The Truth About Food

The BBC have made every episode of TV series "The Truth About Food" available on-line. The series explores the various myths and ideas about food and diet.

As part of the series the producers performed various experiments on different people to determine what actually happened.

Here are a few interesting "discoveries".

Does Increased Fiber Do Anything?Increasing the fiber intake of two subjects (up to 50 grams a day) dramatically decreased the time it took to digest food (from ~40 hours to ~20 hours).
Water ConsumptionThey took someone who drank 2 liters of bottled water a day, and stopped them from drinking the extra water. The result? Nothing. No change in skin tone. The producers felt that the water we receive from food, and other beverages was completely adequate for the average (inactive) person.

Fart PowerThe average person expels 1/2 liter to 3 liters of gas a day (I'm sure you've been burning to know this - but were too afraid to ask). I just hope you don't share an office cubicle with the person who has a 3 liter-a-day habit.

Does Increased Protein Help?Producers fed volunteers either a high-carb or higher protein meal for breakfast. The one who had the higher protein subsequently ate less at lunchtime.
Heavier Weight Due to Lowered Metabolism?The food intake of two women were monitored. The thinner woman ate 50% less than her heavier counterpart. The producers felt that they could debunk "lowered metabolism" as a cause of weight gain:

the larger you are the higher your metabolic rate, the amount of energy your body uses at complete rest, will be. This is because when your body is at complete rest larger people need more energy to pump the blood around the body and to keep moving.