What Is the Glycemic Index?
The Glycemic Index (GI) is a way of rating carbohydrate foods according to how quickly the carbohydrates are broken down into glucose, and thus how quickly that glucose enters the bloodstream. The reasoning behind this is that carbohydrates that enter the bloodstream quickly raise blood sugar levels rapidly, causing a spike in energy, that is followed by a drop after the effects of insulin are triggered.
Insulin is one of the hormones that help regulate blood sugar levels, and tries to keep them stable. When too much glucose enters the bloodstream at a time, the body reacts by releasing insulin to remove some of that glucose back out of the blood and into our cells. Its simply a way of keeping the balance.
However the effect is that when all the glucose we just ate, in the form of carbohydrates, is removed from the bloodstream, we feel tired and hungry, often craving more carbohydrates. Thus a cycle is created, where we eat more than really necessary.
Carbohydrate containing foods are rated from a scale of 1 to 100. A score of 100 is the highest, and this is akin to eating glucose in its pure form. A score of 55 or lower means a food is classified as having a low glycemic index. Thus, it theoretically breaks down in the body more slowly.
I write theoretically, because the picture is a little more complicated than that.
For example, fat lowers the GI of foods. Potato crisps have a lower GI than do oven roasted jacket potatoes. However, that does not mean that potato crisps are a better choice, in terms of nutritional and fat content. So, it's important to look at the whole equation when considering meal choices and the glycemic index.
Some suggestions for using the glycemic index in terms of one's diet is to balance a high glycemic index food in a meal with a low one. And try to make more low or mid range GI choices than high.
Other factors that can affect a food's glycemic index, beyond its GI rating, are the amount of food eaten.
Chocolate has a low GI, but it is 30% fat. And any excess nutrients, whether they are fat, protein or carbohydrates, will be stored in the body as fat. So eating too much of low GI foods that are high in calories is not going to help with weight loss.
Another issue when considering using the GI of food, is that the time of day we eat a food may also impact its effect on blood sugar levels. This is because the GI rating given to a food is based on fasting. So, for example, we fast at night - meaning we are asleep and thus not eating for a period of hours.
A food thus eaten in the morning may more accurately reflect the GI given to it than at other times of the day, when we haven't been fasting.
Yet the GI does have benefits. One study on obese young adults found that a low glycemic index diet was associated with a reduction in the risk factors associated with heart disease, when compared to similar children with a low fat diet. Both groups lost weight, and kept it off, which is good news for dieters! And the researchers suggested that a low glycemic index diet may not lower metabolism as much compared to low fat diets. This is important for dieters as it means they would feel less cold, tired and hungry, and as a result, would find it easier to stick with the changes made during the diet period.
The GI should not be used in isolation. Both common sense and other food guidelines, like avoiding excess fat and salt,and making sure foods are full of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, should still be used with the glycemic index.
References:
1.
Australian Healthy Food, November 2005
2. nutraingredients.com/news/ng.asp?id=66151
3. nutraingredients.com/news/ng.asp?id=60035.
Is your child fat?
Well, according to the latest statistics concerning child health fitness (and my own observance of people where I live), there's a pretty good chance that he/she is.
I can't wait to hear from everyone who tells me that they are predisposed to be fat, or they have the "fat gene" (whatever that is), or they inherited fatness from their great great grandmother's 4th cousin.
Well, I call BS.
Is it possible that you have to work a little harder to lose some weight??.sure.
Will some of you have to go that extra mile to accomplish you goals???absolutely.
Is there ANY reason at all, no matter what shape you're in, to not get started on an exercise and fitness program??..HECK NO!
There is always time, there is always a way to get you and your family in the shape that you need to be in.
Parents, if your child is fat???..guess what, it's partially you're fault.
Yep, I said it.
Diets > Is your child fat?
Computer Guru Devotes His Talents To Helping People Lose Weight
Douglas Cromer, president of Superior Computer Solutions, Inc., has devoted the last several months of his life to helping people lose weight with his new website.
When asked why he would devote so much of his time and resources to a cause such as weight loss he said, "It is simple, I am not just overweight, but obese and I understand all too well the pain this causes."He went on to further say, "I have tried to lose...
Diets > Computer Guru Devotes His Talents To Helping People Lose Weight
Take Back Your Life 3
In parts one and two of this series, titled "Take Back Your Life" and "Take Back Your Life 2"; we discussed the importance of proper cell function and the necessity of having and maintaining a balanced endocrine system as they relate to wellness. Here in part 3, we shall examine why vitamins and minerals, including certain trace minerals are absolutely necessary to further insure and maintain a state of wellness and optimum health.
Fresh foods have, in the past, been the main source that provided vitamins and minerals essential to the properly functioning, healthy human body. These nutrients, naturally occurring in some fresh fruits and vegetables, can and have, in the past given our bodies what was needed for health and vitality. Today, however, because of modern farming, harvesting, storage, and food processing methods, our formally nutrient rich food sources contain lower levels of some vitamins and minerals for supporting and maintaining good health.
We still need...
Take Back Your Life 3
Diets > Take Back Your Life 3
Alternative Asthma Treatment
Did you know that asthma is in the top 10 hospitalizations reasons for the United States ? If you think about it its not that weird because over 19 million people suffer from asthma in the US.
Statistics show that more and more people keep complaining to their doctors about their current asthma treatment and as a result alternative asthma treatment is getting more popularity amongst asthma patients. In the long term alternative asthma treatment is better because it works on an other level. Unlike antibiotics it works in a natural way.
Asthma reflects the health of the lungs, the immune system and the adrenal glands so this means that alternative asthma treatment has to work mainly on the lungs and on the immune system.
There are several alternative asthma treatments available:
Herbs
- Valerian : helps keeping down the stress so asthma patients can control their breathing.
- Ginger : helps to calm down the lungs,...
Diets > Alternative Asthma Treatment
The Greek Gods line is Heart HEALTHY!
Seattle, WA (ContentDesk) July 22, 2004 -- The Greek Gods brand of products has emerged into a full-service Mediterranean line consisting of authentic Greek style products. The Greek Gods line of Hummus and Tzatziki products are making HEART HEALTHY entrances into high quality, customer friendly grocers throughout the U.S.A. The Greek Gods are pleased to associate themselves with the findings from the latest heart healthy study conducted by Dr. Demosthenes B. Panagiotakos of Harokopio University in Athens.
The Greek Gods line is composed of items that maintain the many attributes found in foods considered to be a "Healthy Mediterranean Diet".By Merritt McKinney NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Some of the benefits of a Mediterranean-type diet -- rich in vegetables, fruits, legumes and olive oil and light on red meat -- may stem from the diet's effect on inflammation, new research suggests. In a study from Greece, markers of inflammation and blood clotting that are related to heart...
The Greek Gods line is Heart HEALTHY!
Diets > The Greek Gods line is Heart HEALTHY!
The Natural Truth About Quick Weight Loss
The Natural Truth About Quick Weight LossActually, I was reading about fad diet and suddenly I received a message in my mail "Lose 20 Pounds in 10 Days!"So I thought I should write some more on quick weight loss diet plans and how they're intended to fail miserably.I have already written a lot on such topics and I think you should read this article because they are flawed at the grass root level! along with this article to learn exactly what's wrong with quick diets.There are a few facts that I want to discuss before getting into the specific details of how she lost 10 pounds in 10 days and more specifically, even after losing 20 pounds, how she has more fat.1.Temporary weight loss will never teach to anyone how to maintain her proper weight.2.Protein shakes are an unhealthy way to trick yourself into eating fewer calories.3.It is unlikely that any person could lose 20 pounds of fat in 10 days. A large part of this loss is water and depleted muscle mass, not fat.Now let me explain how...
The Natural Truth About Quick Weight Loss
Diets > The Natural Truth About Quick Weight Loss
The Skinny on Oats, Oatmeal, Vitamins Nutrition for Skin Care and Bath Products.
Oats (botanical name Avena sativa)An oat is a grass that produces a fibrous root and a hollow jointed stem with narrow, flat, pale-green leaves. Oats are native to southern Europe and eastern Asia. They are widely cultivated as a food.An oat is an edible cereal grain produced by the cereal grass of the same name. They are light colored and have a nutty flavor and a chewy texture.Usually we think of them as breakfast food but oatmeal has long been known for its skin-soothing properties. Many skin lotions and ointments are formulated with oats for it's skin healing properties.
As a nutritious breakfast food oats provide a healthy addition to your diet in that there is 140 calories per 1/2 cup serving. They also provide 4g of dietary fiber, of which 2g of this is soluble fiber and 2g is insoluble. Insoluble fibers are those that cannot be dissolved in water. And soluble fibers can be dissolved in water. They provide 10% of your daily iron needs.
Also of this 1/2 cup serving,...
The Skinny on Oats, Oatmeal, Vitamins Nutrition for Skin Care and Bath Products.
Diets > The Skinny on Oats, Oatmeal, Vitamins Nutrition for Skin Care and Bath Products.