For more than two decades, Western dietetics have taught us: If you want to lose weight, cut backjust the carbohydratesand eat more proteins. A new revolutionary study led to the discovery of another aspect of nutrition. Researchers claim that changing foods can speed up metabolism. It could even help you prolong your life.
A diet low in protein can speed up metabolism
Dr. Dudley Lamming is a faculty member in endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In 2014, he read something remarkable in an Australian study: the mice that ate the least protein were the healthiest.
This was the opposite of what our culture preached about nutrition and wellness. Together with students in his laboratory, he discovered a little-known but stable pattern in both animals and humans. Diets rich in the three branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) leucine, isoleucine and valine are linked to diabetes, obesity and other metabolic diseases. The BCAAs are not produced in the human body and are absorbed through food. Therefore, Lamming and his team believed that reducing leucine, isoleucine and valine can counteract these metabolic diseases and extend the rodents' healthy lifespan.
To confirm their hypothesis, the researchers gave the mice a “Western diet.” The animals were fed food high in fat and sugar for several months and became overweight. Then the researchers changed the diet. They found that when the mice were restricted from BCAA isoleucine, they ate more food and still lost weight. The weight loss was caused by acceleration of metabolism. It was also found that the animals had a healthier blood sugar metabolism.
Accelerate metabolism: You should avoid these foods
Foods recommended in low-carb diets (e.g. keto or paleo) such as meat, fish, eggs, cheese, lentils, nuts and seeds could cause obesity not only because of their high fat content, but also because they contain high levels of isoleucine . Reducing these foods could help us lose weight.
Restriction of valine had a similar but weaker effect. Valine is found in foods such as sweet potatoes, asparagus, spinach, beans, mushrooms and peanuts.
Reducing leucine has no benefit and can even be harmful to metabolism. Leucine is found in dairy products, soy and legumes.
