One of my favorite books that I’ve read this year has undoubtedly been Health at Every Size by Linda Bacon. Her main message in the book is that body fat and those who have a lot of it have been unfairly demonized by society. The book is not perfect, and when she talks about nutrition I definitely have a few bones to pick, but taken as a whole I think Health at Every Size is spot on and could help a lot of folks with their health. Besides talking about the unfortunate stigma around body fat, Bacon gives a number of interesting and useful tidbits regarding eating habits and how they relate to nutrient absorption, satiety, and overeating. Here are seven of my favorites:
Restrained Eating, Hunger, and Satiety
It is common for many people to rely on external cues to regulate their eating, called restrained eating. Examples of retrained eating: went to the gym and ate a cookie afterward, read about intermittent fasting and decided not to eat all morning, saw a high number on the scale and decided to skip dinner etc. It turns out that restrained eaters are much less sensitive to hunger and fullness signals than unrestrained eaters, and as a result it takes much more food deprivation for them to feel hungry and much more food eaten for them to feel full.
Instead of relying on external cues to regulate eating, it makes much more sense to rely on our innate signals that have kept our race alive and thriving for so many years! Another common terminology used for this is Intuitive Eating, which basically means listening to your body and eating when you are hungry and stopping when you are full. Easier than it sounds in our world full of external cues, but definitely a skill worth practicing.
Instead of relying on external cues to regulate eating, it makes much more sense to rely on our innate signals that have kept our race alive and thriving for so many years! Another common terminology used for this is Intuitive Eating, which basically means listening to your body and eating when you are hungry and stopping when you are full. Easier than it sounds in our world full of external cues, but definitely a skill worth practicing.
Food Restriction and Overeating
People with a dieting mentality tend to binge eat more than unrestricted eaters. Bacon hypothesizes this is because placing restrictions on food causes eaters to continue looking for satisfaction through foods that do not meet their true desires.
This is another reason to eat intuitively, and eat what your body wants. As a note aside from Health at Every Size, it seems like food cravings and “additions” come from food restriction. So by eating unrestricted the body seems to be much more easily pleased, and less likely to continually be hungry.
This is another reason to eat intuitively, and eat what your body wants. As a note aside from Health at Every Size, it seems like food cravings and “additions” come from food restriction. So by eating unrestricted the body seems to be much more easily pleased, and less likely to continually be hungry.
Mindful Eating and Digestion
30-40 percent of one’s total physical response to a meal occurs when the body’s senses are used to investigate the food being eaten. This means that the body will process the food better when the senses are actually used, and the eater is paying full attention to the food.
This hypothesis was tested on twenty four college students, and the results were as expected. Digestion was significantly worse when watching a movie then when eating undistracted. So to help the body get the fullness signals and nutrients from food a good tip is to eat without too much distraction. I think that conversation over a meal is great, as you can return focus to your bite during gaps in the discussion. But watching TV or driving while eating is not conducive to the body’s digestive processes working properly!
This hypothesis was tested on twenty four college students, and the results were as expected. Digestion was significantly worse when watching a movie then when eating undistracted. So to help the body get the fullness signals and nutrients from food a good tip is to eat without too much distraction. I think that conversation over a meal is great, as you can return focus to your bite during gaps in the discussion. But watching TV or driving while eating is not conducive to the body’s digestive processes working properly!
Peaceful Eating and Nutrient Absorption
When eating in a stressful environment, sometimes I just don’t feel like I am getting the most out of my meal. It turns out there is some truth to that feeling. When study participants consumed a mineral drink in a comfortable setting, they completely absorbed the minerals. However, when two people simultaneously talked in each of their ears, the mineral absorption did not happen. The study participants’ mineral absorption went from 100% to 0%!
A comfortable eating environment should not be underestimated. Eating a meal at the family dinner table or on a picnic blanket sounds peaceful, while scarfing down a sack lunch on the subway does not.
A comfortable eating environment should not be underestimated. Eating a meal at the family dinner table or on a picnic blanket sounds peaceful, while scarfing down a sack lunch on the subway does not.
Understanding When to Eat in Relation to Hunger
Bacon suggests that people keep tabs on how hungry they are and then how they eat when they are at a certain hunger level. Some people never let themselves get hungry because they are constantly snacking, and some people wait until they are starving to eat and then overeat because of their ravenous state.
Being mindful about food is a smart thing to do anyway, and understanding how our hunger system affects our eating pattern makes sense. Some folks like to keep a food diary, but I think just being cognizant is good too.
Being mindful about food is a smart thing to do anyway, and understanding how our hunger system affects our eating pattern makes sense. Some folks like to keep a food diary, but I think just being cognizant is good too.
Pleasure and Nutrient Absorption
When I eat a really satisfying meal, I feel good afterwards. It turns out that I may be getting more nutrition from the foods I enjoy as well. When researchers fed a traditional Thai meal to Thai women and Swedish women, the Swedish women absorbed only half as much of some nutrients. This is significant because the Thai women enjoyed the food much more than their Swedish counterparts.
What happened to the Thai women’s nutrient absorption when the meal was blended into a homogenous mess? Their absorption of certain nutrients dropped by as much as 70 percent!
Don’t feel guilty when enjoying your favorite foods, and make sure to make meals that you enjoy. You just may get more bang for your nutritional buck in addition to the pleasure derived from the food!
What happened to the Thai women’s nutrient absorption when the meal was blended into a homogenous mess? Their absorption of certain nutrients dropped by as much as 70 percent!
Don’t feel guilty when enjoying your favorite foods, and make sure to make meals that you enjoy. You just may get more bang for your nutritional buck in addition to the pleasure derived from the food!
Many Nutrients are Fat Soluble, so Include Some Fat with Meals
Many nutrients are fat soluble, meaning they are absorbed by the body only if consumed with fats. Due to this, you’d think that fat-free products would be less popular than they are. How big is the impact of fats on nutrient absorption?
When salad eaters put avocado in their salads they absorb ten times more carotenoids than those who eat their salads without any fats. Additionally, when avocado is added to salsas, more than four times as much lycopene is absorbed.
Because of examples like these, it is smart to include at least some fat source with every meal. Don’t let those valuable micronutrients go to waste!
Bacon, Linda. Health at Every Size: The Surprising Truth about Your Weight. Dallas, TX: BenBella, 2010. Print.
When salad eaters put avocado in their salads they absorb ten times more carotenoids than those who eat their salads without any fats. Additionally, when avocado is added to salsas, more than four times as much lycopene is absorbed.
Because of examples like these, it is smart to include at least some fat source with every meal. Don’t let those valuable micronutrients go to waste!
Bacon, Linda. Health at Every Size: The Surprising Truth about Your Weight. Dallas, TX: BenBella, 2010. Print.