PH: 0417 632 464
Ross Walter Nutritionist & Naturopath
  • About
  • Contact
  • Treatments
  • Seminars
  • Programs
  • Articles
  • Resources
  • Members
  • Partners
  • Mentoring
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • Pathology
  • Bookings

Calories are unscientific, ridiculous, and should not be used (Part 2)

19/4/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
This is Part 2 of my "Calories are unscientific, ridiculous, and should never be used" article! (See my post of yesterday for Part 1).

One of many issues with nutrition science is the concept of a calorie, and using calories as a ridiculous measurement of how healthy a food is, or the effects of the foods on the body. The model of using calories is often referred to the Calories In-Calories Out or CICO model. This is explained as the number of calories measured in your food intake vs the calories expended or used in exercise.

Here are many, many reasons why the CICO model is complete BS, including all the following:
​
  1. Calories of metabolic processes are different in each person, and can't be measured anyway - only the alleged food intake can be measured and the exercise done - what about all the energy consumed or produced by other metabolic processes, re-use of nutrients, re-absorption of nutrients, and waste products (from breath, sweat, urination and poo)?
  2. How is a "calorie" used in the body?! What are the biochemical reactions which use calories?! (Answer: none)
  3. The CICO model does not take into account each person's own metabolic rate, typically driven by their thyroid gland. Someone with a low functioning thyroid will have a tendency to have low energy, slow metabolism and easy weight gain, but difficulty losing weight, even on a healthy diet
  4. The CICO model assumes that physiological mechanisms or environmental factors or other biochemical hormones have no impact on energy balance - that it is all based on how foods are "BURNED"
  5. CICO does not distinguish between "good" calories and "bad" calories. We all know an apple is better and healthier than a choc-chip cookie... but a cookie may have the same or less calories?!
  6. In the CICO model, they forget to include how many calories are produced or needed to digest that food. For example, a lollipop might take 10% of its calories to be used by the body, but a steak can use 30% of its alleged calories to be digested
  7. The CICO model suggests that 500 calories from brownies is just as fattening as 500 calories of kale! It's just ridiculous!
  8. A low calorie food does not imply that it is healthy for you, and a high calorie food also does not imply that the food is unhealthy
  9. Similar to good vs bad calories, the CICO model does not look at nutrient density of the foods, or their macronutrient breakdown into protein vs carbs vs fats or vitamins and minerals, or how the nutrients in the food affect your body in good or bad ways
  10. CICO assumes everyone is the same, or that the energy output from a calorie in one person is the same as for another, which is not possible
  11. With the CICO model, artificial sweeteners with zero calories (but are known to cause metabolic dysfunction, diabetes, weight gain and cancer) are allegedly better for you than high calorie healthy fats or an avocado for example?!
  12. CICO assumes that the body "oxidises calories" in the same way and amount as in a bomb calorimeter (and at sea level etc, in the definition of a calorie)
  13. CICO assumes that EVERYTHING you eat is going to be digested and absorbed, with NO waste! CICO does not take into account the "energy" or heat of your poo for example!
  14. CICO doesn't take into account the adaptive metabolic processes in each person - someone MAY lose weight in the short term on a low calorie diet, but then due to hormones, thyroid changes, and other factors, weight loss can stall or plateau and then increase again due to the "starvation" effect and the adaptive slowing of metabolic processes to conserve energy for longer-term survival
  15. Maintaining a healthy weight and good health is more about WHAT someone eats, not how much (or little) they eat based on calories
  16. Weight gain is about over-storage of excess foods (or types of foods) not on over-eating of those foods or calories. One person eating the same foods as another will store more of those foods, while someone else will be using the foods for metabolism
  17. Muscles needs more NUTRIENTS for the muscle health and function, and hence more nutrients from foods are used instead of being stored as body fat
  18. A typical Keto/ketogenic diet has more calories than a low-fat diet, yet people on a keto diet will lose more weight (as body fat), more consistently, and for longer than someone on a low fat (ie, high calorie) diet
  19. Since the 1960s we have been told that we need to be more aware of the calories we eat and to reduce high calorie foods - which means cutting fats as they have the most calories per gram. Look where that got us - with the highest rates of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancers, and other chronic inflammatory conditions ever in history
  20. Proteins suppress appetite to make you eat less, but carbs do the opposite, yet they have the same calorific value
  21. Healthy fats suppress appetite for longer than proteins, yet they have the highest number of calories
  22. Low carb diets (generally higher calories from more fats) lead to more weight loss than low fat diets (lower calories) in many published studies
  23. Carbohydrates and proteins have the same calorie value at 4 calories per gram. But replacing carbs with the same amount of protein, as shown in many studies, will result in weight loss from reduced fat stores, and sparing or improving muscle mass. Hence again, weight loss has NOTHING  to do with calories of the foods you eat
  24. The CICO model blames the individual for eating too much or not exercising enough, when there are MANY factors and hormones which are causing their weight gain, or preventing the usage of the fat stores for energy.

If anyone recommends that you should count your calories, or choose your food based on calories, especially for weight loss, then run away!

As you can see from above, there are a LOT of reasons why calories are irrelevant, useless, unscientific, and not representative of how foods and nutrients get used in your body!

Be informed. Be healthy!
0 Comments

Calories are outdated, unscientific and should not be used

18/4/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
Choosing foods based on calories as being a measurement of how healthy they are is unscientific and ridiculous! Calories should never be used as a measurement of food quality or of their health to your body.

Let's review what a calorie really is... A calorie (or more correctly, a kilocalorie) is defined as the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of one kilogram of water by one degree Celsius (specifically from 14.5C to 15.5C) at sea level! A kilocalorie (which we usually refer to as "one Calorie" with a capital C) really is 1000 calories. Kilojoules are the metric measurement of energy from foods, so they are also and irrelevant and ridiculous measurement of the health or energy of foods.

The measurement of the calorie content of a food is done in a device called a "bomb calorimeter", a closed container containing oxygen, and the food is physically BURNED in this device, to measure its energy output as heat. This is supposed to be a representation of how our bodies use nutrients, which it clearly isn't! Our bodies are NOT an enclosed device, and our bodies do not BURN food to create heat in the same way! We have many thousands or even millions of processes and chemical reactions which occur in our bodies to convert our food into far more than just heat, but also into many other products which change in more chemical reactions to finally allow us to live and function (but not burn up!). It is actually impossible to measure the amount of energy a food really gives us in our bodies, so the concept of calories has been used. But calories have been taken too far as a measurement of food quality, when it never should be.

My other issue about using calories for foods is the belief that low calorie foods are better for you, when they are not! This concept has been used for decades by weight loss companies, dietitians, doctors, food companies, and the general public, but again it's wrong!

Consider the following comparison of the calorie content of the major macronutrients:

Carbohydrates (vegetables, fruit, grains etc) - 4 kilocalories per gram
Protein (meats and plant-based protein) - 4 kilocalories per gram
Fats (animal and plant based oils and fats) - 9 calories per gram
Alcohol (ok, not a macronutrient, but it is a good comparison) - 7 kilocalories per gram.

Then see the attached graphs for comparing the blood sugar levels of each of these macronutrients - ie., how foods containing these affect your body...

Carbohydrates get converted quickly into glucose (ie, sugar)  and raise your blood sugar levels quickly. Your body responds to the high blood sugar by secreting insulin to force cells to take up more glucose and insulin also forces the fat cells to take in the glucose that is converted to fat. Hence a high carb diet leads to fat storage and weight gain. Carbohydrates do not give a long-lasting energy.

Some proteins get more slowly converted into glucose, but generally most proteins will be broken down into their amino acid building blocks, to be rearranged into other proteins the body can use. Proteins are more filling, and give a longer-lasting energy to delay hunger for longer.

Here's an important question for you - carbs and proteins have the same calorie content, but which one has a better effect on your body, with less blood sugar spike, less insulin required, but a much longer lasting energy?!

Healthy fats generally don't raise blood sugar! However they do give a long lasting energy, are much more filling than carbs and proteins, and healthy fats don't cause the same inflammatory and oxidative damage that carbs do.

Ignore calories, ignore calorie measurements of foods as a marker of their health benefits, and ignore counting calories for weight loss or even for general health!

Focus instead on 1) the NUTRIENT content of foods, especially of whole, real, fresh, seasonal foods, and 2) avoiding processed, refined, packaged, and artificial foods which cause INFLAMMATION in your body, which is a major cause of our chronic disease epidemics today. Inflammation is the real cause of obesity, not calories! Inflammation comes from many other sources to cause weight gain, such as from hormone imbalances, stress, lifestyle factors, dysbiosis, exposure to toxins and chemicals, infections, and many more sources - most of which are unrelated to your food intake an unrelated to calories!

When all the root causes of one's weight gain are investigated and treated, you will lose weight easily and consistently, without hunger and cravings, and you will be able to reach and maintain your healthy goal weight long into the future! This is what I can help you with!

In the next article I will expand more on why calories are useless and unscientific, and should never be used as a measurement of the health of a food or for weight loss.

Be informed. Be healthy.
0 Comments

Modern medicine is JUST an experiment of using toxic chemicals into malnourished people

4/12/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
Modern medicine is just an experiment of what happens when you put toxic chemicals into malnourished bodies...

Medications don't fix anything. They just trick the body into hiding your symptoms, to make you feel better. Take for instance pain-killing medications - they perform clever things to your biochemical pathways to stop the pain-causing neurotransmitters and/or the cellular receptors from responding to the neurotransmitters, so you don't FEEL the pain. Even though the root causes of the pain are still there, still triggering the pain, and still triggering the pain neurotransmitters...

Or cough medicines which stop you coughing. Never mind that the coughing is a natural mechanism to get the infected mucus and wastes out of your body! Hence you stay more infected and sicker for longer...

Or anti-inflammatory medications which reduce inflammation. Never mind that inflammation is your immune system's natural healing process, so you are in fact prolonging your injury, preventing healing and preventing your immune system from working, which in turn can lead to more infections and over time, cancer.

Or medications to reduce indigestion, reflux, or heartburn etc, by reducing the amount of stomach acid that your stomach produces, to reduce your symptoms. Never mind that your stomach is supposed to be acidic in order to digest your food and release all the nutrients that you eat! If you aren't digesting your foods, you won't be absorbing the nutrients from your foods, and you will quickly become deficient in a large number of nutrients, which in turn cause many more symptoms and conditions, which you may likely reach for more medications to try to hide.... and never actually fix anything. All the while, your health gets worse and worse.

Medications can't fix a poor diet. Medications can't correct nutrient deficiencies. What you need instead is to fix the root causes of your symptoms, which WILL give you long-term resolution and prevention of recurrence!

Sadly, this is not what doctors or the medical system do. They "treat" symptoms (really, they just "manage" symptoms) with medications or surgery.
I instead, as a Clinical Nutritionist, Naturopath and Herbalist, focus on finding all the root causes of all your symptoms and putting together a plan to treating and fixing those root causes, as well as using better and safer options to reduce symptoms and make you feel better, while fixing the causes.

Finding and fixing any nutrient deficiencies is also a very important aspect of what I do, which can be done through signs and symptoms and/or pathology testing. It is also interesting to note that most medications actually CAUSE many nutrient deficiencies, which is also something I check that your medications are doing...
​
Don't just hide your symptoms! Get rid of them forever, by finding and fixing the root causes. That is what I can help you with!
0 Comments

juicing vs blending - which is better for your health?

29/10/2017

2 Comments

 
There’s no doubt that most people need more and better quality nutrients in their diets, to improve their health. Juicing vegetables and fruits is one way to do get a high concentration of nutrients into you!

A lot of people I have seen have spent many hundreds or even thousands of dollars on juicers – which turn a lot of vegetables and fruit into a fairly small amount of highly concentrated nutrients. Juicing proponents say it’s the best way to get a lot of nutrients in a meal, to help all sorts of health issues, especially for cancer (where I see people recommending juicing the most).

But is juicing really as good as people think it is?

I’ve been saying for ages that it is NOT the best idea...

There are a couple of issues with juicing, as many cheaper juicers rip open the fruit or vegetables with fast and sharp grating mechanisms. This can damage the nutrients, partly from the grating, and also from the heat this produces. More expensive juicers use cold pressure mechanisms which do not damage the nutrients as much.

Juicers remove most of the fibre in the fruit or vegetables. Juicing proponents say this is a good thing, as fibre fills you up, and you can’t get as much of the nutrients into you if you leave the fibre in. While that is true, you NEED the fibre for many benefits – to form bowel motions properly, to feed your digestive bacteria (who turn it into other essential nutrients which you need!), and it’s your digestive bacteria which make most of your immune system proteins and neurotransmitters too. Your digestive bacteria are critical for those with cancer or any chronic health condition.

Lastly, the fibre in the fruit and vegetables prevents a large amount of fructose (a sugar found in fruit and vegetables) being absorbed into the body. Fructose in small amounts can be ok and will be converted into glucose in the body to feed your cells for energy and growth. Fructose in high amounts, such as in juices, gets mostly converted by the liver into fat for storage. This is not what you want if you have cancer, diabetes or weight issues.

People who do have cancer, diabetes or weight issues should actually restrict their intake of high-fructose food sources, including juices, because of the risk of progressing the disease or health issues further.

So what should you do instead? Use a blender!

Blenders are cheap, effective in keeping all the fibre in (and thus filling you up more, and providing all the benefits without the risks of high fructose), and keeping all the nutrients in too!

A new study published just released a few days ago (9th Oct 2017, in the “Nutrition and Diabetes Journal”) confirms the above. The study compared the GI (Glycaemic Index, or glucose forming effect in your body) of whole fruit compared to blended fruit, with a control group drinking glucose in water (similar to a juiced drink without fibre). It confirmed that commercial fruit juices are associated with an increased risk of diabetes, because of the higher GI effect. However eating whole fruit actually reduced the risk of diabetes. The study also found that blending fruit caused a much lower post-meal blood sugar response than even eating whole fruit! Those who drank the glucose drink, similar to a juice, had the highest blood sugar response. Those who had whole fruit had a lower blood glucose (because of the fibre), and those who had the blended fruit and a lower blood glucose response again, which they didn’t investigate the mechanism for. The study also concluded that increased fruit intake can result in a reduced risk of chronic disease, but as I mentioned above, in some situations, less is better!

In summary, having a high concentration of nutrients in a meal is a great idea for general health as well as for preventing or reducing chronic health issues. But juicing is NOT the way to do it – use a blender instead to keep in the fibre, and get additional benefits of this without the health issues of too much fructose!

In addition, any blended meal such as a smoothie should contain some protein and healthy fats too for additional nutrients, for filling you up more, and providing a longer lasting energy. Fruit or veg blends alone will not provide a long-lasting energy and will quickly cause hunger and cravings for more carbohydrates.

Picture
2 Comments

    COPYRIGHT

    All articles here are Copyright (c) to Ross Walter Nutritionist & Naturopath (2015-2022). You are welcome to share these articles in your personal or business marketing, in full and referencing this website.
    If you wish to have specific health articles written for your business, please ask via email to [email protected]  

    Archives

    March 2025
    September 2024
    May 2023
    April 2023
    February 2023
    November 2022
    September 2022
    June 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    December 2020
    October 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015

    Categories

    All
    5:2 Diet
    Acidity
    Acne
    Acrylamide
    ADHD
    ADHD Medications
    ADHD Treatments
    Aged Care Home
    AIDS
    Alcohol
    Alkaline Food
    Allergies
    Aluminium
    Alzheimer's
    Anaemia
    Antibacterial
    Antibiotics
    Anti Inflammatories
    Anti-inflammatories
    Anxiety
    Aromatherapy
    Arsenic
    Artificial Sweeteners
    Atherosclerosis
    Autism
    Autoimmune Conditions
    Baby Powder
    Baking Soda
    Banned By Facebook
    Bipolar Disorder
    Blending
    Blood Clots
    Blood Glucose
    Blood Sugar
    Body Autonomy
    Bone Density
    Bowel Movement
    Bowels
    BPA Free Plastic
    BPA-free Plastic
    BPA Plastic
    BPS Plastic
    Burns
    Cacao
    Calcium
    Calories
    Cancer
    Cancer Education
    Cancer In Children
    Cancer Prevention
    Cancer Treatments
    Cannabis
    Carb Adapted
    Carbohydrates
    Carcinogens
    Causes
    Celebrity
    Censorship
    Cervical Cancer
    Chemicals
    Children's Health
    Chocolate
    Cholesterol
    Chronic Disease
    Chronic Fatigue
    Chronic Inflammation
    CICO
    Climate Change
    Clinical Trials
    Codeine
    Coeliac Disease
    Coffee
    Cold And Flu Prevention
    Common Cold
    Constipation
    Contraception
    Cooking
    Cookware
    Coronavirus
    Coronavirus Lockdowns
    Coronavirus Research
    Coronavirus Statistics
    Coronavirus Testing
    Coronavirus Tracking
    Coronavirus Vaccines
    Corporate Sponsorship
    COVID 19
    COVID-19
    COVID 19 Testing
    COVID-19 Testing
    COVID 19 Vaccine
    COVID-19 Vaccine
    COVID 19 Vax Issues
    COVID-19 Vax Issues
    Cravings
    DAA
    Dairy
    Dental Health
    Depression
    Detox
    Diabetes
    Dieting
    Dietitian
    Dietitians
    Digestive System
    Documentary Review
    Drug Regulators
    EAT Lancet Diet
    EAT-Lancet Diet
    EBV
    Eczema
    Eggs
    E Health
    E-health
    Elderly
    Endocrine Disruptors
    Endometriosis
    Endorsements
    Energy
    Enlarged Prostate
    Environmental Health
    Environmental Toxins
    Epstein-Barr Virus
    Essential Nutrients
    Essential Oils
    Evidence Based
    Exercise
    Farming
    Fast Food
    Fasting
    Fat Adapted
    Fatigue
    Fats
    Female Health
    Female Hormones
    Fermentation
    Fermented Foods
    Fertility
    Fibre
    Fibroids
    Fibromyalgia
    Film Review
    Fish Oil
    Fitness
    Flu
    Fluoride
    Flu Vaccine
    Folate
    Folic Acid
    Food Additives
    Food Allergies
    Food Containters
    Food Guidelines
    Food Industry
    Food Ingredients
    Food Intake
    Food Intolerances
    Food Labelling
    Food Labels
    Food Production
    Food Pyramid
    Food Sensitivities
    Food Star Rating
    Fracking
    Fructose
    Gardasil Vaccine
    Genetically Modified Foods
    Genetic Modification
    Genetics
    Genocide
    Germ Theory
    Glandular Fever
    Global Warming
    Glucose
    Gluten
    Gluten Free Food
    Gluten-free Food
    Glyphosate
    GMO
    Goals
    Government
    Grains
    Gut Bacteria
    Gut-brain Connection
    Gut Health
    Hand Washing
    Health Funds
    Health Information
    Health Insurance
    Health Myths
    Health Policy
    Health Star Ratings
    Health Statistics
    Healthy Fats
    Heartburn
    Heart Disease
    Heart Health
    Heavy Metals
    Herd Immunity
    High Blood Pressure
    HIV
    Hormonal Issues
    Hormone Disrupting
    Hormones
    HPV
    HPV Vaccine
    Hydroxychloroquine HCQ
    Hygiene
    Hypoxia
    IBS
    Immune Suppressives
    Immune System
    Indigestion
    Infections
    Infertility
    Inflammation
    Influenza
    Informed Consent
    Insomnia
    Insulin
    Iron Deficiency
    Irritable Bowel
    Juicing
    Ketogenic Diet
    LCHF
    Leaky Gut
    Liver
    Low Carb Diet
    Low Fat Diets
    Low GI
    Lung Disease
    Macronutrients
    Man Flu
    Manuka Honey
    Margarine
    Marketing
    Masks
    Meal Replacements
    Measles
    Meat
    Medical Corruption
    Medical Privacy
    Medical Records
    Medical Science
    Medical Testing
    Medications
    Medicinal Cannabis
    Melanoma
    Melatonin
    Men's Health
    Mental Health
    Mental Illness
    Microbiome
    Microwave Meals
    Microwaves
    Miscarriage
    MMR Vaccine
    Moderation
    Modern Diets
    Modern Medicine
    Monkeypox
    Motivation
    MRNA Vaccines
    MTHFR
    My Health Record
    Natural Therapies
    Naturopathy
    Nerve Damage
    Neuropathy
    New Years Resolutions
    NSAIDs
    Nursing Home
    Nutrient Deficiencies
    Nutrients
    Nutrient Toxicity
    Nutrigenomics
    Nutrition
    Nutritional Medicine
    Nutrition Guidelines
    Nutritionist
    Nutrition Research
    Obesity
    Oestrogen
    Oil
    Omega-3
    One World Diet
    Osteoporosis
    Oxidative Damage
    Pain
    Painkillers
    Paleo
    Pandemic
    Pap Smears
    Pathology Testing
    PCOS
    PCR Testing
    Personalised Consultations
    Pet Foods
    Pets
    Pharmaceuticals
    PH Of Food
    Plant Based Diets
    Plant-based Diets
    Plastic
    Plastic Bottles
    PMDD
    PMS
    Polyunsaturated Fats
    Poo
    Population Growth
    POTS
    PPI
    Preconception
    Pregnancy
    Primal
    Privacy
    Probiotics
    Processed Foods
    Psoriasis
    Pyrrole Disorder
    Red Meat
    Red Wine
    Reflux
    Research
    Respiratory Infections
    Resveratrol
    Reviews
    Rice
    Root Cause Analysis
    Root Causes
    Roundup
    Salt
    SARS
    Saturated Fat
    Schizophrenia
    Scientific Evidence
    Scientific Research
    SIBO
    Skin
    Skin Cancer
    Skin Conditions
    Sleep
    Smallpox
    Sore Throat
    Soy
    Soy Products
    Spike Protein
    Sports
    Sports Nutrition
    Spring
    Statistics
    Stevia
    Stomach Function
    Stress
    Sugar
    Sunburn
    Sunglasses
    Sunlight
    Sun Safe
    Sunscreens
    Talcum Powder
    TGA
    The Medical Model
    Thyroid
    Tonsillitis
    Tooth Decay
    Toxicity
    Toxins And Chemicals
    Treat The Causes
    Treat The Whole Body
    Type 1 Diabetes
    Type 2 Diabetes
    Ulcers
    Vaccination
    Vaccine Adverse Events
    Vaccine Passports
    Vaccine Research
    Vaccines
    Vaccine Safety
    Vaccine Testing
    Vegan
    Vegetables
    Viral Infections
    Virus
    Vitamin C
    Vitamin D
    Water
    Water Fluoridation
    Weight Gain
    Weight Loss
    Wheat
    Whole Grains
    Winter
    Winter Health
    Womens Health
    Would Healing
    Xenoestrogens
    Xeno-oestrogens
    Zinc

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly