# Gorillas shed pounds by doubling calories

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gorillas-shed-pounds-by-doubling-calories/571714>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [February 17, 2011, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gorillas-shed-pounds-by-doubling-calories/571714 "2011-02-17T16:49:50Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\
**Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gorillas-shed-pounds-by-doubling-calories/571714/21 "2011-02-20T18:00:27Z")

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My total, HDL and LDL increased a bit, but my HDL increased more proportionately so I have an even better ratio now. I haven’t had a VAP test but all other markers indicate that my LDL is ‘pattern A’ (large, fluffy, and healthful). My trigs went down even farther, are just on the border of being abnormally low now.

I belong to several communities who discuss the results of our type of diet, these are typical results for people eating this way.

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**Author:** ![xoferew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/e9a140/32.png) [@xoferew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xoferew)\
**Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gorillas-shed-pounds-by-doubling-calories/571714/22 "2011-02-20T19:51:21Z")

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> [@Philster](#):
>
> \>cooking meat: there is some good evidence that cooked meat reveals more of its calorie potential to the body. Even tenderizing meat lets the body get at more calories
> 
> \>raw foods require extra energy to break down (a nice perk), but the biggest benefit is that good chunks of raw foods are never broken down.

I have a question here, if I may. I love sushi and eat it two or three times a week, especially salmon. Does eating the fish raw mean I absorb fewer calories from it?

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**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\
**Post date:** [February 21, 2011, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gorillas-shed-pounds-by-doubling-calories/571714/23 "2011-02-21T01:11:03Z")

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Yes.

According to Dr. Richard Wrangham, of Harvard University, cooking alters food in three important ways.

-It breaks starch molecules into more digestible fragments.  
-It “denatures” protein molecules, so that their amino-acid chains unfold and digestive enzymes can attack them more easily.  
-And heat physically softens food. That makes it easier to digest, so even though the stuff is no more calorific, the body requires fewer calories to break it down.

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