Body is a machine, an intelligent one! Eat Walnuts, low glycemic load foods

Your Body Is a Machine ... an Intelligent One
By Jon Herring
Two years ago, I was almost 25 pounds over my ideal weight. At the time, I was generally eating a healthy diet, but I was consuming too many sweet and starchy foods. To lose weight, I changed my diet to one high in protein, rich in healthy fats, and low in carbohydrates. I do eat carbohydrates, of course, but I try to stick to those that are low on the glycemic index.
Soon after I started this diet, the fat began to disappear. Two months later, despite eating more frequently and eating more calories, I'd lost the extra weight and put on muscle.
I'm telling you this as background for the response I gave to a question from ETR reader Joanne M. She wrote in after reading an article by Dr. Sears titled "Reach for Walnuts." In it, he said, "Best of all, [walnuts] score a perfect zero on the glycemic index, meaning you can eat as many as you like and never get fat." This statement prompted Joanne to say:
"Wow, I can't believe I just read this - and from a DOCTOR!!!! Here's what 10 seconds of research told me:
- 1 cup of walnuts is over 700 calories- 3,500 calories = 1 pound
"You do the math. If I eat 1 cup of walnuts/day Monday to Friday, and DON'T CHANGE ANYTHING ELSE in my diet, I will put on an extra 4 or so pounds a month."

I understand the physics of energy consumed vs. energy expended, but from my own experience with weight gain and weight loss, I knew there was something else at work. I asked Dr. Sears about it, and here is what he told me:
"Your body has the choice to use extra calories in any way it sees fit. Extra calories does not necessarily mean extra fat. That may be what science believes, but it doesn't take into consideration a real person living a real life in a changing environment. I've had female patients who eat only 800 calories a day yet struggle with obesity. I've had bodybuilder patients who eat 6,000 calories a day and have 3 percent body fat.

Insulin regulates fat production and storage. With a glycemic index of 0, walnuts will never trigger an insulin response. Therefore, your chances of triggering fat production from eating walnuts are slim to none. If you ate an extra 3,500 calories a week and those calories came from rice cakes, which have a very high glycemic index, that would be a different story. You would most certainly see weight gain.

Scientists see the body as a machine that has no choices. So, to them, extra calories means extra fat. My experience has shown me that the body itself is a sentient system, with its own intelligence, able to make decisions and responses based on the environment."

Dr. Sears ended by advising Joanne to take the challenge and eat a cup of walnuts every day!