One From Column A, Five From Column B

As I was driving home from the gym this morning, I was listening to a news report on NPR about a massive epidemic of type 2 diabetes in China. The health minister stated that one in two Chinese had diabetes. Something may have gotten lost in translation, but one thing is sure, as more people around the world adopt our supersized western diet, we are sadly, all beginning to look alike.

The whole food plant based diet that we endorse, is also one that will help you maintain a normal weight throughout all stages of your life. The primary reason for this, is that these food groups are all high in fiber and nutrient dense. Choosing a wide variety of these high satiety foods, creates a sense of fullness without all the empty calories of refined foods.

The concept of Volumetrics, became very real to us last night, when I was preparing a butternut squash risotto for dinner. Neither one of us has had white rice in quite a while, and had forgotten how much more food one needs to consume, when the fiber has been removed. I would normally prepare around eight ounces of dried pasta or a grain for us. When I measured out the Arborio rice, there was about eleven ounces remaining in the box, so I decided to use that amount, and have some leftovers for the following day.

After preparing the risotto, I dished it out in our usual proportions, and we began to eat. It very quickly became apparent to me, that I was still quite hungry after eating my usual quantity of food. I went back for seconds and thirds, and by the time I felt full, all the risotto was gone. In order for me to achieve my usual sense of satiety, I had consumed fifty to seventy percent more calories than if I had eaten my regular whole grain meal.

If you hadn’t noticed, the theme of overfed and undernourished has become a recurrent one on this blog. I am not trying to demonize the overweight. They need our compassion and help in resisting corporate food interests, whose primary goal, is to encourage us to consume more processed food.