Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 5, Number 11, 1 November 1988 — Starch Makes You Skinny — Fat Makes You Fat [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Starch Makes You Skinny — Fat Makes You Fat

With the growing interest in kalo (taro) and poi, such as Kauka Kekuni 31aisdell has heen describing in his recent articles, some patients ask me if eating so mueh starch could make them gain weight. My answer to that is the title of this article. "Starch makes

you skinny — Fat makes you fat." There was a time people thought starch was what made them fat. But evidence indicates that the opposite is true. Consider the following facts Dietary fat contains nine calories per gram. Protein and carbohydrates contain about four calories per gram. Carbohydrates are found in the form of sugars or complex carbohydrates. Complex car bohydrates are better known as starches. In the starches we normally eat, such as rice, pasta, and kalo, carbohydrates are between 1 to 0.6 calories per gram. Put in everyday terms, an average man

would have to eat nearly nine pounds of poi just to keep from losing weight! Most people would lose weight eating this way because they would be tired of eating before they could get enough ca!ories. By contrast, a very small amount of oil or fat has enough calories to put on weight. Another surprising fact is *hat ca!orie 'or calorie, starch calories are less fattening than fat or oil calories. Biochemical studies show that in order for starch to be converted to oody fat, about 23 percent of the calories in the starch is burned :n the conversion. This means only 77 oercent of the calories ean show up in your waist or hips. ln eontrast, fat or oil will burn only 3 percent of ts ealories to be converted to body fat. This leaves 97 oer cent of the calories available to be converted to "love handles." A final component of starchy food hat helps people lose weight is the dietary fiber in it. Dietary fiber is the non-digestible part of roods. Kalo has plenty of it. Refined foods such as white rice and white flour have mueh less. Eating whole foods such as kalo or whole grains provides enough dietary fiber to provide bulk in your diet so that you feel full and satisfied faster. In addition, dietary fiber slows the absorption of calories so that you stay satisfied longer. So if you want to lose weight, eat more starchy foods such as kalo, or whole grains and less oily foods such as fried foods hamburgers or spam. Of course, it is important to eat a variety of foods for other nutrients. And if you have some doubt about what to eat, just remember the simple idea that "starch makes you skinny, and fat makes you fat." Dr. Shintar\i, Director of Prevention Health Seruices at the Waianae Coast Comprehensiue Health Center, is a physician and nutritionist. He is also coordinator of their Malama Ola preuentiue health program. A majority of the Center's clients are naiiue Hawaiians.

*Al 1*0110, l E Ola By Terry Shintani, M.D.