6 myths about food and diets
Is it possible to eat monosodium glutamate, what is the cause of obesity and what diet did our ancestors adhere to
There are many myths around the topic of "healthy" diets, food composition, vegetarianism or medical problems with excess weight. We don't expect to debunk everything in one collection, so we decided to start with the most popular ones.
The main cause of obesity is excessive nutrition
There may be other reasons.
There is no single cause of obesity. There is a genetic predisposition, some diseases of the endocrine system, for example: diseases of the thyroid gland, adrenal glands, genitals, abnormalities of the pituitary gland, hypothalamus. Age-related changes play a role, for example, menopausal or pre-menopausal period, as well as pregnancy, childbirth, that is, hormonal shifts that lead to weight gain.
But it must be borne in mind that the accumulation of excess fat in the body is realized only through food. There is no other mechanism for the intake of excess calories into the body. In people who suffer from severe forms of obesity, addiction to food has the character of pathological dependence. Here, in many ways, you can draw an analogy with drug addiction, alcoholism and tobacco smoking. A normal amount of food turns out to be insufficient, and in order to get satisfaction from food, a person must consume a lot of it. This is essentially a food addiction. 95% of obese people are people who simply overeat. The factor of low physical activity is also important.
Yuri Yashkov, MD, Professor, member of the International Federation of Obesity Surgery, President of the Society of Bariatric Surgeons, member of the Council of the International Federation of Obesity Surgery (IFSO).
* * *
Sodium glutamate is the new "white death"
This is an exaggeration.
Glutamate is the main excitatory mediator of our brain. Synthesizing and isolating this substance, neurons transmit the main information flows: sensory, memory-related and others. In addition, glutamate is the most common dietary amino acid. This means that we get similar molecules with proteins of milk, bread, meat. Food glutamate almost does not pass into the brain, for which you need to thank special cells of the nervous tissue – oligodendrocytes. They tightly surround the vessels, controlling the movement of substances from the blood to the neurons. If not for this, any eaten cutlet or bun would cause unwanted activation of nervous structures. However, when a few grams of glutamate are consumed in its pure form (and do not come from the intestine gradually during the assimilation of proteins), it is still able to cause overexcitation.
Why do you need to eat pure glutamate? The fact is that we are not indifferent to this molecule. Evolution, adjusting the taste system to the chemical analysis of food, it was glutamate that singled out as a sign of protein food, absolutely necessary for our body. In this regard, when consuming glutamate, we experience positive emotions according to a genetically determined mechanism (as well as, for example, from sweets). As a result, glutamate is the most important dietary supplement, the "meat" taste of which was once discovered by Japanese physiologists in a sauce obtained from seaweed. And almost immediately, glutamate began to be used in its pure form (E620–629), adding to a variety of foods. Sometimes glutamate is accused of all sorts of sins, even calling it another "white death". This, to put it mildly, is an exaggeration, because during the day with ordinary food an adult consumes it in an amount of 5-10 grams, and therefore, if you add a little glutamate to the dish to enhance the meat taste, nothing bad will happen. Although its overabundance, of course, is not useful.
Vyacheslav Dubynin, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor of the Department of Human and Animal Physiology, Faculty of Biology, Moscow State University, specialist in the field of brain physiology.
* * *
Genetically modified vegetables and fruits are not as tasty as usual
This, of course, is not the case.
If you come across a "plastic"-tasting tomato, this does not mean that it is genetically modified, but that the varieties themselves, cultivation and harvesting technologies have changed recently. Often, organic products do not differ much for the better in taste and quality from those bought in the supermarket.
To feed humanity, we had to look for new intensive technologies. Tender and soft tomatoes can not be taken far away, and they are now being harvested by combines, which means that they must be strong, of the same size, with a thick peel. The same situation is with many other vegetables and fruits. This is a general trend – we have to pay with quality for quantity. Otherwise, if it is a piece product or grown only under certain conditions, it will be insanely expensive and inaccessible to the bulk of consumers.
In certain circles, there is a statement that if you take two tomatoes and throw them into the wall, then the one that breaks and spreads is natural, and the one that bounces is genetically modified. Naturally, this can only be perceived as a joke. However, there is a serious problem in assessing the quality of products – this is the so-called naturalistic error when identifying the natural with the useful. This is far from the case: both strychnine, tobacco, and curare are absolutely natural substances.
The first wave of genetically modified plants was aimed at attracting farmers. They were resistant to pests, herbicides, they had a later ripening period, and the consumer did not notice any special advantages.
Now there is a second or even a third wave of modified plants. For example, they have changed the composition of fatty acids, we are talking about omega-unsaturated acids. By including such plants in the diet, we reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Changing the composition of the content of sugars and sugar substitutes also changes the natural nutritional value. Vegetables have more essential amino acids. This is a matter of the future, but tests are about to take place in laboratories, but we are talking about the fact that scientists are certainly thinking and working on this problem. And these are the organisms that are aimed at the consumer, at improving the quality of life.
Dmitry Dorokhov, Candidate of Biological Sciences, Leading Researcher at the Bioengineering Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
* * *
A modern person should eat meat/ be a vegetarian, because "that's what our ancestors did."
In both cases, this is not the full picture.
Primates have been omnivorous for millions of years. The earliest ancestors ate fruits and insects, eggs and chicks, lizards and nuts. All modern primates are omnivorous in one way or another.
Active intelligence, brain growth and work activity began precisely when our ancestors began to eat a lot of meat – to hunt antelopes and even elephants. From that moment on, the amount of meat in the diet only increased – two and a half million years in a row. So modern man was created not by vegetarianism, but by omnivorousness, which also implies meat.
Stanislav Drobyshevsky, Candidate of Biological Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, scientific editor of the portal " <url>".
* * *
There are useful and harmful calories
This is only partially true.
Calories are measured, in particular, the energy value of the food we eat. A calorie is only a "fuel", and in its pure form it cannot be "useful" or "harmful", it is necessary. On the other hand, everything is determined by the amount eaten, the balance of our diet and the lifestyle we lead. It is known that energy is needed for any kind of activity of our body. We are talking not only about physical exertion, but also about mental work, as well as about maintaining vital processes, which we usually do not think about at all: heart contraction, respiratory movements, motor activity of the digestive tract, and so on (the minimum amount of energy required to ensure the functioning of the body in a state of physical rest, called the main exchange).
We get the necessary calories from the main components of food: proteins, fats and carbohydrates. The need for each of them may vary depending on the place of residence of a particular person, gender, age, physical condition, lifestyle, and so on. On average, the contribution of food components to the energy value of the diet of an adult healthy person is distributed as follows: approximately 55% is carbohydrates, 33% is fats and 14% is proteins. If a person consumes more calories than he needs to maintain his usual activity, or if the nutritional balance is disturbed, then all the "excess" nutrients will be deposited in adipose tissue, which people usually try to avoid. From this point of view, "bad" calories are extra calories.
Elizaveta Hirazova, Candidate of Biological Sciences, Assistant of the Department of Human and Animal Physiology, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University.
* * *
Obesity is most common in the United States
It's true.
There, according to various sources, more than half of the adult population is overweight and obese. In economically developed countries, 8-10% of the population suffers from the most severe form – morbid obesity. Every second European is either overweight or obese. About 30-35% are people who are legitimately diagnosed with "obesity", that is, when the body mass index exceeds 30.
There are no all-Russian statistics on obesity. All studies, as a rule, were conducted at the regional level or in individual populations. But approximately 25-30% of Russians are diagnosed with "obesity". And half, or even 60% of people are overweight.
Yuri Yashkov, MD, Professor, member of the International Federation of Obesity Surgery, President of the Society of Bariatric Surgeons, member of the Council of the International Federation of Obesity Surgery (IFSO).
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru
05.09.2017