Email:

 

Calorie Controlled Diets

Calories are a unit used to measure the energy different ingredients provide. Diets set to limit calories have become the traditional method for weight loss diets....but all evidence indicates that they do not work and are not sustainable. This page will provide links to many articles, books and web links that explain just why this is.

This web site is not about simply losing weight, discussing only slimming diets, but rather it is about understanding what our diet should be to ensure good health, maintaining consistent body weight with plenty of energy to perform all the duties required of us - including reproduction. Therefore a discussion on calories goes beyond simply discussing diets designed for weight loss.

Our bodies require a certain intake of energy (calories). There is the belief that to maintain normal weight calorie intake must equal calories burned in exercise. If we are overweight, then you must consume fewer calories than you expend to lose weight. There are a links to a number of articles and books that explain in depth why it is not as simple as that and why, when people follow a low calorie diet they are usually hungry, may not loose weight and all too often put that weight back on as soon as they return to their normal pattern of eating. They also explain why a low calorie diet can be dangerous as they often result in a shortage of essential nutrients leading to malnutrition.

First a short list of myths relating to calories.

Myth	Fact
Our bodies handle all calories in the same manner regardless of the ingredient source (carbohydrate, fat or protein ingredient).	Our bodies utilise the energy from different foods types in different ways.
All calories are used only for energy used in exercise	Our bodies do not use all food to provide energy, our body is continually rebuilding cells. The brain uses 20% of the bodies energy requirements.
The body requires glucose as it's main source of energy (energy from carbohydrate ingredients provide energy in the form of glucose)	Our natural diet is based on animal protein and fats as the primary sources of nutrients, including energy.
Eating Fat makes one fat and clogs our arteries	Put simplistically it is the metabolic processes handling the carbohydrates that produce the excess fat and clog our arteries
All calories are the same	Many foods are calorie rich and nutrient poor....those we call "empty calories". Foods that fall into this category are usually highly refined processed foods.
Fats from animal sources (high in saturated fats) are unhealthy	Refined vegetable oils are calorie rich and nutrient poor. Animal fats (butter, cheese, lard, meat fat) carry fat soluble nutrients, minerals and other essential nutrients. Refined vegetable oils are usually 99% fat with few other nutrients. Note level of saturated fats in human milk and human fat in figure 1.

Warning: A low carbohydrate diet must be High Fat or the body will have insufficient Calories

Must Read Articles

Do Calories Really Count?	Radio - Not all Calories are Created Equal Discussion
"A calorie is a calorie" violates the second law of thermodynamics	Good Calories, Bad Calories: Fats, Carbs, and the Controversial Science of Diet and Health
Nonsense Slimming Diets	Natural Health and Weight Loss
Low Fat Diets	You Tube - Dr. Weil Endorses Gary Taubes' Good Calories, Bad Calories
Burn Fat	You Tube - Interview with Gary Taubes
Myths and Truths	Life Without Bread: How a Low-Carbohydrate Diet Can Save Your Life
Start running your body on the right fuel	Trick and Treat: How Healthy Eating is Making Us Ill
The Correct Nutrition for Athletes	Google Video - Big Fat Lies

 

Diet Home Page	History of Diet	Traditional and Healthy Diet	Modern Unhealthy Diet
Nutrients Home Page	Low Calorie Diet	Low Fat, High Carb	Low Carb, High Fat
Glycaemic Index	Low GL Diet	Milk	Soya
Calories	Carbohydrates	Cholesterol	Energy
Fats	Protein	Vitamins and Minerals	Vitamin D
Multiple Sclerosis

 

 

A word about the adverts that appear on this site The adverts on this site come via a service known as Google Adsense or Amazone deemed appropriate to the content on the site appear automatically, and are not selected or vetted by me. The site does not endorse any of the adverts that appear on the site nor the products or services they promote. The editorial content of the website is not influenced in any way by these advertisements.