by Elena Meli
A diet rich in protein in the post-diet maintenance period appears to reduce fat absorption due to effects on lactobacilli in the intestinal microbiota
Maintaining the desired weight achieved after being on a strict diet is not easy, because as soon as the restrictions are removed, fat accumulates again; however, if the maintenance diet is rich in protein, less fat is absorbed in the intestine and less kilos are put back on because the structure of the bacterial flora changes and the quantity of some Lactobacilli decreases, bacteria that are part of the microbiota that populates the intestine .
“Slimming” proteins
This was demonstrated by recent research on mice published in Nature Metabolism, according to which it is important to choose the maintenance diet carefully because the period after a slimming regimen is critical for weight recovery: the tendency to accumulate new fat is very marked and it is associated with an excess of Lactobacilli, which however are kept under control if a diet rich in proteins is chosen. Proteins reduce the proliferation of Lactobacilli and their metabolites, which seem to influence the yo-yo effect: ensuring a good quantity is therefore essential and a balanced diet provides that every day 12-15 percent of calories derive from proteins. The Reference Intake Levels of Nutrients and Energy for the Italian population (the so-called LARN) indicate for a healthy adult, male or female, a daily protein requirement of between 0.7 and 1 gram per kilo of body weight: in practice, for example, for a 150-pound man, that’s about 50-65 grams of protein. The protein requirement changes according to age and gender: over the years, for example, muscle mass tends to lose and so it rises a bit in the elderly, even pregnant and breastfeeding women have increased needs because they are literally “building » fabrics.
Grams of protein are not grams of meat
But be careful: 50 grams of protein does not correspond to 50 grams of meat, because there are many other substances in the food that are not proteins and so 100 grams of chicken or turkey breast, for example, contain about 30 grams, in a similar quantity of cooked beans there are about 8. Diets that increase protein intake, in addition to working to maintain the weight achieved, are also actually useful for weight loss, first of all because in order to “digest” the proteins the body must spend more energy than necessary to metabolize and absorb carbohydrates or fats: the energy expenditure to assimilate them is 25 per cent, i.e. one calorie out of four of those introduced by eating proteins will be used to «break them up» and absorb them (for carbohydrates it is 5 per cent, for fats 2 per cent). Therefore, increasing the consumption of proteins automatically increases the basal metabolic rate.
No to high protein diets
But be careful, a clearly high-protein diet should be followed for no more than four to six weeks: beyond that, it inevitably leads to the appearance of a craving for carbohydrates, i.e. an immoderate and irrepressible desire to eat bread, pizza and the like and, consequently, » more and more uncontrolled. Maintenance, therefore, can only be a diet a little richer in protein than usual but not a real high-protein diet.
July 29, 2023 (change July 29, 2023 | 1:04 pm)
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