What's the Best Diet? Healthy Eating 101
Summary
TLDRDr. Mike Evans discusses healthy eating, emphasizing that it's part of a broader healthy lifestyle. He clarifies there's no one-size-fits-all diet and suggests focusing on a pattern one can adhere to, like the Mediterranean diet, which includes moderation and quality food choices. The key is to make small, sustainable changes, such as eating breakfast, reducing TV time, and incorporating more physical activity. He also highlights the importance of social support and self-awareness in maintaining a healthy diet.
Takeaways
- 🍽 Healthy eating is a complex topic that involves more than just diet; it's part of a larger pattern of healthy behaviors including regular exercise, stress management, and sleep.
- 🏋️ Weight loss is conceptually simple—consume fewer calories and increase physical activity—but maintaining this balance is challenging due to the abundance of high-calorie food and a culture of inactivity.
- 🌐 The environment in industrialized countries, with its limitless supply of inexpensive, tasty, and super-sized food, makes it difficult to maintain a healthy energy balance.
- 🤷 There is no one-size-fits-all diet for weight loss; the key to success is adherence to a diet plan that suits the individual and can be sustained long-term.
- 🔍 The quality of food is more important than the quantity, with a focus on whole, unprocessed foods rather than obsessing over macronutrient ratios.
- 🍰 Sugar is ubiquitous and 'sneaky' in diets, often hidden in foods considered healthy, contributing to excess calorie intake.
- 🥑 Fats have a spectrum from unhealthy (trans fats) to healthful (MUFA and PUFA fats), and moderation in saturated fats can be part of a healthy diet.
- 🥩 High protein diets emphasize the importance of the source of protein, with healthier options being white meat, fish, nuts, and beans.
- 🌾 A diet rich in plant-based, unprocessed foods is associated with better health outcomes and is considered a smart dietary choice.
- 🥗 The Mediterranean diet, characterized by moderation, plenty of vegetables and fruits, and less meat, is backed by robust evidence for promoting health and longevity.
- 📈 Small, consistent changes or 'tweaks' to eating habits, such as eating breakfast daily or reducing portion sizes, can lead to significant long-term health benefits.
Q & A
What is the main focus of Dr. Mike Evans' discussion on healthy eating?
-Dr. Mike Evans focuses on the complexities of healthy eating, emphasizing that it's not just about weight loss but also about making better life choices through a healthy cascade of behaviors like regular exercise, stress management, and sleep.
According to Dr. Evans, what is the key to successful weight loss?
-Dr. Evans suggests that the key to successful weight loss is not about finding a magic formula but rather about consistency and choosing a diet that one can stick to, with more structure and in-person social support being significant factors for success.
Why does Dr. Evans believe that focusing on macronutrients is less important than focusing on food quality?
-Dr. Evans believes that focusing on macronutrients can be misleading because it's more about the quality of the food you eat rather than the quantity. For instance, complex carbs from fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains are healthier than simple carbs like free sugars and refined starches.
What does Dr. Evans say about sugar intake in industrialized societies?
-Dr. Evans describes sugar intake in industrialized societies as 'sneaky' because sugar has found its way into many foods and drinks, often in high amounts, contributing to excess calories and potential health issues.
How does Dr. Evans view the role of fat in a healthy diet?
-Dr. Evans explains that the role of fat has evolved from being seen as all bad to a more nuanced view where different types of fats have different impacts on health. He suggests that monounsaturated fats (MUFA) and polyunsaturated fats (PUFA) can be beneficial when replacing saturated fats.
What is the significance of the Mediterranean diet according to the video?
-The Mediterranean diet is highlighted as a diet with robust evidence for promoting health and longevity. It emphasizes moderation, less meat, more vegetables and fruits, and is more about lifestyle and culture than strict food rules.
What does the National Weight Control Registry (NWCR) suggest about successful weight maintenance?
-The NWCR suggests that successful weight maintenance involves a variety of behaviors rather than a single formula. These include modifying food intake, increasing activity levels, eating breakfast daily, watching less TV, and eating out less frequently.
How does Dr. Evans view the concept of weighing oneself as part of weight management?
-Dr. Evans sees weighing oneself as a useful feedback mechanism that can help with daily food decisions and prevent weight regain. He mentions that 75% of NWCR subjects weighed themselves weekly, and 36% daily.
What is Dr. Evans' stance on the idea of making small changes or 'tweaks' to one's diet?
-Dr. Evans advocates for making small, sustainable changes or 'tweaks' to one's diet rather than drastic overhauls. He believes that these small changes can lead to significant improvements over time and are more likely to be maintained.
What is the '80/20' rule that Dr. Evans mentions regarding healthy eating?
-The '80/20' rule Dr. Evans refers to is about making healthier choices 80% of the time, allowing for some flexibility and enjoyment of less healthy foods the remaining 20% of the time. This approach promotes consistency and long-term sustainability.
Outlines
🍎 Healthy Eating and Weight Loss
Dr. Mike Evans discusses the complexity of healthy eating, emphasizing that it's part of a larger healthy lifestyle that includes regular exercise, stress management, and good sleep. He clarifies that weight loss is about energy balance, suggesting not eating as much and moving more. However, he points out the challenge of maintaining this balance due to the abundance of high-calorie food and a sedentary lifestyle. He dispels the myth of a 'best' diet for weight loss, stating that adherence and social support are more critical than the diet itself. The importance of food quality over macronutrient quantity is highlighted, with a focus on whole foods and less overeating.
🥦 Macronutrients and Diet Quality
This paragraph delves into the nuances of macronutrients, including carbohydrates, fats, and proteins, and their role in a healthy diet. Dr. Evans argues that the focus should be on the quality of these nutrients rather than their quantity. He explains that complex carbs from fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains are healthier than simple carbs like free sugars and refined starches. The discussion on sugar consumption in industrialized societies is highlighted, emphasizing its sneaky presence in many foods. The role of fats is explored, with a distinction made between unhealthy trans fats and healthier monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. High-protein diets are also examined, with a preference for healthy protein sources like white meat, nuts, beans, and fish.
🌾 Mediterranean Diet and Healthy Behaviors
Dr. Evans introduces the Mediterranean diet as a lifestyle choice rather than a strict set of food rules. He outlines its emphasis on moderation, with more vegetables, fruits, and less meat, and the importance of shopping at markets for fresh produce. The paragraph also discusses the benefits of physical activity, social support, and self-awareness in maintaining a healthy diet and weight. The National Weight Control Registry's findings on successful long-term weight loss are shared, highlighting the importance of daily practices like eating breakfast, watching less TV, and engaging in regular physical activity. The concept of 'tweaks' or small changes to improve eating habits is promoted as a sustainable approach to healthy eating.
🚴♂️ Long-Term Health and Attitude Towards Eating
In the final paragraph, Dr. Evans discusses the importance of a long-term approach to health and the attitude towards eating. He suggests that awareness of personal eating triggers and habits can lead to healthier choices. The idea of 'redesign choice architecture' is introduced, which involves making small environmental changes to encourage healthier eating. The 80/20 rule is mentioned as a flexible and sustainable approach to maintaining a healthy diet, allowing for occasional indulgences while focusing on consistency in making healthier choices most of the time. The paragraph concludes with a note on 'Health at Every Size,' encouraging mindfulness and self-love in relation to eating and physical activity.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Healthy Eating
💡Weight Loss
💡Energy Balance
💡Macronutrients
💡Mediterranean Diet
💡Dietary Guidelines
💡National Weight Control Registry (NWCR)
💡Food Diary
💡Mindful Eating
💡Health at Every Size (HAES)
💡Small Tweaks
💡Redesign Choice Architecture
Highlights
Eating is a complex behavior that is part of a healthy cascade involving exercise, stress management, sleep, and better food decisions.
Weight loss is conceptually simple—eat less and move more—but maintaining this energy balance is challenging due to the abundance of high-calorie food and reduced activity levels.
No single commercial diet has been proven superior; success depends on adherence and the diet's ability to provide structure and social support.
Diets are essentially food rules that act as commitment devices to guide eating patterns and control impulsive behaviors.
Focusing on macronutrients is less important than the quality of food choices, emphasizing complex carbohydrates, healthy fats, and high-quality proteins.
Sugar is pervasive in diets and contributes to excess calories, with even 'healthy' foods containing high amounts of sugar.
Diabetes prevention is more about a healthy lifestyle cascade than strict sugar restriction.
The narrative on fats has evolved from demonizing all fats to recognizing a continuum with healthy unsaturated fats.
High-protein diets should prioritize quality sources like white meat, nuts, beans, and fish for better health outcomes.
Specific diets like DASH and low glycemic index diets have shown benefits for conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes.
Plant-based diets rich in unprocessed foods are associated with better health and lower environmental impact.
The Mediterranean diet, emphasizing moderation and a balance of foods, has robust evidence supporting its health benefits.
The National Weight Control Registry shows that successful long-term weight loss is about behavior modification rather than a specific diet formula.
Daily self-weighing and food diaries provide feedback that can help prevent weight regain and improve weight loss efforts.
Small dietary changes or 'tweaks' can lead to significant long-term health benefits without drastic measures.
Increasing fiber intake and focusing on adding healthier foods rather than restricting can improve satiety and cardiovascular health.
Social support is crucial for maintaining weight loss, with group support significantly improving long-term success rates.
Physical activity is associated with longer life, even in individuals with obesity, and aids in weight maintenance.
Redesigning the eating environment and personal habits can make healthier eating easier and more sustainable.
The 80/20 rule promotes a balanced approach to healthy eating, allowing for flexibility while aiming for consistency.
Health at Every Size encourages mindfulness and self-love, focusing on healthy eating rather than weight loss as the primary goal.
Transcripts
hi i'm dr mike evans and today i'm
talking about healthy eating
it's a huge topic eating seems simple
but it's actually pretty complex so
i thought it would just focus on what
i'd say if you and i sat down in the
clinic
i might start by wondering what we're
shooting for weight loss
less overeating healthy eating a longer
better life
then sticking with the big picture i'd
point out that eating is just one
behavior in a healthy cascade
exercising regularly leads to better
stress management and sleep which leads
to better food decisions
to more energy less chronic disease and
so on
if it's weight loss you're after that's
easy conceptually don't eat as much and
move more
the problem is it's not so easy keeping
up this energy balance in the real world
in industrialized countries we are
surrounded by a limitless supply of
inexpensive tasty super-sized
high-calorie food
the other side of the energy balance
equation ie activity has also changed as
our generation has a severe case of
sitting disease
nightly tv commutes spectacular video
games moving sidewalks
and most of us now are sitting knowledge
workers our culture pushes us towards
the easy button instead of making our
days harder
on the other other side of the equation
i think it's important to remember that
eating is grand
food brings together families builds
communities and gives us health
okay so let's start with the question i
most often get about eating
what's the best diet for losing weight
i'm not surprised people are confused
while you're watching this video there's
probably a pop-up window from the diet
industry telling you about a diet
a detox or a superfood not to mention
the hollywood star that just started
that diet
no research has shown convincingly that
one commercial diet trumps all the rest
the only thing that predicted success in
head-to-head trials was how well you
stuck to whichever diet you picked
so to reframe this our society lurches
from diet to diet looking for some magic
formula
but but it's not the formula as much as
the pattern
instead of obsessing about the exact
composition of a diet the science tells
us to choose the one you like the best
and can actually stick to
a cochrane meta-analysis in 2015 looking
at what bumped the success of commercial
weight loss diets showed it wasn't less
carbs or or fat
it was more structure and more in-person
social support
really diets are just food rules that
influence our pattern of eating
or what the economists call a commitment
device what self-aware people do to
improve their chances of controlling
future irrational
or impulsive behaviors so instead of
autopilot you follow a food world that
nudges you towards certain eating
decisions
mostly less overeating each commercial
diet has their own magic formula of what
we call macronutrients
so low carb high protein low fat sugar
and so on
and they typically have a story to go
with it so you can eat like a caveman or
use a scoring system or it's
pre-packaged or a famous doctor's take
or
or whatever and i suppose my two
messages with macronutrients are
one i i think we spent too much time and
energy focusing on them and two
it's really more about quality than
quantity
low carb well carbs can be healthy in
their complex form fruits veggies
legumes whole grains
and not so healthy in their simple form
like free sugars and and refined
starches
you know let's face it carbs taste
awesome and our society tends to overeat
them
so people who restrict their intake tend
to lose weight
however when we study relative weight
loss outcomes a 2014 systematic review
by dr celeste naud and colleagues looked
at weight and cardiovascular
markers of at-risk people on low-carb
diets that were followed for up to two
years
and they found no difference compared to
balanced weight loss diets
so how about lowering sugar well if i
had to pick one word to describe sugar
in industrialized societies it would be
sneaky
so so much sugar has worked its way into
our diets i mean
many drinks have eight or more teaspoons
of sugar the the average american intake
is approximately 20 teaspoons of sugar a
day
more in teenagers and less in canada
it's the obvious sweets but but it's
also foods we think of as healthy so
cereals and granola bars and fruit
juices
when high sugar contributes to excess
calories
that is when we seem to get into trouble
one interesting caveat is it is that
when i diagnose patients with
pre-diabetes the first thing they do is
drop sugar from their diet
however when we look at the diabetes
prevention trials it was less about
sugar restriction
and more about the healthy cascade of
being active half hour a day
five to seven percent weight loss eating
less saturated fats and eating more
fiber
that reduce risk of progression to
diabetes by 58 percent
how about low fat well i think our story
has changed
on fat from all bad to again more of a
continuum
you have your trans fat so fried fast
food many packaged baked goods
uh not so good and we're reducing these
we have saturated fats
mostly in dairy and and red meat and
plant oils like coconut or palm
these seem not so good in excess but
okay in moderation then we have your
monounsaturated fats or mufa
the mediterranean diet which i'll
discuss in a second is pretty high in
mufasa so avocados nuts seeds olive oil
dark chocolate
and shows health benefits finally we
have pufas so these are the longer chain
fats found in oily fishes
early trials showed some reduction in
cardiac events
more recent trials not so enthusiastic
meta-analysis still showing some small
benefit
no harm so the suggestion is at least
two servings a week
people seem to do better when they
replace saturated fats with mufa and
pufa fats
what about high protein diets again it's
more quality than quantity
protein can come in different packages
with different health effects so
say comparing a high salt ham steak
versus a salmon steak or lentils or a
handful of almonds
most data points that if you eat healthy
protein white meat
nuts beans fish you do better especially
if it is spread throughout the day
perhaps most importantly at breakfast
there are also some diet showing good
results in people with disease so the
dash diet dropping high blood pressure
by
5 to 11 millimeters of mercury or or low
glycemic index diet dropping a1c
the measurement for blood sugar over
time and people with diabetes by 0.5
percentage points
many of our patients have high
cholesterol and dr david jenkins and his
colleagues here at the university of
toronto
have shown they can reduce cholesterol
by 35 with the portfolio diet
the data for vegetarianism has largely
come from cohort studies and now some
randomized trials showing that people do
better
it's hard not to conclude that a diet
rich in plant-based unprocessed foods is
a smart diet and of course
many people make the excellent point
that the burden on our planet is
is less with a vegetarian or vegan or
local diets
one way to think about all this is to
reflect on brazil's new dietary
guidelines
here they shifted from focusing on the
perfect macronutrient mix towards more
appreciation of food
stepping back a bit to see you know
we're buying more ultra processed
foods and packaged foods that can be
eaten anywhere and that maybe there's an
opportunity for healthier eating and
better relationships by encouraging
creating meals with your family and
friends
okay if there's no magic formula is
there a diet that actually does work
i think the answer is yes the diet is
more about culture and
small behaviors a diet not focused on
weight loss but unhealthy outcomes like
less cancer heart disease dementia a
longer life
the diet with the most robust evidence
is a mediterranean diet
instead of food rules or absolutes this
is more about moderation
less meat more veggies fruit for dessert
i think shopping at the market or at
least at the outer aisles of a grocery
store
not the processed foods for sale in the
inner aisles
it's called the mediterranean diet but
really it's more of a lifestyle
a region that traditionally includes
lots of physical activity
regular meals and good social support
so let's continue this shift from diets
to healthy behaviors that affect our
eating by looking at the national weight
control registry
the nwcr administers annual
questionnaires to more than 10
000 people more women than men who have
lost quite a bit of weight and kept it
off for more than a year
not surprisingly 98 said they modified
their food intake in some way and and 94
increase their activity levels but there
wasn't one formula
most restricted some foods some counted
calories
others ate all foods just limited their
quantities 78
ate breakfast every day the majority
watched less than 10 hours of tv
and ate out just three times a week and
these people generally exceeded the
prescribed half hour day of activity
averaging an hour a day mostly walking
nearly all registry members indicated
that weight loss led to improvements in
their level of energy physical mobility
general mood self-confidence and
physical health
feedback loops seem important losing
weight is one thing but it seems like
the trickier part
at least for about eighty percent of us
is keeping it off weighing yourself
and using this as a small nudge in your
daily food decisions is an example
75 percent of nwcr subjects weighed
themselves weekly
36 percent daily and they looked at this
more closely at the stop regained trial
where daily self wane was associated
with a decreased risk of regaining 2.3
kilograms or 5 pounds on average
another feedback nudge is a food diary
even just for a week
and easier now with apps patients find
this so simple they don't do it but but
seeing what you've eaten can actually
double your weight loss
so i think awareness is undersold it
might be what you're eating or
weighing but it's also about knowing
that life is messy and to enjoy it we
need some flexibility
or that you simply feel better when you
eat better that's why i like the idea of
starting with small changes or as i call
them tweaks
maybe switch something you do a lot so
for example eating breakfast
snacking drinking you can switch your
average cereal for some oatmeal or
shredded wheat
a handful of almonds instead of a bag of
chips maybe switch three of your colored
drinks a day to water
i know this doesn't sound too sexy but
the dr mike switcheroo diet might
actually chip away at a pound a week or
or better yet might make you feel better
another angle
is adding instead of subtracting so dr
sherry pagoda and colleagues randomized
metabolically at risk individuals to
either a multifaceted american heart
association diet
versus the simpler advice of just
increasing fiber to 30 grams
throughout the day so getting on the
brand wagon a trip to beantown
berry picking both groups lost weight
dha group slightly more
and both improved cardiovascular markers
now i like this idea of pushing
healthier food rather than just
restricting or fencing off other food
other data showing satiety our feeling
of being
full is not just about calories calories
that come from proteins and
and fibers actually can make us feel
more full
another angle is social support which
can actually help our eating behaviors
another study where people were either
going it alone versus having three or
more friends or family members
supporting them
maintaining weight loss at 10 months
jumped from 24 to
66 on the subject of support having a
dietitian
even if just online helps they're like a
genius bar for your eating
activity is interesting the context of
eating research shows us that people who
are
active even when they have obesity live
longer than skinny sedentaries
so when my patients tell me they are
active but have been unsuccessful at
weight loss
i shrug my shoulders and say actually
you have been successful
you're active it's easier to draw
calories through diet but i
i think it's important to know that the
research shows that people who exercise
have more success at maintaining their
weight
my final two points about healthy eating
focus on this long-term play and
attitude
as restrictive diets have proven hard to
sustain many are now turning from the
individual
to what surrounds the individual
changing our eating environment to make
it easier to make the right choice day
after day
we call this redesign choice
architecture and involves two types of
what i call
quote nudge awareness first
is knowing that our world is full of
triggers towards unhealthier overeating
convenient shiny foods at the counter
super sizing marketing
as dr brian wansink points out most of
us don't overeat because we're hungry
secondly is an awareness of what nudges
you personally
we are creatures of habit we do the same
thing every week and each of us has cues
certain foods pastries at the coffee
counter a time
11 3 or 10 a predictable stressor
as wansing says the opportunity here is
to re-engineer small behaviors that move
you from mindless overeating
to mindless better eating maybe it's
redesigning your kitchen
when you leave cookies on the counter
they are much more likely to be eaten
but the same is true for fruits and
veggies smaller plates
glasses less super-sized containers and
not eating from the bag are simple
nudges to reduce mindless eating
redesign takes some self-knowledge are
you a nighttime nibbler or
an emotional eater i'm a grazer i'll eat
whatever is there so
my change is at the grocery store i know
it's pathetic i should cut fruits myself
but
mindless healthy eating happens for me
when i buy pre-cut fruit and just like i
might tell a smoker not to have
cigarettes in the house
i also don't buy super sour jude views
because i can't stop eating those things
my final behavior is more of an attitude
80 20.
so if you're making a healthier choice
80 of the time and your 20
is not too high cal i and you should be
thrilled
having a piece of dark chocolate a good
meal out some pie
we're into this for the long term so i'm
not looking for perfection
i'm looking for consistency so in the
end i hope i've got you to think a bit
differently about how you eat
instead of investing a single diet a
portfolio behaviors
small tweaks over big changes single
ingredient foods over multi-ingredient
and processed foods dinner at home
self-awareness depending less on
constant willpower and more in tweaking
your week to make mindless healthy
eating more likely
my final point is more about health at
every size you know i
i get that people want weight loss and
obesity is a risk factor for disease
but honestly if my patients can work
with their factory settings to be more
mindful of their eating
move more a bit more self-love and start
thinking more about what's healthy to
eat rather than what not to eat
i'd be happy so maybe now is the time to
start your very own better life
experiment
thanks for listening
you
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