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The nutritionist helped to sort out one of the main questions that arise when trying to lose weight.
There have been a lot of negative comments lately about dairy products. There are more and more tips to give up in order to lose weight. Such claims do not have scientific justification, so it is worthwhile to analyze where the myths about weight gain from dairy products come from and why you should not give up on them in order to save your figure.
Does the fat content of dairy products harm the figure?
The biggest fear of calorie counting enthusiasts is that dairy products are high in fat. They say that these calories are then difficult to burn. The myth is old enough, but it is still worth recalling that fat does not turn into fat. In other words, the common name for dietary fat in foods and subcutaneous fat in the body has nothing to do with weight gain. The enzyme lipase plays the most important role in the breakdown of fat. When fats are split qualitatively, they first serve as a building material for our cells, membranes, sex hormones. And what remains unspent will either be wasted during the day in the form of energy, or will go into the reserve. The latter is rare.
Why is low fat dairy not the answer?
What do those who avoid fatty foods do? Fat-free counterparts are chosen. But in vain! There can be a great danger to your figure here.
The fact is that fat gives taste and a certain consistency to dairy products. If you remove the fat, the yogurt will look like white water, and the cheese will look like a tasteless piece of rubber. In order for the consumer to eat low-fat foods, flavor enhancers are added there, for example, more salt or sugar, or artificial flavors, for example, berries or fruits. And for consistency, starch is added – so it and sugar can be deposited and lead to weight gain.
Fatty dairy products do not interfere with weight loss. Low fat can be cunning. Tip: Buy dairy products with normal to medium fat content, unflavored. It is better to independently enrich yogurt with berries or dried fruits. Both tastier and healthier.
Should you be afraid of lactose?
Very often dairy products are accused of having a large amount of milk sugar – lactose. And since this is sugar, it means that it interferes with losing weight. This is partly because lactose is broken down into glucose and galactose. And glucose is the same sugar. Therefore, excess consumption of dairy products can affect weight gain. In addition, dairy products have a high insulin index. That is, when they are used, insulin is released sharply. And with a high insulin response, the fat burning process is blocked. However, different dairy products have different insulin index scores. This is important if you have insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Then it is better for you to reduce your consumption or completely abandon dairy products, not only for the sake of a slim figure, but also for health.
Nutritional advice
If you think dairy products are affecting your weight, please note with what do you eat cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt… Most often, an excess of carbohydrates and fats in general affects. For example, sandwiches with cheese, where there is much less cheese than white bread, which just adds extra pounds on the scales. Either pizza or mac and cheese. Here again, it’s a matter of dough, not dairy products.
Also, don’t confuse excess weight with swelling. Dairy products, in particular cheese, can contain excess salt. A couple of slices of cheese will not cause swelling, but the combination of cheese with bread, sauces, pasta and other salty and carbohydrate foods can greatly affect the appearance. It will seem to you that you have recovered. But it’s all about fluid retention due to an imbalance of water and salt.
When choosing foods for weight loss, you can safely include dairy products, because they are rich in protein and fat, and there are almost no carbohydrates in them. It’s all about the quantity and combination of products.
What does research tell us?
Nutritionist, clinical psychologist-nutritionist, member of the National Association for Clinical Nutrition. She graduated from the faculty of advanced training of medical workers of the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia in the direction of “Nutrition”.
www.wday.ru/forum/experts/anna-ivashkevich/
– Dairy products have a really high insulinemic index, higher than many carbohydrate foods. However, research does not support its effect on fat gain. The fact is that for any athlete or those who adhere to a low-carb diet, from the point of view of the fat burning process, it does not matter at all with what insulin index (or glycemic index) the foods are consumed. As long as there is a calorie deficit, a person will lose weight.
If the hypothesis about carbohydrates and insulin were correct, then one could argue that a diet high in dairy products should contribute to weight gain. However, a number of scientific studies have failed to find any link between dairy consumption and weight gain.
Also, in some studies, it has been proven that cottage cheese helps to get rid of extra pounds, since when calcium interacts with essential amino acids, it more intensively affects fat cell metabolism and fat oxidation. This process is typical for all fermented milk products.