Get ready to put Papa John’s on speed dial, because according to a doctor in Vancouver, there’s no such thing as unhealthy food.
Dr. John Sloan, a family physician and clinical professor, conducted more than 10 years of research before publishing the findings in his book, Forbidden Food: How Science Says You Can Eat What You Like and Like What You Eat.
Sloan says eating fats, salts and sugars aren’t such a bad idea.
“I’m a little bit in love with flying in the face of common wisdom, but this surprised me as much as it surprises anybody,” said Sloan, adding that how much people eat, rather than what they eat, is a key contributor to ill-health and obesity.
“It’s not the kind of food you eat, it’s how much you eat that determines obesity, at least according to science,” said Sloan.
It sounds too good to be true, and even dangerous, to suggest that eating whatever you like, just small amounts of it, is OK, especially when there are studies that reveal certain foods have addictive properties that make it hard to eat them in moderation. Who else here can’t just stop at one?
According to research out of the University of Michigan, it was found that highly processed foods like pizza, french fries and chocolate are incredibly addictive, which is thought to be because of the highly refined sugar and white flour content.
“This is a first step towards identifying specific foods, and properties of foods, which can trigger this addictive response,” coauthor of the study, Nicole Avena, said.
“This could help change the way we approach obesity treatment. It may not be a simple matter of ‘cutting back’ on certain foods, but rather, adopting methods used to curtail smoking, drinking and drug use.”
So, Avena wants to find ways of cutting junk food from our diets altogether, while Dr. Sloan suggests that eating whatever you like, just keeping track of the calories, is good for both your waistline and your health.
I don’t know about you, but rather than seeing Dr. Sloan’s study as permission to binge on takeaway and junk food, it’s more of an encouragement to eat in moderation, to keep a balance with our food and perhaps not get too down on ourselves the next time we have just one slice of pizza. If you can really stop at one, that is.
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