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health & wellness
PJ GLASSEY hears internal body cues Cracking the Skinny French Code 
On his fourth bratwurst, and still not gaining any weight. Only in France. The French seem to eat all the wrong things and stay skinny. Their diet includes things like pate, baguettes, pastries, crepes, and cheese. Then they wash it all down with plenty of wine. What's the deal with that? This so-called "French paradox redux" that allows skinny French people to eat all the foods that Americans seem to get fatter on, has been demystified by a new Cornell study. Researchers found that while the French use internal body cues-such as knowing when they feel full and satisfied, Americans use external cues-such as whether their plate is empty, and whether their beverage has run out. The study also discovered a vicious cycle associated with this. As people get heavier, because of reliance on external cues to tell them to stop eating, they rely on them even more and become less likely to rely on internal cues. These bad habits get worse and more weight is gained as a result. The French also eat less because it comes to them in courses. They get their first course right away, instead of waiting to order and then waiting for their food like we do in American restaurants. By the time our food gets to us, we are famished and eat more than we need to because we wolf it down before our hunger mechanisms can tell us we are full. The French eat slowly, chew thoroughly, enjoy the tastes and textures, sip wine, and talk during meals. They get small courses every 10-20 minutes, which spreads the meal out over lots of time. This allows their hunger reflex plenty of time to register and tell their brain to stop eating. The French use smaller bowls and plates as well. We have been programmed to finish everything on our plate, yet we have the biggest plates in the world! French plates, bowls, and glasses are about half the size of ours. The French are in much less of a rush than we are when they eat their meals. It is more of an event than a feeding frenzy, and that causes them to chew their food much more thoroughly than we do. The very act of chewing contributes to satiety. The flexing of your jaw muscles tells your hunger center it is being taken care of. Wolfing down food too fast skips this information passage. Chewing completely also aids digestion and helps you absorb more of the high value nutrients and less of the fats by proportion. The French are also more active than Americans. They walk most places, and take their bikes if it is too far to walk. We drive our cars if our errand is more than two blocks away, and then spend an extra five minutes driving around the parking lot to get the space closest to the door. Studies have been done on that nasty little habit too, and they have found that it is an overall time saver to just pull in to the first slot you see instead of hunting for the closer slot. The bottom line is to take your time and chill out. Chew each bite thoroughly and have conversations. You'll eat less and enjoy your food more. Since meals are a social occasion in France, they don't eat in front of the TV like we do either. Studies have proven that TV viewing actually slows your metabolism to levels lower than when you are asleep. Watching TV also makes you eat about twice the volume of food than when it is turned off. Try walking more too, and grab the parking spot farthest from the door instead of the one by the door. Some old lady with a hip replacement needs that one because an obese person parked in the disabled spot. Doctors seem to be giving disabled hanger cards out like candy now to folks who obviously have candy addictions. The extra calories spent walking that extra distance in the parking lot won't add up to much, but the act of choosing that slot is reinforcing the commitment to your health in your brain and helping you make better choices each day you don't even know you are making. It's just another affirmation that you are making progress in the right direction and are committed to your own success. |
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