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medpundit |
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Thursday, May 29, 2003My focus was on exercise, but I mentioned in passing that calories are calories, no matter where they come from. That elicited a comment from a reader that suggested I’m an old fogey and that there are other, better doctors out there who know the truth. Phooey. just ask RangelMD: The simple truth is that input in calories = weight. There may be a lot of details underneath this equation but all anyone needs to know is this simple concept. The more you eat . . the more you weigh. Period! Notice that I don't make a distinction between the source of the calories being fat vs carbohydrates because . . guess what? Your body doesn't make the distinction either! The idea that is popularly held is that fat in the diet is taken directly by the body and stored as "fat" in those areas that people complain about; the abdomen, hips, butt, etc. How sweet and simple a concept this is but it is complete hogwash. Physiologically the body absorbs all caloric dietary sources whether they are carbohydrates or fats and breaks them down into more manageable components (glucose from carbohydrates and glycerols from fat sources). These two different energy sources are actually interchangeable depending on energy needs because they occupy the same metabolic pathways. The body utilizes glucose directly as an energy source for tissues and can convert glycerol into glucose. Conversely glucose can be converted into glycerols to store as "fat". What this means is that the body does not care what form its nutrition comes in whether it is carbohydrates or fats but that it takes these molecules and converts them into whatever form is needed for its current energy requirements. The body can take fats and ultimately convert them into glucose to use as energy while at the same time it can take carbohydrates and convert them into fats in order to store them. How much fat or carbohydrates are ultimately used as energy or stored as fat (as a future energy source) depends ultimately upon the energy requirements of the person and upon the overall caloric intake. If a person is taking in more calories in the form of carbohydrates or fat than they need then these "excess" calories are stored in the form of fat (in those unsightly areas). It does not matter if these calories are in the form of carbohydrates or fat because as I stated above, it will all ultimately be converted into what ever form that the body needs. This means that a high caloric diet whether it is in the form of carbohydrates or fat in excess of the energy requirements of the person will ultimately result in obesity. There’s more. Read it all, as they say. posted by Sydney on 5/29/2003 07:34:00 PM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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