Foods That Help Keep the Pounds Off as You Age
Whole milk, full-fat cheese and butter not as bad for waistline as thought
THURSDAY, April 23, 2015 (HealthDay News) — A new look at what kinds of foods might help people keep their weight in check as they age found that not all calories are created equal and some foods are not as bad for the middle-aged waistline as many believe.
While men and women who ate lots of nuts, peanut butter, fish, yogurt and low-fat cheese tended to lose weight, other foods commonly seen as “unhealthy” — such as eggs, full-fat cheese and whole milk — did not seem to make a difference in weight.
On the other hand, sugary drinks and refined or starchy carbohydrates — including white bread, potatoes and white rice — had the opposite effect.
“The idea that the human body is just a bucket for calories is too simplistic. It’s not just a matter of thinking about calories, or fat. What’s the quality of the foods we are eating? And how do we define quality?” said senior researcher Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, of Tufts University and the Harvard School of Public Health, in Boston.