Interesting column that concludes with an interesting recipe
Marian Burros in the NY Times, 18 Dec 2002:
Right in the middle of the season for fattening ourselves for the long, hard winter ahead, as if we were wolves or bears, an obesity specialist in Washington says we can make it easier to stop pigging out or we can make it harder. Naturally, many of us make it harder.
Unlike those who are always exhorting dieters to use willpower, Dr. C. Wayne Callaway, an endocrinologist and weight specialist at George Washington University, says that it is not really a matter of willpower. Or at least not willpower alone.
”Sure it’s nice to have willpower and eat less and exercise more,” Dr. Callaway said, but many people undermine their good intentions by failing to understand their bodies.
It seems logical that if you are expecting to eat a lot at a party at night, you ought to cut back on breakfast and lunch. You could starve all day and splurge on drinks and desserts, right? Wrong.
”The optimal thing is to have a regular breakfast and lunch,” Dr. Callaway said, ”so that when you sit down and eat you are not fighting genetically ingrained signals that cause your brain to get hungry after a meal.”
Because of chemical changes that take place in the body after the first meal of the day, if you skip breakfast or skimp on it you will end up compensating later, he said. ”Any time you undereat, you will eat the ordinary amount at the next meal, but shortly thereafter you will have the urge to keep on eating,” Dr. Callaway said.
Humans, like animals, have a mechanism to help them compensate when food is in short supply. Our distant ancestors probably did not have a proper breakfast when they woke up in their caves, so they gorged whenever they made a kill. Even though there aren’t many of us scratching out a living in the forest anymore, our brains are still wired for that potentially life-saving response to undereating.
Dr. Callaway explained: …
Her recipe:
MUSHROOM BARLEY SOUP
Time: About 1 hour
- 1/3 cup dried mushrooms like porcini
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 medium carrot, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 pound white mushrooms, washed, trimmed and coarsely cut
- 1/2 pound shiitake, criminal, Portobello or other mushrooms, washed, trimmed and coarsely cut
- 1/2 cup pearled barley
- 6 cups no-salt-added beef broth or stock
- 3 tablespoons dry sherry
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon wine vinegar.
1. Cover dried mushrooms with 1 cup hot water, and set aside for 20 minutes. Drain, reserving liquid. Finely chop mushrooms.
2. Heat oil in heavy-bottomed deep pot. Sauté onions and carrots over medium heat until onions begin to color. Add garlic, and sauté for 30 seconds.
3. Add fresh mushrooms, and sauté for 5 minutes, until they begin to release liquid.
4. Raise heat and add barley; sauté until it begins to color. Add broth and sherry. Strain mushroom-soaking liquid and add to pot along with reconstituted mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper, and simmer for about 40 minutes, until barley is tender. Stir in vinegar; adjust seasonings and serve.
Yield: About 6 cups.
