While some consider that sugar is the main enemy today, others blame excess fat for chronic diseases that unfortunately are present every day. In order to determine which of them is worse for health, fat or sugar, a documentary was made for the BBC that we will comment on below.
Sugar VS Fat
Two doctors, the 2 genetically identical twin brothers, underwent this month-long experiment during which one of them ate a high-fat but zero-carbohydrate diet and the other a high-carbohydrate diet. and sugars, but with a minimum fat contribution.
Before the experiment, their weight, the percentage of fat and muscle in the body, as well as cholesterol and insulin levels were recorded before starting the experiment and they were given nutritional advice by a professional on the subject, indicating that they could eat the amounts they wanted of the foods suitable for their diets.
Over the course of the month-long experiment, both twin brothers were asked to undergo tests of their mental functioning, as well as an activity that would check their physical performance.
The results of this challenge
After a month of overcoming this challenge, the brothers undertook all the medical tests and body evaluation again, verifying that the person who ate the high-fat diet had lost around 4 kilos, while the person who ate the diet rich in carbohydrates but with almost no fat, lost 1.5 kilos of weight.
However, the former whose weight loss was greater lost 2 kilos of muscle, while the latter lost mostly fat.
Likewise, in the brother who followed the hyper carbohydrate diet, the mental and physical performance did not change at all compared to his brother, who suffered a reduction in their ability to concentrate and attention, as well as a drop in their physical performance when they were subjected to a test with bicycles.
In addition, it was observed that cholesterol levels did not change significantly in either of the two brothers, but there were changes in their blood insulin, registering a slight resistance to the action of this hormone in the twin who lost more weight and who took a high-fat diet.
conclusions
Although the results surprised the two doctors and brothers who carried out the experiment because, contrary to what many people think, a diet rich in sugars did not increase the risk of diabetes, while a diet rich in fats did alter the action of insulin. twins consulted with several experts who have analyzed the effect of fats and sugars on the body.
The researchers consulted reveal that diets based entirely on fat or entirely on hydrates do not produce large changes in weight or generate true and positive changes in metabolism, but the key lies in the combination of these two nutrients, that is, in avoiding the intake of foods that contain similar proportions of sugars and fats.
The problem is not fat or sugar, but eating foods that contain large amounts of fat and sugar in their composition that can stimulate us to eat by having a pleasant and addictive effect on our body, such as milk chocolate, cream with sugar, or industrial pastries.
The food industry is aware of these data revealed by science, which is why fats and sugars predominate simultaneously in their products and the key to losing weight while taking care of one’s health, preserving mental and physical performance, as well as metabolic functioning is to avoid processed foods that contain at the same time, fat and sugars in its composition.
The documentary can be seen on Netflix and is really recommended to understand a little more why extreme and fad diets to lose weight are not the real solution to current health problems.
The problem is not fat or sugar, but the intake of foods rich in fat and sugar at the same time that leads us to eat more and of poorer quality, harming the body.
