FSB Author Article
Are Cooking Shows Bad for your Diet?
By Judith J. Wurtman, PhD, and Nina Frusztajer
Marquis, MD
Authors of The
Serotonin Power Diet: Eat Carbs -- Nature's Own Appetite Suppressant --
to Stop Emotional Overeating and Halt Antidepressant-Associated Weight
Gain
One of the television sets in my health club is always tuned to the Food Network. As I sweat off the calories from yesterday's dinner, I marvel at the calories I could be consuming if I were to make some of the selections featured on the program. The foods look delicious. But as I watch the 'calories burned' slot on the treadmill inch up much too slowly, I know I would have to spend the rest of the evening in the gym to justify eating them. Why do even the skinniest cooks on these programs insist on adding so much butter, oil, cheese, cream and eggs to their recipes? Would adding smaller amounts of high fat ingredients or using alternative lower fat methods of cooking (steaming rather than frying) destroy the taste the chefs are seeking?
Because of the concern over the increase in obesity in the U.S., federal and local governments are trying to make the public aware of the calories they are consuming through food labels and posting of nutritional information in fast food restaurants. Certain magazines devoted to lower calorie cooking as well as some cookbooks will list the calorie contents of their recipes and indeed substitute lower calorie ingredients for traditionally higher calorie ones. Should cooking shows do the same?
One of the problems with sticking to a diet plan is the annoyance of having to choose to eat low calories foods that are simply not as appealing as higher fat varieties. Obviously fried chicken smothered in a southern style cream sauce or a chocolate mousse made with dark chocolate, eggs and heavy cream (two food show offerings) are more tempting than poached chicken breast or an egg white omelet. Or are they? Most dieters would like to know how a gourmet chef prepares chicken breasts so they satisfied the taste buds as well as the rules of the diet program. There are many carbohydrate foods such as rice, potatoes, and corn meal which are the staple foods of many cultures. In the U.S., however, these fat-free satisfying complex carbohydrates are often relegated to side dishes or ignored because we know only one or two ways of preparing them. Rice for example is like a chameleon; it may reflect the culinary traits of South American, Middle Eastern, Caribbean, European and Asian cultures. And although the starting point is a package of rice, the end results may differ immensely depending on the culture in which it is being prepared.
The tastes of these rice dishes are interesting and different enough from each other so that a week of eating rice dishes would not be monotonous. Yet we do not see rice or other complex carbohydrates featured as important side dishes or even main dishes on cooking shows and for that matter rarely in cooking magazines.
One other problem with TV cooking shows and many magazine recipes is that the objective of the preparation is to satisfy the taste buds only. Although it is true that we are drawn to making and eating many foods because of how they will taste, we also are drawn to eating certain foods because we know how we will feel after they are consumed.
A simple meal of a thick vegetable soup and fresh crusty bread on a cold winter's night has a comfort quotient that the most elaborate dish may lack. A bowl of mashed potatoes, rice with brown sugar and raisins, or pasta with a drizzle of olive oil and spatter of grated cheese, simple as they are, have the power to make us feel centered, calm, in a good mood.
Our weight loss program promotes such foods for dinner because we know they will not only calm our stressed and overworked, overcommitted clients but will leave them feeling full and satisfied. Indeed during our initial consultation we talk about such foods as part of the diet program and usually are confronted with "I can eat that? Those are my comfort foods." "But won’t I gain weight?"
We explain that no, they will not gain weight because these foods take away the desire to eat after dinner. Because carbohydrates such as rice, potatoes, bread, and pasta trigger the brain's production of serotonin, they will be in a good mood and not hungry. Serotonin will make them feel less stressed and also turn off their appetite. And no, they will not gain weight because these foods are naturally fat free and by keeping added fat ingredients such as butter or oil or cheese to a minimum, they will be eating relatively few calories. And then when we tell them about the many ways they can prepare rice or potatoes or pasta as a main course, we can almost hear them salivating.
The final question we get from our clients is "why didn't anyone tell me I could eat rice, pasta, and potatoes and lose weight?" One answer is that most diet programs do not focus on how to eat so that the brain turns off appetite. And perhaps another is that when cooking shows, restaurants and magazines feature pasta or rice or potatoes, they are part of a high calorie recipe. Obviously mashed potatoes made with cream, butter and then baked covered with cheese and oil is not a diet food. Nor is rice covered with a sauce made from bacon drippings or pasta layered with four different types of cheeses.
But maybe one day soon, when I climb back on the treadmill and glance at the cooking show on the TV perched above me, I will see a show on low fat carbohydrate comfort food. That would be worth exercising for.
Boost Serotonin to switch off your appetite and turn on a good
mood.
©2009 Judith J. Wurtman, PhD and Nina T. Frusztajer, MD, authors of The Serotonin Power Diet: Eat Carbs -- Nature's Own Appetite Suppressant -- to Stop Emotional Overeating and Halt Antidepressant-Associated Weight Gain
Author BiosJudith J. Wurtman, PhD, co-author of The Serotonin Power Diet: Eat Carbs -- Nature's Own Appetite Suppressant -- to Stop Emotional Overeating and Halt Antidepressant-Associated Weight Gain, has discovered the connection between carbohydrate craving, serotonin, and emotional well-being in her MIT clinical studies. She received her PhD from George Washington University, is the founder of a Harvard University hospital weight-loss facility and counsels private weight management clients. She has written five books, including The Serotonin Solution, and more than 40 peer-reviewed articles for professional publications. She lives in Miami Beach, Florida.
Nina T. Frusztajer, MD, co-author of The Serotonin Power Diet: Eat Carbs -- Nature's Own Appetite Suppressant -- to Stop Emotional Overeating and Halt Antidepressant-Associated Weight Gain, counsels private weight management clients and is a practicing physician and certified professional life coach. She received her master's degree in Nutrition from Columbia University and her medical degree from George Washington University. She lives in Boston, MA.
For more information, please visit www.SerotoninPowerDiet.com.