Let’s call it the metabolic diet: after having followed the calorie-counting diet for years, today we know that when we eat, hormonal and metabolic responses are activated which are directly responsible for the effects of any diet. In short, a single nutrient is not enough to guarantee our health or ruin it. And now, knowing better what happens in the body even beyond the energy balance, we can follow more conscious diets, in which more attention is also paid to the quality of food.
Sugar enemy. An example of what has changed studying food metabolism? The new look at carbohydrates, thanks to the Canadian David Jenkins’ discovery of the glycemic index, that is the ability of each food to raise blood sugar and induce the production of insulin, the hormone responsible for managing the use of glucose, the main one ” gasoline “of the organism.
Foods with a high glycemic index, for example the simple sugars contained in lumps and sweets, are absorbed quickly and give an immediate spike in blood sugar and insulin, but just as quickly they are taken out of the way so, after a while, there is a drop in energy and hunger returns; foods with a low glycemic index, such as vegetables, legumes and complex carbohydrates in pasta and bread, are absorbed slowly and without metabolic and appetite jolts.
The body-machine is made to work better with the latter, and for this reason added sugars are removed in today’s slimming diets (eliminating the cube from the coffee but also limiting the many industrial foods where they hide, such as sauces or ready-made products) , and preference is given to complex carbohydrates, preferably associated with vegetable fibers, to further reduce blood sugar peaks.
Simple carbohydrates. It is the latter that, in the long run, in addition to preventing us from losing weight, decompensate the metabolism and health, as underlined by Andrea Ghiselli, president of the Italian Society of Food Sciences: “In the past we did not know, for example, that too much diet rich in simple carbohydrates leads the tissues to become resistant to insulin and this develops inflammation, a risk factor for chronic diseases such as diabetes and tumors ».
Thus, we have come out of the obsession with fats, but this does not mean that we are able to resist dietary regimes that put some nutrients or entire categories of foods on the index, indeed: today there is a very strong tendency to choose those that ban lactose, gluten. , meat, cooked foods and so on. “Products withouta, relieved of sugars or other nutrients mistakenly considered harmful for everyone such as lactose or gluten, which instead do no harm to those who are not intolerant, are now widespread but hide a risk: if we think we have the green light to consume them we risk to exaggerate, ”says Ghiselli.
Eating for stress. “A sugar-free biscuit, in other words, is less harmful than its hyper-sweet counterpart, but if I then eat five, because I’m not aware that it’s an exception to the rule, in the end the result will be worse”. The appeal of diets a little alternative, however, it is irresistible also because, as a recent study by the US Ohio State University explained, the engine of our mistakes at the table today is almost always stress: in an increasingly complicated and anxious world, at least maintaining control over what we eat following strict diets, even if weird, seems to many the only opportunity left to manage their emotions.
Better vegetarians? The diet without However, par excellence is perhaps the vegetarian one, a growing food choice: according to the Eurispes Italy 2021 Report, 8.2 per cent of the population is vegetarian or vegan. A positive green trend for health even if, as Ghiselli points out, “pasta and beans from a nutritional point of view are more valid and more vegetarian than a processed product made with bean flour, for example, especially if the seasoning it is high-calorie. If you are convinced that it is enough to give up meat or all animal-derived foods to feel good, you risk making a mistake ».
Something similar can happen when you fall in love with organic food, another very current trend that, after the first openings of specialized stores in the 90s, today sees a boom in consumption: if there are few doubts that it is a positive choice for the environment (yes avoid pesticides, antibiotics, synthetic fertilizers or GMOs, crop rotation and the use of local resources are practiced), it is not so certain that these foods, now chosen at least occasionally by 80 percent of Italians, are necessarily better for Health.
Eat only organic. Ghiselli observes: “Every year the checks of the Ministry of Health find very few non-compliant products due to the presence of harmful residues above the threshold levels: it is better that there are no pesticides and the like, but if you don’t eat organic, given the strict rules in vigor, you don’t have to worry ».
green environment. This is confirmed by a research from the University of British Columbia (Canada) which, analyzing the pros and cons of organic farming, underlines how the advantages of choosing organic are very evident especially for consumers in countries without strict rules on the use of pesticides: elsewhere , Including Italy, the benefit is more marginal, especially if the diet is sufficiently varied and rich in micronutrients.
Also because, at least according to a survey by Altroconsumo on organic and non-organic products, which had been purchased at the supermarket, the differences in terms of micronutrients such as polyphenols in apples, vitamin C in strawberries or lycopene in tomatoes would not be significant: cultivation can perhaps lead to a tastier product, because it is harvested at the right degree of ripeness and grown on soils more suitable for that vegetable, but organic seems to be an ethical rather than a healthy choice.
So what is the best regime, the most sustainable one from every point of view? The true Mediterranean diet, that is that of our grandparents, with little meat and lots of vegetables, legumes and cereals: basically a return to the past, when in the 1950s Ancel Keys realized how healthy the inhabitants of Cilento were.
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Article taken from the Special Focus Next 30: Lessons on the plate, by Elena Meli, published in Focus 355 (May 2022). Read the new Focus on newsstands!
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