Low-Carb Diet For Dummies. Katherine B. Chauncey

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СКАЧАТЬ completely new to fast food. What does this mean? Virtually everyone eats at fast-food restaurants at least occasionally. The average American eats fast food at least three times per week according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fast food is associated with poor diet and increased risk of obesity.

      THE FRUCTOSE STORY

      Americans and their children have become high consumers of sugar and sweet-tasting foods and beverages. Caloric sweeteners, most notably high-fructose corn syrup, have dramatically increased in the past 40 or so years. High fructose corn syrup is predominantly used in soft drinks (check the label the next time you drink one), but it’s also found in frozen foods, bakery foods, and vending machine products.

      Before 1970, high-fructose corn syrup was unknown in the food supply. However, in the 1970s scientists developed it as an economical way to produce a cheaper sweetener for commercial use. In fact, it’s actually six times sweeter than cane sugar and is produced from corn, which gives food manufacturers a way to sweeten food products at a significant cost savings. By the end of the 1970s, mass-production techniques had been developed to make its use widespread.

      Currently, high-fructose corn syrup makes up more than 40 percent of people’s excessively high sugar intake. Fructose was once thought to be used by the body just like sucrose (table sugar). Scientists now know that the body metabolizes high concentrations of fructose differently. Due to this difference, ingesting high concentrations of fructose can increase the likelihood of weight gain and its associated insulin resistance. In addition to obesity, insulin resistance results in glucose intolerance, high triglyceride levels, high blood pressure, fatty liver, and increased risk of diabetes and heart disease.

      The current levels of soft drink and sweetened food intake is an aspect of the modern lifestyle unknown in the past. The inclusion of high fructose corn syrup in the food supply parallels the dramatic increase in obesity, diabetes, and insulin resistance. Sweet-tasting foods in the diet stimulate a craving for more sweet foods, which can lead to overconsumption. Low-carbohydrate diets have the advantage of reducing the intake of soft drinks and foods with high-fructose corn sweeteners, but they don’t deal with the desire many Americans have for sweet tastes.

The average American eats nearly 30 pounds of french fries (the size of a small child), almost 50 billion hamburgers, and 2.5 billion servings of chicken nuggets per year. A low-fat hamburger was dropped from a popular fast-food chain due to poor sales — so apparently Americans aren’t buying the low-fat approach when they’re eating fast food.

      Eating larger portion sizes

      A recent study compared the portions of popular foods to USDA and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) standards. The typical cookie is 700 percent larger than the USDA suggested size. Most people eat a single serving of pasta that is 480 percent larger than recommended. And the average muffin exceeds the standard by 333 percent.

      Portion sizes in restaurants started to increase in the 1970s, grew dramatically in the 1980s, and currently continue to rise in parallel to increases in average American body weight. Restaurants long ago switched to a 12-inch dinner plate from the standard 10-inch plate. Studies show that Americans ignore portion sizes even when attempting to follow a healthy diet and will eat as much food as they’re given. As a rule, they won’t leave food on their plates. Today Americans eat out in restaurants much more than they used to.

      Portion sizes have grown dramatically over the last 50 years. When a popular fast-food chain opened in 1950, it sold only one size of regular fries, containing 200 calories. In 1970, the regular fries were then called “small” and a new “large” fries containing 320 calories appeared on the menu. In 1980, the 320-calorie french fries were called “regular” and a newer “large” fries containing 400 calories appeared on the menu. In 1990, the “large” fries had grown to 450 calories and a new “super-size” fries containing 540 calories appeared on the menu. And in 2000, the 540-calorie fry became “large” and a newer “super-size” French fries containing 610 calories appeared on the menu. Small and regular French fries are nowhere to be found on the menu. You can choose from medium, large, or super-sized. The kid meals come with the 320-calorie-sized fries.

      Value meals and super-sized meals are a financial incentive for many eating establishments. They can add large-sized drinks and fries to a meal at minimal cost to them but increased cost to the consumer. So, in terms of nutritional quality, who gets the value from the “value” meal? Not you.

      Eating more calories

Americans are consuming more food and several hundred more calories per person per day than did their counterparts in the late 1950s when calorie consumption was at the lowest level in the last century. A study from 2017 found that the average American eats 3,600 calories per day — almost 1,000 calories more per day than they did in 2000. About 54 percent of this increase comes from refined carbohydrates like processed grains and sugars, 32 percent from fats, and the remaining 1 percent from fruits, vegetables, meats, nuts, dairy products, and eggs.

      Getting a lower percentage of calories from fat

      The USDA food consumption survey revealed that the percent of calories from fat in the American diet has leveled off: 40 percent in the 1970s, 34 percent in 1990, 33 percent in 1994, and 34 percent today. That’s in line with American Heart Association’s recommendation to have no more than 25 to 35 percent of calories from fat. However, the total number of calories consumed, primarily from refined-carbohydrate foods, has increased. When the calories increase and the fat intake stays the same, the percent of calories from fat goes down. But the total amount in terms of actual grams of fat consumed per day has stayed about the same.

      Even though the amount of fat consumed is about the same, more of the fat intake was represented by trans fats. Many processed carbohydrate foods contain trans fats from partially hydrogenated vegetable oils. Trans fats act like saturated fat by boosting levels of bad cholesterol and increasing the risk of heart disease. Trans fats are commonly found in carbohydrate foods such as cookies, crackers, chips, french fries, and fast foods. Since 2015 the FDA has taken steps to remove trans fats in processed foods entirely, and it’s working. The FDA started regulating trans fats by identifying the adverse effects of trans fats. Soon after, labeling laws were enacted to identify trans fats on the nutrition facts food label. Trans fat intake in the American diet is decreasing.

      Eating fewer fruits and vegetables

      Fruit and vegetable consumption has increased but still falls below recommended levels. Less than 10 percent of the American population eat the recommended five fruits and vegetables each day. Interestingly, the popularity of pizza has boosted the average consumption of canned tomato products, but consumption of other canned vegetables declined. The popularity of french fries, eaten mainly in fast-food restaurants, caused a 63 percent increase in the average consumption of frozen potatoes. And the introduction of precut and prepackaged items has boosted the intake of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Highly publicized medical research linking compounds in fruits and vegetables to anticancer activity has provided a powerful incentive to consumption. However, in general, individual fast-food companies can spend multimillions of dollars to promote their products, whereas the national health organizations such as the National Cancer Institute is only able to spend a fraction of that amount to promote fruits and vegetables. And consider the fact that that applies to only one fast-food company! Go to Chapter 3 to find out more about the great diversity in carbohydrate foods.

      Eating СКАЧАТЬ