Thursday, December 1, 2011

Minnesota Starvation Study

There is so much information out there that knowing what to eat is so confusing! I was taught calories in v.s. calories out in my nutrition class in college, 'burn more calories than you eat and you will lose weight' they said. It was that simple? Wow! I will just eat less and work out more, by creating a deficit I would always lose weight. Fantastic-doesn't matter what I eat, as long as I eat 'less'.

Well, if that was true, then how come after my last competition, I ate WAY less than what calories I burned off during exercise, but still remained fat? Why wasn't I losing weight? Why was I essentially, getting fatter!?

I was simply surviving, my body thought I was trying to kill it through starvation, it had every reason to want to 'hang on' for its life, to collect every nutrient from every food I ate. I basically starved myself for two years, exercised like an anorexic maniac, and when I wouldn't lose weight I simply did-you guessed it- decreased my calorie consumption (ate less) and increased my calorie expenditure (exercised more). Talk about nonsense, I continued to do the very thing that was destroying my metabolism.

God made our bodies so perfectly, that the entire system and functions of which we are constructed is just mind baffling. He built us, so that we might survive the most treacherous of conditions.

A few years ago, I researched 'til my eyes bled and came across this study; the Minnesota Starvation Study of 1944-1946. 36 healthy men participated in a 3 phased study in which the first phase consisted of 12 weeks of observations; both physiological and psychological. The second phase was the diet phase, the 36 men were put on extreme calorie restricted diets along with extended amounts of exercises over a period of 24 weeks. During this time, scientists observed many psychological and physiological changes to the bodies & minds of these men. An average of 25% of weight was lost (which would be 45lbs on an man of 180lbs). The third and final phase was used to re-nourish the participants, nursing them back to adequate health.

Control period- (12 weeks) Men consumed around 3,200 calories, although slight alterations were made so that all men would be close to their needed daily maintenance calories and ideal weight. At the end of 12 weeks it was shown that the men were slightly below their 'ideal' weight and psychological exams all deemed the men with normal, healthy brain function.

Semi-Starvation period- (24 weeks) Calories were cut to around 1,560

Restricted Recovery- (12 weeks) Where diet was controlled for recovery.

Unrestricted Recovery-(8 weeks) Where diet was not controlled and men were allowed to eat as they wish. Most instances, the men ate excessive amounts of food.
'Enough food must be supplied to allow tissues destroyed during starvation to be rebuilt ... our experiments have shown that in an adult man no appreciable rehabilitation can take place on a diet of 2000 calories [actually 2000 kcal (8368 kJ)] a day. The proper level is more like 4000 [4000 kcal (16,736 kJ)] daily for some months. The character of the rehabilitation diet is important also, but unless calories are abundant, then extra proteins, vitamins and minerals are of little value (20).' Keys noted on recovery.

The results? Post dieting the men had severe signs of depression, lack of sexual interest, and in one case a man even amputated 3 of his own fingers, without recalling if it was an accident or purposeful. There was a significant preoccupation with food, decline in concentration, comprehension, judgement, and social isolation/withdrawal from society. There was reduction in the metabolism, reduced body temperature, reduced heart rate, and edema (swelling). When the men were allowed to eat what they wanted, they went to the extreme and binged.

'I don’t know many other things in my life that I looked forward to being over with any more than this experiment. And it wasn’t so much ... because of the physical discomfort, but because it made food the most important thing in one’s life ... food became the one central and only thing really in one’s life. And life is pretty dull if that’s the only thing. I mean, if you went to a movie, you weren’t particularly interested in the love scenes, but you noticed every time they ate and what they ate.' From one of the participants in the study.


You can read more about the study here:http://jn.nutrition.org/content/135/6/1347.full


So, from this experiment we gather that nutrition has an impact on more than just our weight. Are you surprised? I truly believe that food can both save and kill us. If you think about it, most of our prescriptions are derivatives of plants and many foods in their most natural state have benefits to help with ailments or sickness. Even marijuana is known to help with curing depression, pain, and anxiety.

And these men did 'rebound' just as I did:
' None of the men remembered being provided with detailed instructions for recommended diet or activities after they left, and all agreed that they were not "back to normal" after the 3-mo rehabilitation period. Although they were warned to be careful not to overeat on d 1, they were free to eat as they wished. Henry Scholberg remembered being taken to the hospital to have his stomach pumped because he "just simply overdid." Harold Blickenstaff was sick on the bus on the way back from one of the several meals he had d 1; he found that he simply "... couldn’t satisfy [his] craving for food by filling up [his] stomach." Many also reported eating excessively after they left Minnesota; Jasper Garner described it as a "year-long cavity" that needed to be filled. Many, like Roscoe Hinkle, put on substantial weight: "Boy did I add weight. Well, that was flab. You don’t have muscle yet. And get[ting] the muscle back again, boy that’s no fun." Estimates for how long it took to fully recover ranged from 2 mo to 2 y, but none of the men believed there were any negative long-term health effects from participation. '

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