14 DAY TRIAL // It's good news for those who aren't all that good at math, and who would rather not eat anything than take the time to count each and every calorie they put in their mouth whenever they sit down to enjoy breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Researcher David Raubenheimer with the University of Sydney in Australia argues that, according to his investigations, increasing the protein content of one's meals works better than counting calories when it comes to losing weight.
In a recent paper, the specialist explains that, as shown by experiments carried out on apes and monkeys, the body does not care all that much about hitting a very specific energy intake on a daily basis.
It does, however, very much care about achieving the proper nutritional balance it needs in order to function. Thus, David Raubenheimer says that there are different appetite systems that target different nutrients and that together regulate feeding behavior.
The researcher goes on to explain that, in this day and age, many of the foods folks can pick and choose from are not exactly what some would call balanced when it comes to their nutrients content. Hence, it often happens that people don't get as much protein as they need.
It is believed that, whenever this happens, the body looks to compensate for this deficit by demanding more food. In time, this increase in appetite caused by not consuming enough protein in the first place translates into weight gain.
According to EurekAlert, his theory is backed up by experiments showing that, provided that their daily need for protein is well tended to, baboons and other similar animals can come with significant variations in their daily overall energy intake.
Simply put, it appears that apes and monkeys, and most likely humans as well, value getting just the right amount of protein more than they do hitting a specific calorie count, and that this greatly influences their appetite and feeding habits.
“We can use this information to help manage and prevent obesity, through ensuring that the diets we eat have a sufficient level of protein to satisfy our appetite,” researcher David Raubenheimer comments on the outcome of these experiments.
“A simple rule for healthy eating is to avoid processed foods – the closer to real foods the better. Our bodies and appetites are not adapted to biscuits, cakes, pizzas & sugary drinks and we eat too much of them at our peril,” the researcher adds.