What Makes Food Fattening

In the Seventies, rice was considered “fattening” because the reigning diet at that time was the Atkins. Then from the late Eighties to late Nineties, rice was “non-fattening” because low-fat diets were all the rage. Now, rice has become “fattening” once again as Atkins, South Beach, and other low-carb diets have become increasingly popular.

So which is it? Is rice fattening or not? For that matter, what makes any type of food fattening or not fattening?

Weight-to-calorie ratio
According to Tufts University, one way to determine this is to look at the weight-to-calorie ratio. If two types of food contain the same amount of calories but weigh different weights, the food that is light in weight is more fattening than the food that weighs more because you will stop eating the heavier food sooner than you will the light-weight food.

For example, one cup of rice weighs about 5 ounces and contains approximately 220 calories while six crackers weigh 1.75 ounces and have 240 calories. In this comparison, the rice is less fattening than the crackers because one cup of rice will fill you up faster than six crackers can.

But if you compare one cup of rice to one cup of kangkong or spinach, which weighs six ounces and only has 42 calories, then the rice is more fattening.

Heavy weight-low calories
A University of New Zealand study, as well as several others, found that people tend to eat the same weight of food daily regardless of the calories that the meals contain. The stomach seems to have an internal scale with a pre-determined weight that has to be reached for an individual to be satisfied.

If you are trying to lose weight, Tufts University suggests choosing food based on their weight-to-calorie ratio. You should eat food that weighs a lot but has few calories and avoid food that is light in weight but hefty in caloric value.

Fruits and vegetables are the big winners in the heavy weight-low calorie department. They weigh a lot because of their fiber and water content and yet do not have many calories. One cup of cantaloupe or ‘melon’ weighs 5.5 ounces but only has 56 calories. Meanwhile, four ounces of potato chips has 608 calories.

“Compressed calories” are fattening
The New Zealand University researchers say food that is light in weight but high in calories is probably the worse kind of food to eat if you are trying to lose weight. These “compressed calories” put you in a state of double jeopardy where you are still hungry but you have already eaten more calories than you need.

Many processed snack foods fall into this category. Most cookies weigh half an ounce and contain 50 calories. Eat six cookies and you only have three ounces of weight in your stomach but you’ve racked up 300 calories. 1.5 ounces of a chocolate bar contain 220 calories. A small croissant only weighs two ounces but has 230 calories.

Volumetrics
Food that is bulky but low in calories is called a low energy density food. It has a small amount of calories in a large serving. It usually contains a high amount of water and fiber and is low in fat. An example would be a medium-sized orange, which has approximately 60 calories.

A high energy density food has a lot of calories in a small serving. It usually has less water, a lower fiber content and a higher fat content. An example would be a tablespoon of mayonnaise, which has about 100 calories.

In her book, Volumetrics, Professor Barbara Rolls of Penn State University compares raisins and grapes to better explain the energy density concept. A 100-calorie serving of raisins is one-fourth of a cup while a 100-calorie serving of grapes is one and two-thirds cups. Since the raisins are so light in weight and volume, you will tend to eat much more of them before you are full.

Here are two more examples. To get the same amount of calories in just ten jellybeans (100 calories), you would have to eat two cups of strawberries. One cup of strawberries is already quite filling (50 calories) but ten jellybeans won’t even make a dent in your stomach.

Ten pieces of Hershey Kisses has 250 calories while an eight-ounce glass of chocolate milk has 250. The chocolate milk will satisfy your chocolate craving and fill up your stomach at the same time.

Food preparation
Another factor that can make food fattening is the way it is cooked or prepared. Here are some examples that all weigh 3.5 ounces. Boiled potatoes have 62 calories compared to French fried potatoes with 328 calories. Boiled bananas have 159 calories compared to 259 if you prepare them ‘turon’ style (wrapped, sugared, and fried). Sardines in tomato sauce contain 127 calories while sardines in oil have 372. Tuna flakes in brine have 95 calories while tuna flakes in oil have 309.

Liquid calories
Rolls has discovered that hunger and thirst are two separate and distinct mechanisms. A liquid (water or another beverage) will quench your thirst but will not satisfy your hunger.

Rolls has found that milk-based drinks and drinks with some protein in it are the exception. These drinks will help you feel full and eat less because milk turns into a semi-solid food in the stomach and protein keeps you satisfied longer than fat or carbohydrates.

But liquid calories in the form of soft drinks, commercial iced tea or lemonade mixes, and fruit drinks (artificially flavored, highly sweetened drinks) are considered fattening because if you drink high-calorie beverage with you meal, you will still eat the same amount of food.

Refined carbohydrates
When your blood sugar levels rise and fall quickly in response to eating a meal composed mostly of refined processed carbohydrates (think of the unique Pinoy habit of eating pancit and rice at the same meal) you tend to become hungrier faster and eat more at your next meal.

For this reason, refined carbs can be regarded as a fattening type of food. Ideally, you should choose whole grain starchy carbs like brown rice which contain more nutrients and fiber, take longer to digest, and don’t make your blood sugar levels zoom. Next best advice is to make sure to eat protein and plenty of vegetables with your starch to blunt the rise in blood sugar and keep you satisfied longer till your next meal.

Continue reading here: Safer Alternative to the Atkins Diet

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