The importance of getting your metabolism back on track after the effects of the pandemic

Now that we are preparing for a presumable autumn of restart on several fronts, it would be useful to have the tools to understand the metamorphosis our body has undergone in the last year and a half. Sara Farnetti, a well-known expert in Functional Nutrition, Specialist in Internal Medicine with a Ph.D. in Pathophysiology of Metabolism and Nutrition, allows us to take stock of the situation on our metabolism after the long stop our body has suffered due to the various and prolonged lockdowns due to the pandemic.

Dr. Farnetti, have you noticed an increase in weight in the last year and a half? Which pathologies have been on the rise?
«Since the beginning of this year, thanks to the forced stay at home and the social discomfort caused by the restrictive regulations, our behaviors have been conditioned or reconditioned. There has been a noticeable increase in stress, and in many cases people have compensated for their emotional distress by eating. In fact, hunger has two components: an emotional and a chemical one (or both) and sometimes one prevails over the other. If a person also has a metabolic disorder, such as insulin resistance, carbohydrates are mismanaged or the body’s response to carbohydrates is incorrectly regulated, having the emotional trigger also obviously leads to an increase in food intake, where food also becomes the comfort zone, no longer just a metabolic problem to manage. Therefore, the pathologies that we see on the rise are precisely those related to the increase in obesity of the central type, that is, of the fat that is localized at the abdominal level and is related to the metabolic syndrome. The metabolic syndrome is the worst “killer” of the moment because it is related to numerous cardiovascular, neoplastic and degenerative diseases “.

How can this new life that has upset our habits be faced from a food point of view?
“We had to change our lifestyle, in some cases even for an improvement. For example, with respect to diet, we learned to limit meals outside the home, where before the only solution was to end up eating something quickly in the short time that there was in the lunch break. The problem was also related to the supply at home, with less and less time to cook something healthy.
The pros are certainly these but the cons are also those of not being able to control the quality of the ready-made food that you order online. Ready meals contain more salt, combine various ingredients in the recipe, such as preservatives, fats other than oil, sugar, even in simple recipes such as pasta with tomato sauce. We must be careful, because even if you think it is a healthy product, sometimes the preparation and additions are not so much ».

In your books, you talk about scars on our bodies that remind us that we were wrong. What are you talking about?
«Every time we consume a meal, a functional effect is realized in our organism. I speak of hormonal project that occurs every time we take a food or a combination of foods. The hormones released are the immediate reaction to the action of the meal. The hormonal reaction with insulin supports or does not support the functions of organs and cells, triggers inflammatory processes or not. Therefore, if we mistake food, we create a metabolic scar, because it does not end with the meal and with weight gain or poor digestion, but hormones modify or interfere with DNA, cells and systems, so they leave more and more health or more disease. Looking for a line, a “long term” strategy, making hormonal control of meals our rule, is necessary for healthy longevity and to stay fit. In the rule, we expect the exception without harm. The exception cannot become the rule and the rule is reduced to a few days of low-calorie diet, to occasional unguided fasting or to the intake of sachets that pretend to be miraculous. What needs to be done is to recover the strategy that works for us, otherwise we continue to the sound of excesses and this hurts both aesthetically and above all in terms of health ».

Can you do Sara Farnetti’s shopping cart for us? What are the foods that, in general, should never be missing?
«My shopping cart is very easy, the problem is perhaps that it is ‘too easy’. It would lead us to ban at least half of the supermarket shelves! We go through baked goods, drinks, breakfast products and we stop where we find vegetables to cook or eat raw. An excellent must not be missing in the cart extra virgin olive oil. We can buy the sourdough bread, of the pasta or of rice, possibly with flours like that of buckwheat. Then we will buy White meat, fish O egg according to everyone’s tastes and functional needs. For breakfast they are fine strawberries which can sometimes be associated with a brick of fresh whipping cream to make us a gift. For a savory breakfast, del is also good toast with oil and salt O dell’avocado».

When the sense of hunger looms and we tend to choose the first thing that happens to us, can you recommend some delicious snacks?
«Today fasting is very fashionable but it is not“ a trend ”. Fasting is a very important study model that underlines how necessary and sufficient it is to significantly reduce insulin. It is the same insulin that makes us eat too much and badly, it is what makes us hungry. Controlling hunger is the cornerstone of this speech and therefore the suggestion is to use foods that do not stimulate insulin and which consequently are also anti-inflammatory. In the office drawer or bag we keep very dark chocolate, natural oil seeds, olives in the fridge at home for an aperitif, or pinzimon that we can consume with excellent extra virgin olive oil “.

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