Archives | Food & Nutrition

Healthy Tips for Surviving the Tricks of Halloween Treats

Posted on October 25, 2011 by GreenLite Medicine

During the weeks before and after Halloween, aisles in the stores are filled with candy taunting us to purchase it. Remember: a treat isn’t really a treat if you have to backpedal too much with your dieting efforts! Take a minute to examine what the real treat is: isn’t it really more of a treat to lose weight, feel proud of your hard earned efforts, and feel comfortable in your own skin? Here are some tips on how to avoid being “haunted” with the temptation of all these treats around:

Buy Halloween candy the day before Halloween so it’s not sitting around to tempt you.
If you must buy it ahead of time at least store it in a place where you are not constantly exposed to it. Out of sight, out of mouth!
Only purchase candy that you don’t like; that way you are not as tempted to indulge.
Consider passing out non-food treats to the kids.
If you absolutely must have Halloween candy, enjoy a moderate amount of it; but only if it doesn’t set you off on a binge. Fruit of course, would be a better choice.
Emphasize the fun, non-food parts of Halloween: make a pumpkin carving contest, bob for apples, and set up some Halloween games for the kids.
Halloween night is so hectic, sometimes a healthy meal is not even a consideration. This year plan on consuming leftovers, or have something you can just grab and eat or assemble quickly.
Plan on eating dinner a bit earlier so you get that evening meal in. If you miss dinner entirely because you are so busy, you are going to be overly hungry and even more tempted to overeat later.
Enlist your spouse or friend for support (but not to be the food police).
Even though those mini candies are so little, they can add up real quick. See the link below for calorie and carb counts for most Halloween treats.
If you are taking appetite suppressants do not forget to take them during this particularly tempting time.
Stay on track; remember that Halloween is the kick off season for weight gain. Don’t be tricked into eating that treat and gaining weight; and make sure you don’t miss your weekly appointments for accountability and support.

Listed below are the calorie and carb counts for a few of the most common Halloween candy treats:

M&Ms, plain, Fun size (18 g) – 88 calories and 12 g carb

Snickers Bars, Fun size (17 g) – 80 calories and 10 g carb

Smarties Candy, Roll – 25 calories and 6 g carb

Candy Corn, Brach’s – 11 pieces – 70 calories and 18 g carb

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, Miniature (about 9 grams each) – 44 calories and 5 g carb per cup

Tootsie Roll Mini-Midgees – 11 calories and 2 g carb

Check out a more detailed list of the calorie and carb counts for “fun size” treats over at About.com’s Low carb blog.

Help Jane Fonda & CSPI in Support of “Food Day”

Posted on October 11, 2011 by GreenLite Medicine

Have you heard about Food day??

Food Day, like Earth Day, is a day intended to inspire awareness and appreciation for something many of us take for granted – eating REAL food. The day brings together Americans from all walks of life to appreciate the benefits of eating healthy, real food, grown locally, and produced in a sustainable and humane way. It’s all connected. The diets we select, the foods we grow, the policies we form, and the impact we have.

Jane Fonda and Dr. Rugh at a Food Day event in San Francisco.

Food Day was created by the Center of Science for Public Interest (CSPI), a non-profit watch dog and consumer advocacy group that focuses on nutritional education and awareness. In early spring, co-founder Dr. Michael Jacobson hosted a dinner party event in San Francisco. Dr. Rugh was in attendance, as well as many distinguished guests including “slow food” activist Alice Waters and leading lady Jane Fonda ( a member of the Advisory board for Food Day). This dinner was a kick off event in San Francisco to bring awareness to Food Day and their “eat real” cause.

On August 10th, 2011, Dr. Jacobson paid a visit to GreenLite to meet with Dr. Rugh. Dr. Michael Jacobson has been a national leader in social and political food reform in the U.S. since the 1970′s. He is the person we can thank for the presence of nutritional labels on all packaged foods and beverages. He is also responsible for coining the phrases “junk food” and “empty calorie”.

CSPI found Michael Jacobson and Dr. Rugh

CSPI & Food Day found Michael Jacobson With Dr. Rugh

Dr. Rugh’s belief is that obesity and chronic disease are the results of a maladaptive lifestyle and all of us at GreenLite Medicine have seen how education and a supportive environment can help individuals achieve a healthier lifestyle through changes in their diet. However, transforming the American diet means changing policies as well as changing individual behavior. GreenLite Medicine shares CSPI’s mission to provide consumer advocacy in health and nutrition policy.

In celebration and support of Food Day, GreenLite Medicine will be holding a Food Day Potluck. We invite our guests to come share a meal with us! Bring your favorite, healthy food, and celebrate mindful dining with a GreenLite dinner party.

Look up sustainable vendors through the Food Day resource widget below or hit up you local Farmers Market on Sunday the 23rd for the raw ingredients for our mindful Meal. The Food Day and CSPI websites have great informational resources, so feel free to explore what they have to offer and educate yourself on the current social and political status of the food industry. The Food Day website also has a great free recipe book on their site that could inspire your potluck dish! GreenLite believes that Food Day is exactly what our country needs and is proud to support it, we hope you will support it too and we look forward to seeing you at our potluck!

Want to know more?? Check out this video with Michael Jacobson with all the facts on Food Day!

Myths and Facts about Sugar Alternatives

Posted on September 27, 2011 by GreenLite Medicine

Written By Michal Yaron, Nutritionist & Health Educator

Research shows that humans have an inborn desire for sweetness. While historically essential for survival, being naturally drawn to sweetness isn’t helpful when people are trying to lose weight in this modern age. This is why more and more consumers and manufacturers seek no or low-calorie alternatives to white table sugar, without sacrificing sweetness. Yet this welcomed trend raises misconceptions and confusion over which sugar alternatives are the best.

Sweeteners can be divided into three basic categories:

sugars that have 4 calories per gram (nutritive)
sugar alcohols (lower calorie)
those that are have no calories (nonnutritive).

Full calorie sweeteners

Many so-called natural sweeteners such as honey, maple syrup, molasses or agave nectar, are often promoted as healthier options than processed table sugar. Yet, nutritionally speaking, they aren’t significantly different. They contain the same amount of calories as regular table sugar (4 calories per gram), and can raise blood sugar just as table sugar can. Though some proponents of agave nectar say that it doesn’t cause blood sugar spikes, scientific evidence doesn’t support such claims. Simply put, sugar is sugar is sugar, and there’s no health advantage to consuming added sugar of any type.

Many products labeled “no sugar added” actually contain one or more of those nutritive sweeteners. Check labels carefully and watch out for products listing any of the followings: Fructose, brown rice syrup, honey, raw honey, agave nectar, coconut palm sugar (or coconut nectar sugar), date sugar, grape juice concentrate, apple juice concentrate, barley malt syrup, sugar cane juice, brown sugar, turbinado sugar, evaporated cane juice, maple syrup, maple sugar, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, glucose, sucrose, dextrose, maltodextrin.

Sugar Alcohols

Sugar alcohols are carbohydrates that occur naturally in certain fruits and vegetables, but can also be manufactured. Despite their name, they aren’t alcoholic (they don’t contain ethanol). Sugar alcohols are often combined with artificial sweeteners in products to enhance sweetness. The most common include: sorbitol, xylitol, maltitol, lactitol, mannitol, isomalt, and erythritol.

Sugar alcohols contain calories, but less than regular sugar. Much controversy has developed surrounding their bioavailable calories. To be on the safe side, consider them as about 2 to 3 calories per gram. Keep in mind that unlike artificial sweeteners, sugar alcohols are carbohydrates and can raise blood sugar levels. But because your body doesn’t completely absorb sugar alcohols, their effect on blood sugar is less than that of other sugars. This is especially true for xylitol and erythritol, but watch out for others like maltitol and sorbitol which behaves almost like sugar in the body.

Sugar alcohols are not without side effects, though. Because they are not completely digested and absorbed, eaten in large amounts (usually more than 50 grams but sometimes as little as 10 grams) they can have a laxative effect, causing bloating, gas and diarrhea. Lately erythritol is gaining momentum as a replacement for other sugar alcohols in food, as it is much less likely to produce gastrointestinal distress.

Non-calorie sweeteners

Non-calorie sweeteners provide a sweet taste without calories or carbohydrates. This category also includes low-calorie sweeteners which are much sweeter than table sugar (thus used in such small amounts that they are considered virtually non-caloric). Additionally, this category includes other non-nutritive sweeteners which are not metabolized for energy and pass through the body unchanged. These sweeteners include the artificial sweeteners acesulfame potassium/acesulfame K (Sunett, Sweet One), aspartame (Equal, NutraSweet), neotame (NutraSweet), saccharin (SugarTwin, Sweet’N Low) and sucralose (Splenda & altern).

Artificial sweeteners have been the subject of intense scrutiny for decades. Critics say that they cause a variety of health problems. However, there’s no sound scientific evidence that any of them cause cancer or other serious health problems. And numerous studies confirm that they are generally safe in limited quantities.

A new type of sugar substitute recently introduced to the market is rebaudioside A, which is derived from the stevia leaf. Stevia is not a sugar and is calorie free. Unlike artificial sweeteners, it’s from a natural (though still highly refined) plant source. Due to its unique characteristics, stevia is fast becoming popular in the US. It’s often blended with erythritol to improve palatability (Truvia and PureVia brands).

When looking for low-sugar and low-carb foods, keep in mind that while artificial sweeteners and sugar substitutes can help with weight management, they aren’t a magic bullet and should be used only in moderation. Just because a food is marketed as sugar-free doesn’t mean it’s free of calories and carbs, manufacturers often increase fat content of sugar-free foods to make food more palatable. Always read the Nutrition Facts label, paying special attention to calorie and carbohydrate content. And remember that processed foods, which often contain sugar substitutes, generally don’t offer the same health benefits as whole foods, such as fruits and vegetables. While artificial, it is still possible for artificial sweetners to trigger sugar cravings and some people. The best solution to combat our body’s biological desire for sugar is to try and avoid sugar completely and satisfy our natural sweet tooth with fruits and vegetables. Furthermore, try to keep in mind that the less sugar you eat, the less sugar you crave.

The Doctor’s Corner | The Importance of Breakfast

Posted on July 19, 2011 by GreenLite Medicine

Many of you in the GreenLite program have been drilled on the importance of breakfast. However, A new study shows that breakfast could be a factor in your tendency to indulge on high-calorie foods.

Past studies have shown that people who skip breakfast actually tend to eat more high-calorie foods and be at increased risk of weight gain, but now researchers in England believe they may have an explanation of how this happens.
A group from Imperial College London used MRI’s of brain activity to see what happened in the brains of people who skipped breakfast. What they found was that their brain “reward” centers were activated more by the sight of high-calorie than low-calorie foods. The findings were based on the subject’s ratings of how much the picture foods appealed to them.
When the same 20 healthy, non-obese, subjects ate breakfast, functional MRIs were taken about 90 minutes after eating and showed no significant activation of the brain’s reward centers when the subjects viewed pictures of high-calorie foods.
“Our results support the advice for eating a healthy breakfast as part of the dietary prevention and treatment of obesity,” lead author Dr. Goldstone, said. “When people skip meals, especially breakfast, changes in brain activity in response to food may hinder weight loss and even promote weight gain.”
So don’t forget to fuel up in the morning, your success could depend on it!

A Gluten Free Diet: Hype or Healthy?

Posted on July 5, 2011 by GreenLite Medicine

Over the past decade, going gluten-free has been touted as a way to boost health and energy, lose weight, cope better with ADHD, autism, headaches, and help with other health conditions.

In reality, there’s nothing inherently healthier about a gluten-free diet, especially pre-packaged “gluten-free” products, processed with extra additives such as sugar and fat to improve palatability. Gluten-free is also NOT synonymous with low carb, but more on that later.

So who really benefits from this diet?

About 1% of people in the U.S. are sensitive to gluten due to celiac disease – an abnormal immune reaction to gliadin, a component of gluten. Gluten, a protein in wheat, rye and barley, shows up in bread and pasta, but may also hide in many other foods, such as cold cuts, salad dressings, beer, and even licorice. Symptoms of intolerance typically include abdominal pain, bloating, and diarrhea. Untreated, the inflammation gradually damages the intestines and hampers the absorption of vitamins and minerals and can lead to malnutrition and weight loss. A strict gluten-free diet is the only treatment for celiac disease, to control symptoms and prevent complications.

Experts now believe that celiac disease represents just one extreme of a broad spectrum of gluten intolerance that includes millions of people with less severe – but nevertheless symptomatic – reactions to the protein. A rough estimate is that as many as 10% have a related condition known as non-celiac gluten intolerance, or gluten sensitivity. Since gluten is a large, hard-to-digest protein, it’s possible that there may be some kind of gluten intolerance in all of us.

So what should you do if you suspect your body can’t tolerate gluten? The first thing would be to get tested for celiac disease. If the test comes back negative, try a gluten-free diet for a week to see if you feel better. Cutting out gluten is the most reliable way to determine if you are sensitive to the protein; and if you are sensitive, it’s the only treatment.

Foods that are gluten-free are often thought to be low-carb because they lack wheat flour. While it is true that wheat flour is a source of carbohydrates, gluten-free foods often contain additional ingredients that are just as high, if not higher in carbohydrates than wheat flour, such as rice flour or potato flour. Gluten-free recipes may also call for honey and/or sugar, both high in carbohydrates.

Keep in mind that gluten-free diet is a difficult diet to follow. Even if you avoid all gluten-containing grains and products made of them, you’ll have to check labels carefully to avoid hidden sources of gluten, as it’s often found where you least expect it (i.e. ketchup, ice cream, soy sauce and salad dressing).

Moreover, gluten-free doesn’t necessarily mean nutritious. Similar to what happens with other processed foods, manufacturers add extra sugar, fat and salt, and remove the fiber to simulate the texture and satisfying fluffiness that gluten imparts, creating an unhealthy product. Another potential pitfall is that many gluten-free products contain lower amounts of essential nutrients and can cause deficiencies in Iron, Vitamin B9 (folic acid), Vitamin B12, Vitamin D, Magnesium and fiber.

So if you plan to go gluten free, avoid pre-packaged products on the market shelves. Select more fruits, vegetables, dairy products, eggs, lean meats, and naturally gluten-free WHOLE grains like brown rice and quinoa. As you can see, there are a number of whole food, low carb, gluten-free options and the diet prescribed is not too far off from what we recommend here at GreenLite Medicine.

Getting Fiber on a Low Carb Diet

Posted on June 7, 2011 by GreenLite Medicine

Fiber collage

Fiber is one of those nutrients that many of us know is important but that remains a bit of a mystery. Basically, the term refers to carbohydrates that the body can’t digest. It’s present in all plants, including whole fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes. Research shows that high intake of fiber aids in weight loss by reducing hunger, and lowers the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and diverticulitis.

But fiber also provides you with another important benefit: preventing constipation. As fiber binds into water, it adds bulk to stool and softens it, making elimination easier and more frequent.

To prevent constipation, most women should shoot for more than 20 grams of fiber a day; and men should try to get more than 30 grams. However, studies show that most Americans consume nearly half of the recommended daily amount of fiber. And when you’re following a carbohydrate-restricted diet (such as the acute weight-loss phase at Greenlite Medicine), you’re most likely to get only about seven to 15 grams of fiber a day, which in turn makes you prone to constipation.

To complicate matters farther, constipation can also be a side effect of the appetite suppressant, as it slows down the transit time through the large intestine.

Since constipation is much easier to prevent than to treat, Greenlite Medicine highly recommends that you take a fiber supplement every day. Keep in mind that a single serving of a fiber supplement (such as two teaspoons of Benefiber or an individual packet of Metamucil) is equal to three grams of fiber, so even if you’re taking it three times a day, you’re only getting nine grams of fiber a day. The way to go, then, is to eat a variety of foods high in fiber throughout the day (see list below), take a fiber supplement, and drink lots of water to flush it down.

If you don’t drink extra water along with high-fiber diets, this actually increases the risk of constipation since fiber needs water to do its intestinal sweeping job. More fluids in your diet, adds more fluid in your bowels, lessening constipation and thus helping the body release of excessive weight.

Some helpful tips about fiber:

Increase slowly – Adding lots of fiber too quickly can lead to gas and bloating, as good bacteria within the colon help break down the fiber, producing gas as a by-product. So increase fiber gradually. For example, if you’re using Benefiber, take two teaspoons with a meal for one week, then add two teaspoons twice daily for one week, then go up to two teaspoons three times per day.
Try different brands – Different sources of fiber may produce different amounts of gas, and the effect varies from one person to another. This makes the selection of the best type of fiber a matter of trial and error.
Add fluids – Increasing fiber intake will help only with the consumption of an adequate fluid intake. Since fiber absorbs water, high amounts, without fluids, can actually aggravate, rather than alleviate constipation. So make sure to drink 100-128 ounces of fluids per day.
Eat a variety of fiber-rich foods –Studies show that both soluble and insoluble fiber is necessary for regular bowel movements. Thus, what matters is not only the total amount of fiber that you consume, but also the types of fiber. Keep in mind that over-the-counter fiber supplements only provide soluble fiber, so make sure that you are getting additional sources, including insoluble fiber, from your diet. You’ll find plenty of insoluble fiber in vegetables such as green beans and dark green leaves; fruit skins and root vegetable skins, beans, seeds and nuts. For example, substitute beans for meat (up to ½ cup a day) in chili and soups, and eat whole fruits and vegetables with their skin instead of juices.

Good dietary sources of fiber include:

Medium artichoke = 10.3 grams
Blackberries (1 cup) = 8 grams
Raspberries (1 cup) = 8 grams
Lentils (½ cup) = 8 grams
Black Beans (½ cup) = 7.5 grams
Medium pear = 5.5 grams
Broccoli (one cup raw or ½ cup steamed) = 5.1 grams
Edamame (½ cup) = 5 grams
Medium apple = 4 grams
Strawberries (1¼ cup) = 3.8 grams

Soft Drink Consumption: The Frightening Statistics and Associated Health Risks!

Posted on March 23, 2011 by GreenLite Medicine

Have you ever noticed that soft drinks sometimes leave you more thirsty? A 12 ounce can of coke has 50 grams of added sodium (salt), and the salty taste covered by the 40 grams of added sugar. This added salt in the soda may influence you to drink more compared to drinking water. Dietary salt is a major determinant of how much fluid we drink, and there have been studies that correlate dietary salt consumption with sugar sweetened beverage consumption.

Salt has long been known as a risk factor for high blood pressure; however, a new study published last month in Hypertension journal has found a striking degree of correlation between sweetened beverages (soft drinks and fruit drinks) and high blood pressure.

The researchers analyzed the diets of 2,700 people and found that those who drank more than one sweetened beverage per day, had higher blood pressure than those that didn’t. Furthermore, the more sweetened beverages that they drank, the higher the blood pressure. Higher blood pressure was found in participants who consumed more glucose and fructose, which are both sweeteners found in high-fructose corn syrup—the most common sugar sweetener used in the beverage industry.

In addition, co-author Ian J. Brown, Ph.D., stated that the greatest increase in blood pressures were observed among those participants who consumed the highest number of sugar-sweetened beverages in addition to having the highest level of salt intake. Dr. Brown notes, “Our findings suggest that sugar and salt together may be worse than salt alone.”

The American Heart Association recommends no more than half of the discretionary calorie allowance from added sugars, which for most American women is no more than 22 grams of sugar (100 calories) per day and for most American men no more than 33 grams of sugar (150 calories) per day.

Furthermore, the relationship between soft drink consumption and body weight is so strong that some researchers calculate that for each additional soft drink consumed, the risk of obesity increases 1.6 times.

Hypertension, February 28, 2011 DOI: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.110.165456

Sodium in Processed Foods: The Silent Killer?

Posted on March 23, 2011 by GreenLite Medicine

It’s no secret that we have too much salt in our diet. Although the body only requires about 180-500 milligrams (mg) of sodium per day, we typically ingest almost 4,000 mg. Currently, the American Heart Association (AHA) recommends no more than 2,300 mg of sodium per day, but this amount will be reduced to 1,500 mg by 2020. More on that later…

Consider that just one teaspoon of table salt has 2,325 mg of sodium. Even if you do not add salt to your foods, you would be bound to get more than the recommended amount. This is because about 77 percent or more of the salt you take in comes from processed and prepared foods.

The main sources of sodium in the average U.S. diet.

Why should we care?

Dietary sodium is positively associated with elevated blood pressure and hypertension, which is a “risk factor” for cardiovascular events like heart attacks and strokes, a “silent killer”.

The American Medical Association estimates that cutting the amount of salt in processed foods by half could save 150,000 lives in the United States each year.

In 2010, AHA recommended that the daily value for sodium be lowered to 1,500 mg by 2020 with an intermediate goal of 2,000 mg by 2013. This two-step phase would aim to provide manufacturers with time to reformulate products and identify acceptable salt substitutes; as well as, allow consumers to adapt their taste sensitivities to the lower sodium content in foods.

With processed foods accounting for 77 percent of all sodium consumed, it will require the operation of food manufacturers and restaurants to reduce the sodium content of the foods they make available to the public. AHA would like to see food manufacturers and restaurants reduce the salt added to foods by 50 percent over the next 10 years.

What can we do?

Here are six simple ways to keep your sodium intake at bay:

Eat more fresh, unprocessed foods, like fruits and vegetables, which are naturally low in sodium.
Reduce the amount of sodium in canned foods by thoroughly draining and rinsing them.
Go easy on high-sodium condiments like soy sauce, mustard, and ketchup; and use herbs, citrus, and salt-free spices like fresh garlic or garlic powder, cumin, nutmeg, cinnamon, fresh ground pepper, tarragon and oregano, which offer good substitutes for salt and sodium.
Downsize portions. The more calories in a meal, the more sodium in the meal.
Take control when eating out at a restaurant. Ask the chef to prepare your meal with less sodium or without any forms of sodium, and then add a dash of low-sodium seasoning that you brought from home.
Read nutrition labels on foods to compare before you purchase. Be aware of high sodium present in many processed foods such as the following:

Food	Amount	Sodium (mg)
Smoked salmon	2.5 oz	1428
Turkey, luncheon meat	75 g	900
Baked beans	¾ cup	800
Coffee shop raisin bran muffin	1 muffin	790
Spaghetti Sauce	½ cup	635
100% whole wheat bagel	1 bagel	540
Vegetable drink	1 cup	529
Cottage cheese	½ cup	485
Whole wheat English muffin	1 muffin	420
Beef hot dog	1 hot dog	412
Instant oatmeal	¾ cup	314
Cheddar Cheese	50 g	310

Low Fat=High Sugar

Posted on February 24, 2011 by GreenLite Medicine

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Much of the processed food labeled “low fat” instead has sugar added to improve taste, but when it comes to harmful health effects, sugar is worse than fat. Sugar drives fat storage and makes the brain think it is hungry by stimulating more insulin secretion and contributing to insulin resistance. Eating usually stimulates secretion of insulin and leptin. Leptin feeds back to turn off hunger and eating. However, the fructose in sugar does not feedback to leptin and so the brain continues to think that it’s hungry. Over time, the fructose also contributes to insulin resistance and abdominal fat accumulation.

Before you try to talk yourself into that “healthier,” low fat option, remember to check the nutritional content for the sugar. Avoiding the sugar can help you gain more control of your hunger and help you lose weight over time.

Should Carbohydrates be Treated as an Addiction?

Posted on February 24, 2011 by GreenLite Medicine

By Allison Helms D.O.

Based on recent studies, there has been increased success with treating obesity and disordered eating as a type of addiction to a substance. Addiction is by definition the “compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance”. With this definition in mind, should carbohydrates be treated as an addiction? Wouldn’t a successful “addict” be able to achieve life-long “sobriety”? For clinicians that are using this approach toward carbohydrates, the answer is an emphatic yes!

Many people describe cravings for carbohydrates (especially sweets and starchy foods) during times of heightened stress. When people attempt to limit their intake, they experience symptoms similar to “withdrawal”, which include fatigue, irritability, lack of control, increased cravings, anxiety and depression. It may seem extreme to think of food as an addiction compared to a substance such as alcohol or heroin, because with the latter, they are socially unacceptable addictions, and complete abstinence dictates successful remission. Food (including carbohydrates) is what our bodies need for energy and nourishment, so if we feel we are “addicted”, overcoming the physiologic and behavioral factors that drive the addiction can feel impossible to comprehend.

From a physiologic standpoint, researchers have found that obese patients are deficient in the number of dopaminergic (D2) receptors in the brain. The same deficiency of D2 receptors has been attributed to drugs of abuse such as cocaine and heroin, suggesting a link between a range of compulsive behaviors. Furthermore, this lack of D2 receptors in obese individuals makes them less sensitive to reward stimuli, thus increasing their risk for food consumption as a compensatory mechanism.

Treatment with a carbohydrate addiction model has been used by clinicians to help patients understand the struggle with disordered eating and obesity. Sustaining weight loss is not simply a short term goal of reduced caloric intake and exercise, but rather a lifelong process that involves food choices based on the effecting behaviors and reducing cravings. The addiction model also helps patients understand that they will have relapses, and that retaining “carb sobriety” may require almost complete elimination of sweets/starchy foods permanently.

Along with nutritional education, teaching problem solving skills directed toward eating, emotional, and relational management has demonstrated improved maintenance of carb sobriety and weight loss. By recognizing disordered eating as a multi-faceted cause of obesity, using treatments that address each individual’s needs (biochemically, psychologically and socially) will ensure successful long-term maintenance of weight loss and relapse prevention.

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