Fourteen million Australians are overweight or obese.
The huge amounts of refined carbohydrates we are consuming in the form of bread, pasta and rice are converted into fat. Our bodies turn that carbohydrate into glucose and we can only ‘use’ about a teaspoon of glucose in our bodies at one time. The rest is converted into fat. Sugar is a carbohydrate too. Added sugar adds to the burden of excessive fat production.
The prevalence of obesity in Australia has more than doubled in the past 20 years.
If weight gain continues to rise, close to 80% of Australian adults and a third of all children will be overweight or obese by 2025. It has been predicted that by the time our children reach the age of 20 they will have a shorter life expectancy than earlier generations due to obesity.
Obesity has become the single largest threat to public health in Australia.
Diabetes is a health disorder which can be a secondary complication of obesity. It is currently affecting more than 900 000 Australians. Other health disorders such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, dementia, high blood pressure, kidney disease, sleep apnoea, asthma and hypertension can be directly attributed to obesity.
By reducing the amount of carbohydrates in your diet you minimize your production of fat. It sounds surprising but it is an easier pathway for the body to convert glucose to fat than it is to turn the fat to glucose.
Scientific studies show that Low Carbohydrate and Healthy Fat (LCHF) eating makes it easier to both lose weight and to control your blood glucose. Changing to a LCHF lifestyle means you eat less carbohydrates and a higher proportion of natural fats. Eating real food which is fresh, local and seasonal will improve your general health and assist with maintaining a healthy body weight.
This review shows the sustained benefits for low carb over low fat eating with regards to weight loss and improved cardiovascular risk factors.
http://www.crd.york.ac.uk/crdweb/ShowRecord.asp?ID=12013025253#.VLh0o3sml-h
Lucy and Gary from the team at #nutritionforlife