Stephan J. Guyenet, PhD

The science of body weight and health

Book Update

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Hello, folks.  My book, The Hungry Brain: Outsmarting the Instincts that Make Us Overeat is due to be released on February 7, and I’m very excited about it.  It’s substantially different from any other book on overeating and weight management, and I believe it will inject much-needed information into the public discourse on obesity.  Given that the brain governs all behavior including eating, it’s remarkable that no other general-audience book has looked broadly at its role in overeating and body weight (to my knowledge).  The Hungry Brain is based on thirty-six expert interviews, hundreds of scientific papers, and my own scientific expertise.  My goal is to give you the best that neuroscience, obesity research, and my noggin have to offer.

The Hungry Brain has received outstanding reviews from The New York Times, Publisher’s Weekly, and many knowledgeable individuals.  You can read excerpts on my book page.

I’ll be doing a book reading and signing at The Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle on February 8 at 7:00 pm.  Come hear me read a bit from the book, expand on one of the topics in it, and take questions.

Behind the scenes, my publicist and I are cooking up a few strategies to help get the word out.  In the coming weeks, I’ll be appearing in a number of interviews.  I may do a Reddit AMA.  If you think my work is valuable, please spread the word!

 

Goodbye, Staffan Lindeberg

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I recently heard the sad news that Staffan Lindeberg, MD, PhD, lead researcher of the Kitava Study, has died.

Staffan was a dedicated researcher and physician at Lund University in Sweden whose work was inspired by the evolutionary health principle.  After reading Boyd Eaton and Melvin Konner’s seminal 1985 paper on Paleolithic nutrition, in Staffan’s words, “it gradually dawned on me that John Harvey Kellogg, a vegetarian zealot, had more influence on dietary advice than Charles Darwin had” (Staffan Lindeberg. Food and Western Disease. 2010).  Long before it was en vogue, he adopted a Paleo-style diet and saw his own chronic disease risk factors, such as body weight and blood pressure, decline.

Shortly thereafter, Staffan organized the Kitava Study– an investigation into the diet and health of one of the few remaining cultures scarcely touched by industrialization.  Although Kitavans weren’t hunter-gatherers by any stretch of the imagination, they did eat a starchy diet free of grains, dairy, refined sugar, refined oils, and all processed foods.  In a series of papers, Staffan reported that the Kitavans showed undetectable levels of obesity, diabetes, heart attacks, and stroke– even in old age.  He went on to conduct randomized, controlled trials on the Paleolithic diet, demonstrating that it can reduce chronic disease risk factors in a Western context.  He published an overview his findings in a book, Food and Western Disease.
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Food Reward Friday

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Waffles_with_Strawberries
Today’s lucky “winner”… waffles!!!

Waffles apparently have a long history in Europe, with roots dating back as far as the Middle Ages (1).  Modern waffles have been around for about 500 years, and they remain popular in Europe and Europe-influenced countries.  As a teenager, I remember eating delicious gaufres in Western France, sometimes with fruit and whipped cream, other times with chocolate sauce or simply powdered sugar.

Waffles have survived the upheavals of half a millenium of European history nearly unchanged.  Why do we find them so seductive?  As with many of our favorite foods, waffles combine several key rewarding properties.  First, they’re extremely rich in carbohydrate, including both starch and sugar.  Second, they also contain fat.  Third, the high-temperature cooking process partially dehydrates the batter, increasing its calorie density.  Finally, we add calorie-dense toppings such as whipped cream, syrup, and butter.  Waffles offer a calorie-dense, easily digested combination of starch, sugar, and fat– a combination our food reward circuitry finds irresistible.

We also seem to appreciate the Maillard reaction products that give baked goods their seductive aroma.  The distinctive shape of waffles maximizes their surface area, in turn maximizing the flavor and texture of high-temperature-cooked batter.