Health Studies-Potatoes
I often wonder how studies are decided on. The recent study about how certain foods, including potatoes, make you gain weight really bothered me. There was no accounting for the difference in eating a potato and eating a potato loaded with butter, cheese and many other fat laden toppings.
The Harvard medical study published in The New England Journal of Medicine in June 2011 caused an uproar when it proclaimed eating potatoes--whether as french fries, potatoes chips or baked--all contribute to weight gain. The federally funded study collected data over 20 years from more than 120,000 U.S. men and women in their 30s, 40s and 50s. It found a striking difference in how various foods and drinks, as well as, exercise, sleep patterns and other lifestyle choices affect whether people gradually gain weight. This all sounds good, but what does it really mean?
Some researchers cautioned that the study relied on the participants memories, honesty and that the serving size varied among foods. “To attempt to isolate the effect of specific foods on weight changes is fraught with problems,” said Lawrence J. Cheskin, who heads the Johns Hopkins Weight Management Center. “One is that people may conclude that if they simply stop eating X, they will reduce the chance of weight gain. This is unlikely, and a false conclusion. Similarly, it is likely more a result of people who eat fruit being more health-conscious than fruit per se causing less weight gain.” This is one of the problems with studies, they over simplify results and newspapers create attention grabbing headlines.
Here is the real scoop about potatoes, they are low in calories and full of nutrients and fiber:
1 medium potato (5 ounces) has 100 calories, 0g fat, 22g carbohydrates, 3g protein and its high in vitamin C, B6 and minerals.
All I can say is remember when eating eggs were bad for you? Many people still believe eating eggs causes blood cholesterol to increase causing heart attack and stroke even though many studies have shown quite the opposite. Here are a list of the studies on eggs:
Make sure you understand what a study really is saying, how many people were studied, over how many years, what questions were being studied and if there are any other studies showing the same results. All the studies on eggs show us the same thing, so this is a study we can believe. That is not true of all health studies, even if they come out of prestigious sounding colleges.
Some things to consider about studies on health.
So in conclusion, change your diet if it's unhealthy, but if you have a healthy diet and weight common sense should always prevail. You don't need to only eat the top 10 foods to help fight cancer, or the foods to make you lose weight. What you do need is to eat lots of fruit and vegetables of as many varieties as you can. They're all good for you and you can eat as many as you want, just don't load them up with sugar and fat.
Some researchers cautioned that the study relied on the participants memories, honesty and that the serving size varied among foods. “To attempt to isolate the effect of specific foods on weight changes is fraught with problems,” said Lawrence J. Cheskin, who heads the Johns Hopkins Weight Management Center. “One is that people may conclude that if they simply stop eating X, they will reduce the chance of weight gain. This is unlikely, and a false conclusion. Similarly, it is likely more a result of people who eat fruit being more health-conscious than fruit per se causing less weight gain.” This is one of the problems with studies, they over simplify results and newspapers create attention grabbing headlines.
Here is the real scoop about potatoes, they are low in calories and full of nutrients and fiber:
1 medium potato (5 ounces) has 100 calories, 0g fat, 22g carbohydrates, 3g protein and its high in vitamin C, B6 and minerals.
All I can say is remember when eating eggs were bad for you? Many people still believe eating eggs causes blood cholesterol to increase causing heart attack and stroke even though many studies have shown quite the opposite. Here are a list of the studies on eggs:
- A 1999 Harvard University study that used data collected from more than 120,000 men and women found no significant difference in heart disease risk between healthy adults who ate less than one egg a week and those who ate more than one egg a day. They also found that eating up to one egg a day is unlikely to have a significant overall impact on the risk of heart disease or stroke.
- A review in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition showed more than 25 studies that showed that eating an egg a day isn’t associated with increased risk of heart disease in healthy men and women, even after taking into account other aspects of their diet that may increase the risk for heart disease.
- Researchers at the Yale Prevention Research Center in 2005 conducted a six-week study that showed adding two eggs a day to a healthful diet did not significantly increase blood cholesterol levels in young or middle-aged men and women with normal to moderately elevated blood cholesterol levels.
- Nutrition Bulletin published a review of scientific studies in 2006 from the past 30 years showing that eating eggs daily does not have a significant impact on blood cholesterol or heart disease risk. It was noted that several benefits of egg consumption, including the high-quality protein eggs provide, as well as, that consumption of one to two eggs a day should be actively encouraged as part of a calorie-restricted weight-loss plan.
- Medical Science Monitor reported in 2007 in a study of 9,500 people that eating one or two eggs a day did not increase the risk of heart disease or stroke among healthy adults. The study noted that eating eggs may actually be associated with a decrease in blood pressure.
- The Experimental Biology conference in 2007 showed that egg consumption contributed less than 1 percent of the risk for heart disease when other adjustable risk factors were taken into account. It was concluded that limiting egg consumption may be misguided, particularly when eggs’ nutritional contributions are considered.
Make sure you understand what a study really is saying, how many people were studied, over how many years, what questions were being studied and if there are any other studies showing the same results. All the studies on eggs show us the same thing, so this is a study we can believe. That is not true of all health studies, even if they come out of prestigious sounding colleges.
Some things to consider about studies on health.
- There are always extenuating circumstances.
- Some studies on not scientific.
- Some studies don't ask the right questions.
- Some studies have very few participants.
- Some studies are paid for by industries wanting to find a certain result.
So in conclusion, change your diet if it's unhealthy, but if you have a healthy diet and weight common sense should always prevail. You don't need to only eat the top 10 foods to help fight cancer, or the foods to make you lose weight. What you do need is to eat lots of fruit and vegetables of as many varieties as you can. They're all good for you and you can eat as many as you want, just don't load them up with sugar and fat.
RSS Feed
