BBC’s Health Check: Dr. Ornish on Fat, Weight Loss and Our Health
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A gram of fat is worth about nine calories. That’s about twice the amount of a gram of carbohydrate or protein, explains James Gallaher, the editor BBC Health in a recent episode of the podcast Health Check. He is joined by Dr. Ornish.
Restricting fat causes 2/3 greater weight loss than restricting carbs
So the question is whether cutting out fat is an easy target if you’re trying to lose weight?
In this interview, Dr. Ornish talked about a study done last year at the National Institute of Health where people were fed a tiny controlled diet on a metabolic ward for two weeks. “Scientists were able to determine the impact of different nutrients by inspecting their every morsel of food, minute of exercise, and breath taken,” explains Gallaher.
“What they found is that calorie for calorie people actually lost more weight restricting fat than restricting carbs,” Dr. Ornish explains. “Now again, I think they’re both important. So I think we need to move away from this reductionist thinking that it’s one thing. But the beauty of [this study] is that they measured every calorie that people were eating so they could say with confidence that at least in the short term restricting fat caused 2/3 greater weight loss than restricting carbs.”
Listen to the full interview here.
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