A respected doctor specialising in gut health has issued a warning to people who eat kiwi fruit and sweet potato, as the way you prepare it could have an impact on your health. Dr Megan Rossi, who is known as the Gut Health Doctor, was talking to followers of hers about trying to maintain a healthy weight.
Dr Rossi, an award-winning scientist at King’s College, London, said that finding a ‘happy weight’ was ‘not as simple as calories in vs calories out’. She discussed how healthy, whole foods were healthier than ultra-processed foods (UPFs).
Not only do they often contain more nutrients, but your body also has to work harder to digest them, burning more calories in the process. Dr Rossi listed three things she would recommend if people were trying to reach a happy weight.
Including a trigger warning for people living with or recovering from an eating disorder, she said: “It’s not as simple as calories in vs calories out…
“Did you know your body burns calories by eating and digesting food? It’s known as the thermogenic effect of food. But here’s the key, the type of food you eat matters.
“Whole foods like fruits, nuts, and wholegrains make your body work harder, burning more energy in the process. But when it comes to ultra-processed foods (UPFs), it’s a different story. Machines have done most of the work for you, so your body burns fewer calories digesting them, as much as 50% less compared to whole foods.
“This is just one of many examples of why calorie fixation is flawed, not to meantion how it ignores the full picture of health. It also explains why the research shows that any “results” you might see are often short-lived. If your New Year goal is reaching your happy weight (not forgetting your wider health goals), here are 3 things I’d recommend.
“Make the switch from UPF to whole foods where possible. Not only will this keep you more satiated, but your body uses more energy in the digestion process.
“Meal timings has been shown to affect your hunger cues, so start by bringing your dinner time forward by one hour.
“Keep the skin on your foods (like your kiwi fruit, sweet potatoes etc) as this contains extra fibre which helps to stimulate the release of the appetite regulating GLP-1 hormone.”
What is GLP-1 hormone?
GLP-1 is a key hormone that plays an integral role in regulating blood glucose levels. Your stomach naturally releases this hormone when you eat food, the NHS says.
After we eat, a hormone called insulin briefly rises in the body. Insulin helps the body to absorb glucose from the blood, so it can be used as energy. If your body does not have enough insulin to control the sugar from your food and drink, the sugar stays in your bloodstream.
This can also happen if you have insulin resistance, which means your body does not respond to insulin properly. Over time, high blood sugar levels can damage your blood vessels, leading to health problems such as coronary heart disease, kidney disease and diabetic eye disease.
That is why it’s important to know if you have high blood sugar, so you can control your levels and reduce the risk of these complications, Mark Kearney, BHF Professor of Cardiovascular and Diabetes Research at the University of Leeds, told the British Heart Foundation.