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Summary of Transcript:
Cage i want to understand it in the wild and that’s what i wanted to do with humans i wanted to study humans in their ecological context and so i thought okay well the best way to do that is to find a population that still lives as hunter-gatherers and so i found the hadza in tanzania they’re one of the last hunter-gatherer populations on the planet and they still live in the same way that humans have lived for two million years so i went there to study them and i was interested in energy expenditure because i wanted to know what’s the energy cost of being human and the reason that’s important is because the energy cost of being human is going to be the same for everybody so if we can determine what that energy cost is then that’s going to tell us something about how much energy we need to consume to maintain our weight and that’s something that we can use to inform our own diets and behaviors and so that’s why i wanted to study energy expenditure and the hadza were the perfect population to do that.
Herman Poncer, Ph.D., discusses his book Burn, which challenges what people think they know about nutrition. He states that a calorie is not just a calorie and that hormonal signaling in the body is more complex than just calories in versus calories out. He explains that the two arguments going head to head are that either people are over-eating calories, and that is why the obesity epidemic is happening, or that it is the type of food people are eating, such as sugar, that is the problem. He then discusses why he chose to study the Hadza, a hunter-gatherer population in Tanzania, to study energy expenditure. He wanted to understand the energy cost of being human, which can inform people’s diets and behaviors.
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Summary of Description:
Herman Pontzer is an evolutionary biologist who researched the hunter-gatherer community of Hazda in Tanzania. His findings suggest that when calories are adhered to, carbs do not significantly affect weight loss. Pontzer also indicates that obesity starts in the brain and that processed food can be a “brain hack.” He encourages an optimal lifestyle and recommends his book “Burn: New Research Blows the Lid Off How We Burn Calories, Lose Weight, and Stay Healthy” to learn more.
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Exploring the Relationship Between Calories and Carbs with Herman Pontzer
Have you ever wondered how the last carb-heavy meal you ate affected your body? Does a high-calorie meal affect you more than a lower-calorie, higher-carb meal?
Herman Pontzer, an evolutionary biologist, recently researched a hunter-gatherer community in Tanzania, the Hazda, to learn about energy expenditure. The data he collected flipped everything we thought we knew about calories and carbs on its head.
In this video, Herman joins Tom to explain why the data shows that carbs in a calorie-controlled environment don’t matter. Theoretically, this means you could go on a Twinkie diet (please don’t) and lose weight as long as you adhere to a calorie limit. Herman is using data to push back on how calories are burned and how they signal your brain to control your weight.
The Calorie Debate
Herman explains that the debate over calories has existed since the 1800s. The traditional view is that calories are like a bank account – the more you consume, the more you “spend,” and the more you need to “save” to maintain a healthy weight.
However, Herman’s research shows that the traditional view is not accurate. He found that the Hazda, who have a very low-calorie diet, burned just as many calories as people in the US who have a much higher-calorie diet. This indicates that the body can use its energy expenditure to match the calories it cons-consumes Response to Calories.
Herman also found that the body’s response to calories is not just about energy expenditure but also about how the brain responds to the food we eat. The hypothalamus, a region of the brain, is responsible for regulating our weight and energy expenditure. Herman explains that the hypothalamus is sensitive to our calories and will adjust our energy expenditure accordingly.
He also explains that processed foods, such as sugar, can “trick” our brains into thinking we consume more calories than we are. This can lead to weight gain, even if we eat a calorie-controlled diet.
Conclusion
Herman Pontzer’s research indicates that calories are more important than carbs when controlling our weight. The body can adjust its energy expenditure to match the calories it consumes, and processed foods can “trick” our brains into thinking we consume more calories than we are.
To learn more about Herman Pontzer’s research, check out his book, “Burn: New Research Blows the Lid Off How We Burn Calories, Lose Weight, and Stay Healthy,” and visit the Hazda Fund website to learn more about the Hazda culture.
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Source Description
Does eating a high-calorie meal affect you worse than a lower-calorie, higher-carb meal? How did your body respond to the last carb-heavy dinner you had? Herman Pontzer, an evolutionary biologist, researched a hunter-gatherer community called Hazda in Tanzania to learn about energy expenditure.
Herman is using data to push back on how calories are burned and how they signal your brain to control your weight. What he’s discovered flips everything you thought you knew about calories and carbs upside down. He’s joining Tom to expose why the data shows that carbs in a calorie-controlled environment do not matter. Meaning it is possible to theoretically go on a Twinkie diet (please don’t) and still lose weight when calories are adhered to.
Order Herman Pontzer’s book, Burn: New Research Blows the Lid Off How We Burn Calories, Lose Weight, and Stay Healthy: https://www.amazon.com/Burn-Research-Really-Calories-Healthy/dp/0525541527
Also, check out the Hazda Fund (https://www.hadzafund.org/about) to learn more about the Hazda culture
SHOW NOTES:
0:00 | Introduction to Herman Pontzer
1:40 | The Calorie Debate
6:14 | How We Burn Energy
12:09 | Obesity Starts In The Brain
14:43 | Hypothalamus Function
19:25 | Brain Response to Calories
29:06 | Food Calorie Signaling
32:36 | Optimal Lifestyle
34:53 | Processed Food Brain Hack
38:31 | Why Sugar Is A Problem
42:22 | Hi Carb Diet Weight Loss
45:24 | Fantasy Diet Study
QUOTES:
“The problem is that when we begin to say, oh, that must have been something in the food that you ate, rather than, oh, it’s something in your response to that extra energy.” [21:33]
“It does come down to the calories or what determines the weight change or maintenance, not the carb level.” [24:13]
“The argument is, is this more in the weeds? Is it fat cells and the pancreas? Or is it brain cells and sensing?” [32:29]
“It is my job to keep eyes open and look across cultures and look across human experiences and see that diversity and understand all of it is pretty normal. That the universe of normal for humans is pretty darn broad.” [33:11]
“Sugar is a fructose molecule and a glucose molecule stuck together, and when it gets into your blood, that’s what it is.” [38:38]
Follow Herman Pontzer:
Website: https://sites.duke.edu/pontzerlab/people/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hermanpontzer
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hpontzer/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/herman.pontzer
