Weekly blog

Feb 13

Maybe you saw the Super Bowl ad. Mike Tyson, up close, talking about eating whole food. Maybe you liked the message and the choice of messenger. Maybe you hated them both. Maybe you didn't think that much about it and were just there for the funny or entertaining ones (+1 for the Dunkin' ad in my opinion)...but despite some important points made in articles which reviewed the ad like this one, including the nuance between "processed" and "ultra processed", the core idea that, our health is greatly impacted by the foods we eat (and an increasing number of those are harming us), is not particularly controversial. This week 2 new studies drove the point home and helped explain why.

The first is a new look at old data. In 2019, a research team showed, in a well-controlled trial, that an ultra-processed diet actually caused people to eat more calories and gain weight. This, of course, was big news at the time. However, since then, discoveries made the data worth a second look. What the research team found this time might help us understand more fully why ultra-processed foods get a hold on our health - they bypass the natural tradeoff between nutrients and calories found in healthy whole foods, a tradeoff which may cause us to stop eating one while we search for the other. 

In essence, they proved an idea that is often discussed when people talk about eating behaviors, that we not only crave tastes and textures that stimulate our brain, but nutrients and energy that drive our physiology...and when we get the right combination, we tend to be satisfied. Because ultra-processed foods have both high nutrient load (they're often fortified with vitamins) and high calorie load, there is no trade-off, and subjects tend to overconsume. The team found that while those who consumed mostly unprocessed foods actually ate more by volume, they took in 300 fewer calories on average, which is enough to make a substantial difference in health over the course of time. 

A second study, published by the American Academy of Neurology, drove the point home even further. This time, it was data on the diets of more than 100,000 US Women starting at midlife and tracked for more than twenty years. The researchers on this one found clear evidence that those who adhered closely to a Mediterranean diet had a double-digit lower risk of all forms of stroke. The team based their scoring on the diet originally referred to as the Traditional Mediterranean, described here, which was "characterized by a high intake of vegetables, legumes, fruits and nuts" as well as unrefined grains, olive oil, and fish, with a lower intake of dairy and meat. High nutrient, low process. 

Of course, this isn't the first time we've talked about the benefits of the Mediterranean diet. Given the fact that there are already more than 1500 citations this year on the topic, it's unlikely to be the last. Maybe next time for the other lovers of good olive oil, we'll cover this one...lookout inflammation.

Until then, have a great weekend,
Mike E.