After a holiday full of terraces and even more terraces, many of them gained a kilogram or two. If you ever want to get rid of it again, you will have to deal with it. But even if you are overweight, it is a good idea to eat less food.
in hln says Bioengineer Eric de Merteler in the Blue Zones. “These are five specific regions where people live significantly longer and age in better health. These are Ikaria in Greece, Okinawa in Japan, Oglistra in Sardinia, Loma Linda in California, and Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica. Their eating habits were studied. These people detail and you can do all kinds of analyzes, but one thing is for sure: they eat less than we do. In Okinawa they have a nice expression about it. They follow Confucius’s Hara hachi bu principle: We only eat their stomachs eighty percent full. We fill it up completely and then go to eat Dessert. That can’t be healthy.”
Okinawans have the highest life expectancy in the world. “The fact that they eat less and avoid gaining weight definitely has something to do with this. A study of 100,000 Okinawans who moved to Brazil and adopted Western eating habits there showed that life expectancy was reduced by 17 years.”
But it is not only the number of calories, but also the type of food that contributes to their healthy lifestyle. “The secret is in the high concentration of antioxidants in their diet, but also in the activation of their antioxidant system which ensures that their DNA is working well, which does repairs and removes harmful free radicals. In a kind of survival response This system works best with calorie restriction. Certainly, calorie restriction is one of the factors that lead to healthier aging. Not the only one, but it’s very important.”
The expert does not favor dieting. “A British study tracked 150,000 obese people after they lost weight. It showed that after nine years, only 1 in 210 men and 1 in 124 women had gained weight. Incorrect weight loss is the best predictor of weight gain after That. The reason is why. Scientists say it’s called self-licensing, or self-approval: you reward yourself a little more for being good.”
He recommends eating fewer carbohydrates. Usually, the advice is to spend 55 percent of your total calories on carbohydrates, but de Merteler thinks 40 percent is enough. “If you lead an active life, you can make good use of these carbohydrates; they provide instant energy. If you sit in front of your computer all day or take it easy because you are a year older, such a potato becomes, a sandwich or a portion of pasta is no longer consumed, It turns into fat. So you see people getting fatter every year. I recommend 40 percent carbohydrates if you want to maintain your weight.”
Sources): HLN