Puzzlement is what I experienced upon opening my RSS feed to MSNBC.com's Diet & Nutrition articles this morning. There I found two articles, posted right next to each other:
The overweight debate: Healthy and heavy? -- Has science overemphasized the danger of a few extra pounds?
&
Overeating can short-circuit your brain -- Finding could help explain why obesity causes so many illnesses
The overweight debate discusses how a person's lifestyle and choices can reduce to insignificant the potential negative health risks of being a little overweight. As a primary example, the article points to research showing that a few extra pounds alone does not increase the risk for heart disease in otherwise healthy people. I envision myself as one in many releasing a collective sigh of relief at this news -- I exercise, I eat whole foods, I do what I can to reduce stress in my life, but I'm still overweight, I'm reasonable as healthy as any thin person who smokes everyday and eats fast food for every meal. Healthier, probably! Being healthy while maintaining excess weight is a bit like having your cake and eating it too, but why would I have cake if not to eat it?
Coming after such happy news, Overeating is like a punch to the gut. First I had to know: what do they mean by over eating? Binging? Just eating larger portions? This question is not fully answered. According to the article, too many calories in the bloodstream causes an immune reaction against, well, nothing - but over the long-term these reactions lead to diabetes and (you guessed it!) heart disease.
Ultimately, the lesson is that it's not how much you eat, it's what you eat and how you eat it. Feast on whole foods freshly prepared. Space it out. Chew thoughtfully. Enjoy your food, and by no means rush your meals. When you feel full, stop eating, and don't eat again until several productive hours have passed. Live a happy life. And then... you can have your cake and eat it too.
No comments:
Post a Comment