Calorically balanced diets

As indicated above, wild rats do not always select calorically balanced diets, especially under laboratory conditions. In attempting to further understand caloric regulating and feeding systems of rats, Piquard et al. (4 have found that a 25% daily calorie glucose infusion into the rat s circulatory system via intracardiac catheter produced an 80% decrease in intake of glucose-treated food. Amino acid and lipid infusion produced decreases in intake of proteins, lipids, and glucids as well. 

Medical nutrition therapy is recommended for all patients. For individuals with type 1 DM, the focus is on regulating insulin administration with a balanced diet to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight. A meal plan that is moderate in carbohydrates and low in saturated fat, with a focus on balanced meals is recommended. In addition, patients with type 2 DM often require caloric restriction to promote weight loss. Bedtime and between-meal snacks are not usually needed if pharmacologic management is appropriate. 

The Food and Drug Adminstration of the United States (FDA) approves 1 mg a-tocopherol (1.5 IU vitamin E) to be added to 100 kcal of food. Guidelines for the use of vitamin supplements emphasize that healthy individuals can and should obtain adequate amounts of all nutrients from a well-balanced diet. Only certain circumstances warrant the use of vitamin supplements, i.e., by individuals with very low caloric intakes and patients with diseases or medications that may interfere with the utilization of vitamins (Combs, 1998). 

Foods that yield in the range of 5-10 calories/g protein should be excellent dietary sources of protein. However, those that yield 50-100 or more calories/g protein should probably be used more where calories for energy are needed and supplemented with other protein sources. In many countries man has supplemented his diet with protein by the consumption of animal products and meat in order to eliminate this problem and balance the protein-caloric values. 

Studies In Dr. Greger s laboratory also have evaluated the Influence of tin or zinc retention In humans (61). Eight healthy male volunteers received their accustomed caloric Intakes, 3150 to 3700 kcal, as controlled, metabolic diets of real foodstuffs for two consecutive 20-day cycles two balance periods — comprising days 7-12 and days 13-18 of each cycle — were undertaken. The diets contained an average of 13.5 mg of zinc dally. In a randomized fashion, the rations during one of the dietary cycles had 50 mg of Sn as stannous chloride added. The dietary Sn/Zn... 

Lay publications are inundated with fad diets designed to reduce body weight "quickly and easily" using a variety of caloric restrictions (68). Most individuals attempt to produce a negative energy balance and reduce body weight by decreasing food intake. 

D-Fructose is the sweetest natural sugar. Its use as a natural sweetener is, therefore, increasing rapidly. It is absorbed slowly from the intestine, and thus does not cause abrupt changes in the serum levels of carbohydrates. It has little, if any, effect on insulin secretion. Thus, it exerts beneficial effects as a component of diets for mild and well-balanced diabetes, but should be taken within caloric restriction,445 as obesity impairs D-glucose tolerance and increases the insulin resistance of peripheral tissue.446 Use of D-fructose in the direct treatment of diabetic ketoacidosis does not offer advantages over routine, fluid therapy, and may even be dangerous on the basis that rapid infusion of large amounts of D-fructose may cause lactate acidosis. 

W. C. Rose and coworkers (67) were able to maintain N-balance in young men with high caloric diets constructed from racemate containing mixtures of nine crystalline amino acids, purified fats, carbohydrates and vitamin mixtures. Since the nine essential amino acids of those diets had to be converted in part to the ten unessential amino acids, the requirement of each of-the nine essential amino acids appears to be about twice that shown in Table V. 

Diet and water balance—Adjustments in diet to meet the energy demands of cold work activities include increased caloric intake (carbohydrates and fat) to compensate for the body s energy demands. Water deficits contribute to dehydration and increased risk to cold injuries. Efforts should be made to avoid water loss and maintain an adequate water balance. 

There is consistent evidence that weight loss in low-carbohydrate diets is triggered by negative energy balance resulting from low caloric intake, and that it is not a function of macronutrient composition. There is no scientific evidence to suggest that low-carbohydrate diets are more metabolically efficient than restricted calorie conventional diets. Several studies have shown that low-carbohydrate diets result in weight loss because of reduced caloric intake. 

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