of course poeple arent getting the beifits of what fiber does for you!.. they arent eating it to begin with! i would be willing to bet that this "special foods list" is simply a list of whole grains and vegitables. funny how those are the same foods you want to eat on a nornal "exsercise and eat healthy plan" its nothing special or new!
however, fiber does not sweep calories away. cholesterol yes, possible carsinogens in the digestive tract yes... but calories? sorry, your stuck with what you eat unless you burn it off as energy.
fly
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peterinwa
New Member
| Joined: | 30 April 2005 |
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| Posts: | 35 |
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Posted: 23 May 2005 06:25 pm |
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When I eat a diet rich in fiber I have more frequent and more regular bowel movements. Clean and easy and no constipation. I think the idea is that fiber simply moves food through your system faster and easier.
To carry it a step further, this might reduce the chance of cancer (doesn't food get rancid when you let it sit around?) and possibly even cause fewer calories to be absorbed.
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Dave Brown
Senior Member
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Posted: 24 May 2005 07:13 am |
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Flyawayana, thanks for the response. It's nice to encounter someone with a longer-than-normal attention span.
I must confess, I'm into details and accuracy. It's actually soluble fiber that forms the gel in the intestine and "sweeps" the calories past the receptor sites before they can get absorbed into the bloodstream. Here's what Luis Guerra, MD says on page 27 of The Bio-Diet. "Pectin is a soluble fiber found in fruits and some vegetables. Pectin has very important properties. It decreases the absorption of cholesterol, lowering blood cholesterol levels. It decreases the insulin-releasing action of carbohydrates, thus helping in appetite control."
In other words, pectin slows the absorption of carbs and likely completely blocks some carbs from getting absorbed. This would be a mechanical effect in the sense that the pectin keeps molecules of all sorts from touching the intestinal wall. If you view the digestive tract as similar to a river, the bloodstream like a system of irrigation ditches, and the receptor sites as passive gates and pumps, then what do you think happens to nutrients in midstream that did not make contact with receptor sites by the time they reached the colon?
Here's more of Dr. Guerra's observations: "Pectin has the highest water-holding capacity. Bran has high water-holding capacity and leaves the intestines without being digested, but it can produce diarrhea...the most important property of pectin is that it saves calories because it decreases the absorption of fat. The amount of fat lost in the stools when ingesting pectin ranges from 2 to 43 percent..."
Unfortunately Dr.Guerra does not provide documentation for what he asserts, but do not dispair. On page 183 of What the Bible Says About Healthy Living by Rex Russell, MD there is some actual documentation for the following: "In 1970, Dr. Dennis Burkett's study at a military base in Africa confirmed the benefits of high-fiber foods such as fruits and vegetables. Native prisoners were compared to a grkoup of soldiers. The natives who were studied ate vegetables, grains and breads they had grown (can one grow breads?). The military personnel ate processed sugars, white bread, and other refined foods. Both groups ate the same number of calories a day. Fecal material from each of the participants was collected for several days. The caloric content of the fecal material of the military personnel contained 20 percent of the ingested calories. In contrast, the feces of the natives contained 60 percent of the caloric content of what they had eaten."
Now you say, "Fiber does not sweep calories away. Cholesterol yes, possible carcinogens in the digestive tract yes... but calories? Sorry, you're stuck with what you eat unless you burn it off as energy."
Do you have any evidence to back that assertion or is your belief based on consensus of opinion or the authority of mainstream nutrition science? I've got more evidence but not time to present it at this point.
Again, thanks for your response. I like to find out what people are thinking.
Dave Brown
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Spaz Cadet
New Member
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Posted: 1 June 2005 09:03 am |
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Well, I've never heard of any of this being backed up by science ... but ...
I had a roomate in college who swore that drinking a lot of water each day helped "sweep" fat through the system so it didn't have a chance to get absorbed. No special fiber needed. She was a hard-core athlete who was on top of all the nutrition research and everything.
On a completely mechanical level, I can dig it. But it seemed too good to be true, and possibly best applied with a diet already fairly low in fat to begin with — I certainly wouldn't expect to flush the fat of a serving of fries with a couple of apple skins and glasses of water! :chew:
As for particular foods containing particular chemicals, I'm going to second flyawayana's remarks that just getting people to eat fibrous plants will cause a certain amount of physical improvement.
Besides, how would a scientist measure the amount of fat "excreted" along with the pectin and lignin? I'm not envisioning an easy method of collecting samples, here.
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Flowergirl
New Member
| Joined: | 1 June 2005 |
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| Posts: | 1 |
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Posted: 1 June 2005 06:32 pm |
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So, what are examples of fiber rich (insoluble fiber) foods that will "sweep out" the fat from our bodies??
what about pectin, what are examples off foods that have pectin in them??
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Dave Brown
Senior Member
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Posted: 2 June 2005 09:48 am |
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For Flowergirl,
Regarding your first question, it's soluble fiber that causes fat and other calories to pass through the digestive tract without being absorbed. Insoluble fiber (also called roughage) speeds the passage of material through the digestive tract. Soluble fiber forms a gel which tends to slow passage of food.
Pectin is a soluble fiber in apples and other fruits. The rind of citris fruits is about 30% pectin. Both soluble and insoluble fiber are in vegetables.
Soluble fiber has a water-holding capacity that decreases fat absorption. Vegetables such as celery, carrots, eggplant, green beans, asparagus, cauliflower, and tomatoes (a fruit actually) have a high water-holding capacity. Zuchinni, cucumber, lettuce, broccoli, summer squash, radish, cabbage, turnips, kale, beets, brussel sprouts (does anyone like the taste?), bean sprouts, and rutabaga have a lower water-holding capacity. I just eat whatever I like of both groups and don't worry about how much fat is being carried out of my system.
Since fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, & K are not well absorbed unless there's fat in the gut, it makes sense to consume fat whenever vegetables are consumed. I put lots of butter or melted cheese on cooked vegetables and use a dressing made from sour cream (1/2), yogurt (1/4), and cottege cheese (1/4); full fat version for all of these. This dressing is seasoned with onion and parsley flakes and Morton Nature's Seasons seasoning blend. We use it as both dip and salad dressing. If the saturated fat in dairy worries you, I suggest you type "The Oiling of America" into a search engine and inform yourself about fat metabolism.
Thanks for your questions,
Dave Brown
Last edited on 2 June 2005 09:54 am by Dave Brown
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Dave Brown
Senior Member
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Posted: 2 June 2005 04:36 pm |
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Spaz Cadet wrote: Well, I've never heard of any of this being backed up by science ... but ...
Spaz Cadet,
You've never heard of any of this being backed up by science? That is precisely why I posted information about unabsorbed calories on this forum. It is all too common for scientists to close their minds to evidence and its implications. In fact, it seems to be part of human nature to base beliefs on consensus of opinion rather than evidence.
One of the guilty little secrets of science is that most scientists (and non-scientists for that matter) do not read any more than they have to to get by. Consequently, those who behave this way have no recourse but to choose up sides when a controversy arises. The current debate about low-fat/low-carb diets is a perfect example of this sort of thing. Having exhaustively examined both sides of the issue (I'm still studying this), I have to say that both sides ignore the fact that calories are excreted in the feces. Anybody who changes the diaper of a baby that has been fed corn or peas has witnessed this. Any farmer who raises pigs probably knows this because pigs often eat some of their own excrement.
My brother-in-law once told me about a pig feeding experiment he read about in a farm journal. He was in high school at the time so that would have been in the late 60s. Briefly, here's what he said.
Researchers fed three groups of pigs in the following manner. Group one ate a diet designed to cause weight gain. Group two ate the excrement from group one. Group three ate the excrement from group two. There was no difference in weight gain for groups one and two. Group three gained both fat and muscle but not as quickly as groups one and two.
As far as high-fat intake is concerned, pigs gain more fat on skim milk than they do on whole milk. My sister-in-law told me that their son exhibited a grand champion pig at the fair one year and that pig was fed whole milk. Another farmer who raises pigs told me that "Pigs become real butterballs on skim milk." Finally, you can visit westonapricefoundation.org website and read Sally Fallon's testimony before the 2005 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee wherein she said that children put on fat faster drinking skim milk than they do drinking whole milk.
Dave Brown
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Corina
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 22 August 2005 09:57 pm |
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Dave,
I don't quite understand why children put on weight faster when drinking skim milk rather than whole milk. It seems to me that Skim milk has less calories and less fat, whereas whole milk has more.
Well, I guess I'll check out that site you mentioned. All of this stuff I've been reading in this post seems so confusing. Do I really need to add fat to my vegetables? Isn't just eating healthy and exercising enough?
-CorinaLast edited on 22 August 2005 09:59 pm by Corina
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Dave Brown
Senior Member
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Posted: 23 August 2005 05:06 pm |
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Corina,
It is confusing, no doubt about that. That's why I've spent so many years researching nutritional issues and why I encourage others to explore alternative viewpoints. I just stumbled across a new website (new to me that is) called TheOmnivore.com that presents the case for eating a high-fat diet to ensure sound health.
Dave
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expataddie
New Member
| Joined: | 18 May 2009 |
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| Posts: | 1 |
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Posted: 18 May 2009 12:24 pm |
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Corina, kids put on weight faster drinking skim milk because it contains more carbohydrate than whole milk. Carb raises blood sugar which releases insulin from the pancreas. Insulin is the hormone that stores fat.
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