My teacher from Stanford, Dr. Clyde Wilson, described a simple trick: it will come in handy for many who cannot refuse junk food, but think a little about their health. And Dr. Wilson knows what he is talking about: he received his Ph.D. in chemistry from the same Stanford University and at the same time teaches at UCSF medical schools, and also heads the Sports Medicine Institute. In this article, Dr. Wilson explains how to keep eating pizza and fast food, significantly reducing their harmful effects on our body. I hasten to share the secret with you by translating, with the permission of the author, the article into Russian:
“Today we take food like a drug because on busy schedules we need a quick remedy to keep going. And the food industry provides us with tasty, inexpensive and convenient food that successfully satisfies our need for fat, sugar, calories. According to the World Health Organization, the number of patients with non-communicable diseases in the world has exceeded the number of infectious patients, and this is mainly due to the use of refined, industrially processed foods and products of animal origin. That is, our justifications for employment have caused problems on a global scale: epidemics of obesity and diabetes, not least.
In this regard, the fact that we all have a kind of “parachute” that helps slow down the digestion of food “garbage” and fast food can be considered as joyful information. A 2011 study (* 1) showed that eating crispy vegetables just before simple carbohydrates (which are mostly fast food) lead to a significant improvement in metabolism in type II diabetics compared to a complex healthy diet. These benefits were noticeable after 6 months and were noted for 2 years throughout the study.
Of course, this does not mean that eating vegetables along with unhealthy foods is better than eating healthy in general. But if you can only change one thing in your diet, change the one that will give the most tangible result.
In 2012, scientists determined how many vegetables are required to get the result: the metabolic rate increases significantly with the consumption of 200 grams of any vegetable per day, or as little as 70 grams of green vegetables (* 2). This is about 3 cups (240 ml bowl) of raw or lightly cooked vegetables (different colors) or herbs. We process green vegetables less often than others thermally, since we mainly use them for salads. And since cooked vegetables are softer, they do not slow down stomach emptying and digestion, and their effect on metabolic rate is somewhat less. Cope with raw green vegetables for the stomach is much more difficult than soft and cooked. With the consumption of green vegetables alone, the patients experienced a decrease in weight, fat mass and waist circumference.
When exactly should you put on the “vegetable parachute”? 10 minutes before consuming fast carbs: This will significantly slow down the digestion of food. But vegetables eaten after at least 10 minutes after junk food will hardly slow down digestion, because you have already digested part of the food you eat.
Surprisingly, a third of the carbohydrates eaten are digested and enter the bloodstream just 10 minutes after eating. Fortunately, there are vegetables that can save us from the consequences of eating these unhealthy carbs – without getting rid of the carbs themselves, which we love so deeply.
Scientists suggest that eating vegetables at the same time as unhealthy foods may be as beneficial as they were before. But this has not been tested yet. I personally prefer to eat vegetables with the rest of my meal because it is easier to eat a lot of vegetables this way. Spinach tastes like pizza when eaten with pizza. Kale tastes like a hamburger when you eat it with a hamburger.
Note that movement of blood sugar (indicates the rate at which food is digested and increases in blood sugar) is twice as likely to affect the risk of cardiovascular mortality among diabetics as blood sugar itself (measured on an empty stomach). This means you can be diabetic, but cut your risk of heart disease in half by slowing down the rate at which food is digested. Eating foods that make you diabetic, but along with vegetables, can also cut your medication in half (* 1).
Yes, adding a lot of vegetables to your diet can be tricky for a variety of reasons, but what a comfort it is to know that you can eat all your other favorite foods – and improve your quality of life.
Giving up the food you love is difficult and nearly impossible in the long run. But adding to it what you may not particularly like (for example, vegetables), while continuing to eat what you like (for example, pizza) is absolutely possible. Think of vegetables as a longer route to pleasure. “
On my own behalf, I want to add that Dr. Clyde does not at all encourage his patients and students to eat unhealthy fast food. Being a realist and advising a large number of clients, he understands that it is practically impossible to force them to give up their favorite unhealthy food forever and transplant to a whole, predominantly plant-based diet in the long term (and not only for the period of treatment or diet) is practically impossible and it is better in some cases to give people are armed with a “parachute”, which will reduce the risks of eating their favorite food.
Research:
- “A simple meal plan of ‘eating before carbohydrate’ was more effective for achieving glycemic control than an exchange–based meal plan in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes” by S Imai et al., Asia Pac J Clin Nutr 20 2011 161 2. “Effects of total and green vegetable intakes on glycated hemoglobin A1c and triglycerides in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus” by K Takahashi et al., Geriatr Gerontol 12 2012 50
- “Eating vegetables before carbohydrates improves postprandial glucose excursions” by S Imai et al., Diabet Med 30 2013 370 4. “Postchallenge Glucose, A1C, and Glucose as Predictors of Type 2 Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease” by H Cederberg et al., Diabetes Care 33 2010 2077