Not All Calories Are the Same, New Research Finds

Lisa Nainggolan

June 26, 2012 (Boston, Massachusetts) A small mechanistic study comparing three different eating patterns--a low-fat diet, a low-glycemic-index diet, and a low-carbohydrate diet--has found that participants used up the most energy with the last, but there were metabolic disadvantages to this approach [1].

The findings reinforce the message that a low-glycemic-index diet is best for weight loss and cardiovascular disease prevention and illustrate a novel concept--that not all calories are alike from a metabolic perspective, say Dr Cara B Ebbeling (New Balance Foundation, Obesity Prevention Center, Children's Hospital, Boston, MA) and colleagues in their paper published in the June 27, 2012 issue of the Journal of the Medical Association.

Senior author Dr David S Ludwig (New Balance Foundation,Obesity Prevention Center) told heartwire :"Extreme restriction of fat or carbs can have bad effects. Thebest long-term approach will be to avoid restriction of any majornutrient--either fat or carbohydrate--and instead focus on thequality of nutrients. This is not to say that the number of caloriesisn't important, but it's now saying we should also pay attention tothe quality of those calories. So the argument that the food industrylikes to make--that all foods can be part of a healthful diet as longas you watch calories--is really misleading at best.

"Relatively unprocessed, low-glycemic-index foods are best,things that our grandmother would recognize. Choose relativelyunprocessed foods whenever you can and cut back on white bread, whiterice, potato products, prepared breakfast cereals, and, of course,concentrated sugars."

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/766443