How Liquid Calories May Be
Making You Fat...Even Your Favorite Protein Drinks!
At least 7 scientific studies have
provided strong evidence that energy containing beverages
(i.e., “liquid calories”) do not properly activate the satiety
mechanisms in the body and brain and do not satisfy the
appetite as well as food in solid form.
Epidemiological research also supports a positive association
between calorie-containing beverage consumption and increased
body weight or body mass index. New research now suggests that
soda may not be the only culprit…
The primary source of liquid
calories in the United States Diet is carbohydrate, namely
soda. Now running a close second are specialty and dessert
coffees. Did you know that a 16 ounce Frappucino can contain
500 calories or even more! That’s one-third of a typical
female’s daily calorie intake while on a fat loss program.
A recent study at Purdue University
published in the International Journal of Obesity set out to
learn even more about this bodyfat - liquid calories
relationship.
Researchers compared solid and
beverage forms of foods composed primarily of carbohydrate, fat
or protein in order to document the independent effect of food
form in foods with different dominant macronutrient
sources.
Based on previous research, some
experts have recommended targeting specific beverages as being
“worse” than others. High fructose corn syrup and soda has been
singled out the most and you’ve probably seen that yourself in
the news.
There’s no question that soda has
been on top of the “hit list” for some time now, by virtue of
the amounts and frequency of consumption alone.
However, this recent study says
that from a pure energy balance perspective, we should be
cautious about ALL liquid calories, not just soda and not just
carbohydrates!
Fruit juice for example, appears to
be an obvious improvement over soda, so many people have
swapped out their soda for fruit juice. However, when fruit
juice is compared to an equal amount of calories from whole
fruit, the whole fruit satisfies appetite better (largely due
to the bulk and fiber content), and so you tend to eat fewer
calories for the day.
[On an interesting side note, soup does not seem to apply;
soup has higher satiety value than calorie containing
beverages, possibly for mere cognitive reasons.]
If you were to meticulously track
your calories from beverages and you made sure that your
calories remained the same for the day, whether liquid or
solid, there would probably be little or no difference in your
body composition.
But that’s not what usually happens
in free-living humans. Most people do not accurately track or
report their caloric intake. Our mistake is that we tend to
drink calories IN ADDITION TO our usual food intake, not
instead of it.
Men are especially guilty of this
when they drink alcohol - Men tend to drink AND eat, while
women tend to drink INSTEAD OF eating.
This new research found that with
all three macronutrients - protein, carbs or fat - daily
calorie intake was significantly greater when the beverage form
was consumed as compared to the solid.
Yes, it’s true! Even protein drinks
did not satisfy the appetite the way that protein foods
did!
While you would think that protein
drinks are purely a good thing, because protein foods have been
proven to reduce appetite and increase satiety, if you turn a
solid protein food into a protein drink, it loses it’s appetite
suppressive properties in the same way that happens when you
turn fruit into fruit juice.
[NOTE: After weight training workouts, liquid nutrition may
have benefits that outweigh any downside, especially on
muscle-gaining programs]
Why do liquid calories fail to
elicit the same response as whole foods? reasons
include:
- high calorie density
- lower satiety value
- more calories ingested in short period of time
- lower demand for oral processing
- shorter gastrointestinal transit times
- energy in beverages has greater bioaccessibility and
bioavailability
- mechanisms may include cognitive, orosensory,
digestive, metabolic, endocrine and neural influences
(human appetite is a complex thing!!!)
- last but not least, nowhere in our history have our
ancestors had access to large amounts of liquid calories.
Alcohol may have been around as far back as several
thousand years BC, but even that is a blip on the
evolutionary calendar of humanity.
As a result, our genetic code has
never developed the physiological mechanisms to properly
register the caloric content in liquids the way it does when
you eat, chew and swallow whole foods.
Bottom line: This study
suggests that we shouldn’t just target one type of liquid
calories such as soda. If you’re trying to beat body fat, it’s
wise to limit all types of liquid calories and eat whole foods
as much as possible.
Start by ditching the soda. Then
ditch the high calorie dessert coffees. Then cut back on the
alcohol. From there, be cautious even about milk, juice and
protein drinks.
Drink water or tea instead, or
limited amounts of black coffee - without all the high calorie
extras.
If you do consume any beverages
that contain calories, such as protein shakes, be sure to
account for those calories meticulously and be sure you don’t
drink them in addition to your usual food intake, but in place
of an equal amount of food calories.
Remember, those protein shakes you
might be drinking are called “meal replacements” not
“free calories!”
For many years I have suggested
focusing primarily on whole foods rather than liquids, even
protein shakes. Unlike so many other fat reduction programs,
Burn The
Fat, Feed The Muscle does not require any kind
of liquid meal replacement or protein drinks and our company
does not exist to sell supplements; we are here to educate you
and millions of others about the realities of body fat
loss.
We now have even more scientific
data that confirms what Burn The Fat has been teaching all
along.
I hope you found this helpful. You
can learn more about “Burn The Fat” at Burn The Fat, Feed
The Muscle
Train hard and expect success,
Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
Fat Loss Coach
Burn The Fat, Feed
The Muscle
Reference: Effects of
food form on appetite and energy intake in lean and obese young
adults. International Journal of Obesity. 2007 Nov
(11):1688-95. Mourao DM, Bressan J, Campbell WW, Mattes RD.
Department of Foods and Nutrition, Purdue University, West
Lafayette, IN 47907-2059, USA.
About the Author:
Tom Venuto is a natural
bodybuilder, certified personal trainer and freelance fitness
writer. Tom is the author of "Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle,”
which teaches you how to get lean without drugs or supplements
using secrets of the world's best bodybuilders and fitness
models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and increase your
metabolism by visiting: Burn The Fat, Feed
The Muscle
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