This quaint research will introduce how the Glycemic Index is calculated and how to use it
effectively as a guide to live healthier. It will show that following the
Glycemic Index can be done very easily and that the benefits of following the
Index are many. You will see how controlling the foods you eat based on the
Glycemic Index will allow you to lose weight, reduce your risk of diabetes, and
lower your cholesterol, just to name a few.
The Glycemic
Index is linked directly to the sugars in foods and how they are absorbed. The
Index measures carbohydrates, which are made up of simple or complex sugar
molecules. The Glycemic Index then ranks the effects these foods have on our
systems.
You will see
that by understanding these effects and adhering to some simple guidelines, you
will be able to recognize foods by the Glycemic Index and make better food
choices. You will see that many carbohydrates are very beneficial to you and
that you do not have to avoid all carbohydrates as many celebrated diets
suggest. Carbohydrates are not the villains that they have been promoted to be!
This book will go into depth to explain how high and low blood sugar levels effect your
health and your feelings of well being. You will understand the direct link
between the Glycemic Index and controlling diabetes or even substantially
reducing the risk of becoming diabetic.
Also
included in this book is a handy table of many common foods and their
Glycemic Index rating along with easy-to-follow recommendations to take full
advantage of the best food choices.
Once you
read this book and become familiar with what the Glycemic Index is and how
beneficial it is for everyone who follows it, you will find that making the
best choices will come naturally to you. You will be able to control your
Glycemic Index with little effort on your part.
Chapter 2: What is the
Glycemic Index?
The Glycemic
Index is a rating system for foods where any type of carbohydrate has a
numerical value assigned to it based on its components and how each food
affects the body’s sugar levels.
Dr. David
Jenkins, a Canadian professor and scientist from the University of Toronto
developed the concept of a rating index in March of 1981. He felt that a better
system needed to be developed due to the popularity of certain diets like
Atkins and South Beach that vilified all carbohydrates and many fats. He wanted
to show that it was too oversimplified to categorize carbohydrates as “simple”
and “complex” or even worse, as “good carbs” and “bad carbs”. Most
carbohydrates are too complex to label them in this manner.
He wanted to
show the scientific community and thereby, the world that all foods affect our
bodies’ blood sugar levels differently and that they have many different
degrees of being simple and complex, good or bad.
Basically,
as food breaks down in our digestive system, many of the food’s components,
like sugar or vitamins and minerals are absorbed into our blood stream and
immediately affect our system. Foods that break down quickly and have high
glucose or sugar levels will give us a “spiked” feeling of energy and euphoria.
This feeling is commonly referred to as a “sugar high”. Other foods break down
more slowly and release their sugars, starches and nutrients over a longer
period of time, which avoids any sudden increases to our sugar levels and keeps
our insulin levels low. Later in this book, we will explain exactly what
glucose and insulin are and how they affect our bodies and our health.
Dr. Jenkins proved that many carbohydrates were, in fact,
very healthy and should not be avoided simply because of the fact that they
were carbohydrates. As a matter of fact, he discovered that there are dozens of
foods that in the past were categorized as unhealthy, but that turned out to be
very beneficial. He also encountered some surprising results on foods that had
always been considered “diet” foods, but when tested, he discovered that they
tested very high on the Glycemic Index. These surprising results
will be uncovered later in this book.
Dr. Jenkins
continues to work in the field of dietary science and pushes forward by
continually pursuing the link between diet and health. He proceeds in proving
the theory that eating certain diets can improve or eliminate the risk of
health issues such as cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease as well as
other diseases.
Chapter 3: How is the
Glycemic Index in Foods Determined?
The Glycemic
Index uses pure glucose (or in some cases, white bread) as its control food and
rates all other carbohydrates in relation to it. The control food or standard,
either the glucose or the white bread, is given a rating of “100” and all other
foods are tested as to how they affect a person’s blood sugar, insulin and
lipid levels compared to the standard.
Each tested
food is given a number rating and defined as either “High”, “Medium” or “Low”
on the Glycemic Index. Foods fall into the High Glycemic Index when they are
rated at 70 or above. If the Glycemic Index for a food is at 55 or lower, it is
considered to be a Low Glycemic Index food item. This means that Medium
Glycemic Index foods are those that after being tested, fall into the range of
56 to 69.
The actual
testing to determine a food’s Glycemic Index is very scientific and takes into
consideration many test subjects who undergo multiple tests with the same food
and with the control, that being glucose.
A test
subject, after fasting for at least 12 hours will have their blood drawn and
tested and then is given a specified amount of glucose, usually 50 grams. Their
blood is drawn and the blood sugar levels are tested at several specified times
throughout the rest of the testing period. This is to determine what the
control level is in this individual. Many times, this exact same test of
glucose is done two or three times in the same test subject in order to have a
more exact result.
After all of
the blood sugar levels have been determined, they are plotted on a graph, which
shows the curve of how high the sugar levels rose and also how long they
remained elevated. The next step is to take the same individual on another day,
after another 12 hour fast and have them eat a sample of the food that will be
tested. The amount in grams of carbohydrates in the test food must equal the
grams of carbohydrates in the glucose control test. Depending on the item being
tested, the amount of food that the test subject has to eat may be very little
in the case of foods that are very dense in carbohydrates. On the other
hand, the test subject may have to eat an enormous amount of a food that has
very little carbohydrate in it in order to reach 50 grams of carbohydrates.
Let’s say
that the test subject had to ingest pure glucose in the amount of 50 grams of
carbohydrates. If the food item being tested were a banana, the test subject
would eat the equivalent of 50 grams of carbohydrates in banana. Then, their
blood would be drawn and tested at the same times as with the control test with
the glucose. The results of their blood sugar levels would be entered on to the
same graph as the glucose tests and the results would be compared.
These
“banana” tests would be repeated over the next several days with the same test
subject to ensure more reliable results. Now, imagine this same testing process
with bananas being repeated over and over again with many different test
subjects.
This is the
testing that is done for every food that has any type of carbohydrate or sugar
in it. Thousands of tests have been done to determine the Glycemic Index value
of every one.
Let’s get
back to our “banana test”. After all of the tests, both the glucose control
tests and the specified food tests, have been completed the results are
determined. The number for the glucose test is always set at 100 and the food
that is being tested and compared to the glucose is graphed and measured up to
how it affects the person’s blood sugar levels in relation to the glucose. It
was found that banana affects a person’s blood sugar levels only 53% as much
when compared to the levels that pure glucose affects them. Therefore, a banana
is rated as 53 on the Glycemic Index, which puts it in the Medium Range.
Does that mean that bananas are bad for you and should be
avoided? We will discover what the results of the Glycemic Index mean and how
to easily incorporate them into your daily food choices later on in the book.
First, let’s look at the myth that all carbohydrates are bad for you and that
they should be avoided at all cost.
Chapter 4: Yes, There are
Good Carbs
When doctors
and scientists began to look at what makes up an average diet and why many
people tend to gain weight and become unhealthy, they looked first at the
government’s food pyramid. They decided to put most of the blame on the base of
that pyramid – whole grains and breads, otherwise known as carbohydrates.
The word
carbohydrate has become a dirty word that advances the notion that anything
that has carbohydrates, or sugars, fibers and starches should never be eaten.
You may know someone who treats carbohydrates as if they are poison and can’t
even bear to look at or touch them let alone eat them. It has almost become a
religion to eliminate all carbohydrates from our diets.
The food and
restaurant industries, never ones to pass up on a new way to make even more
money, immediately came out with new “low carb” items and packaging and
restaurants remade their menus to feature “low or no carb” selections. In many
cases, they serve many of the same items, but simply eliminate the bun, french
fries or potato and charge even more for the “new” menu item. Their profits
have never been higher.
But, is this
way of thinking too simplistic? Are all carbohydrates bad for you and
furthermore, are they all “bad” to the same degree? That is what the developers
of the Glycemic Index set out to prove. They wanted to see hard, scientific
evidence that would prove if all carbohydrates were unhealthy. What they found
was very astounding. Not only did they discover that different carbohydrates
affect people’s blood sugar levels and release of insulin to different degrees,
they were also surprised to discover that many carbohydrates that had been
considered “bad” really weren’t and others that had seemed “healthy” spiked
blood sugar levels tremendously.
An example
of that could be watermelon. It is considered a good source of vitamins and
healthy and very low in calories, right? However, its Glycemic Index number is
70! That puts it in the High range. The reason behind this is that although
watermelon does have very few calories, it is very high in natural sugar and
spikes your blood sugar levels forcing your body to release insulin to
counteract and lower these levels. Later, we will discuss the consequences that
happen to your body when it has to continuously release insulin in order to try
and keep your blood levels as even as possible.
On the other hand, items such as artificially sweetened
yogurt, peaches and peanuts all score below 30, making them better choices when
following a Glycemic Index diet. This means that they will not spike your blood
sugar levels and may release energy slowly, instead over a longer period of
time. This type of food will give you more energy and keep you feeling
satisfied longer. There are many examples of carbohydrates that are good for
you that will be covered in the coming chapters.
Chapter 5: What are the
Effects of Glucose?
Glucose, in
its purest form is a simple sugar that is found in many foods. Our body uses
glucose to produce the energy or fuel to help it function. Glucose is a
molecule made up of several cells that can be extracted from starchy grains
such as wheat, rice, corn and potatoes, to name a few. Once glucose has been
extracted from these plants, it can be added into any number of food processes
to sweeten and enhance their flavor.
In the
United States, the most common glucose food additive is derived from corn or
more commonly called cornstarch. Cornstarch is heated in a water solution for a
few hours at a relatively low temperature, which results in breaking down the
starch into even smaller particles. Then, a common species of fungus is added
to the mixture, which promotes the starch to break down to its basic element of
glucose. The mixture is then purified and concentrated until the glucose is in
crystal form. These crystals are packaged into cubes and sold to the food
industry.
There are
many other forms of sugars that could be used in food packaging, such as
fructose, which is derived from fruits, some vegetables and honey. Fructose is
sweeter than glucose and is recommended as an alternative for people with
diabetes, but where every cell in the body can metabolize glucose, fructose can
only be processed in the liver. All forms of sugars, both simple and complex
raise the blood sugar levels and can cause a form of insulin resistance.
When a body
ingests glucose or any carbohydrate (all carbohydrates are made up of mostly
starches and sugars), it breaks it down into its simplest forms and uses them
for energy. Most of the body’s energy is produced from carbohydrates. The sugar
molecules are broken down and convert into oxygen and carbon dioxide molecules,
basically keeping our body functioning. This transformation translates into our
metabolism. Our metabolism is how efficiently our body can turn these foods
into energy.
Glucose is
also one of the primary sources of energy for the proper function of our organs
and our brain. This may explain why there is such a feeling of euphoria after
ingesting a food item that is very high in glucose.
Many people
complain of being dizzy and lightheaded when their blood sugar levels are
either too high or too low. The human body tries to keep itself on an even keel
and when we overfeed it with sugar or do the opposite and don’t feed it enough
of the energy it needs, it will try to overcompensate. That is when the body
will release insulin to try to compensate for our actions.
Either way,
we will feel symptoms. First, we will feel the immediate reaction from either
too much glucose or from what we did to our body by under eating. Next, we will
then suffer from the counteractions that our body has to perform in order to
react to our original actions. Seems like a vicious circle doesn’t it?
This is why knowing a little bit about how our bodies
work and what insulin is and what it does comes in handy. The next chapter will
go into detail about insulin and there you will realize what valuable, yet
fragile, tool insulin is and how easily we can damage our insulin response
forever.
Chapter 6: The Facts about
Insulin
Insulin is a
hormone that is produced and released from the pancreas. Its major
responsibility is compared to that of an air traffic controller. It lets the
body’s cells know when they have been fed sufficiently and need no further
nutrients. (Doesn’t that sound familiar? Not even our cells know when to stop
eating!) Next, insulin re-supplies and routes all extra glucose from your meal
into the liver and the muscles to be stored short-term as a kind of “fat” to be
used first before all other fat deposits when energy is needed again. In other
words, every time you overfeed your body with too many sugars, fats, or
proteins, your body stores these extras and burn them instead of all of the
extra weight and fat that you already have deposited on your body
Eating a lot
of high Glycemic Index foods on a regular basis forces your insulin to
continuously be released. Calling upon your insulin to react to all of this
glucose can cause something called “insulin resistance” where your insulin
cannot keep up with the workload and simply diminishes.
People who
have no insulin response or if they have very low insulin levels released are
considered diabetic. Their bodies cannot digest and route glucose or for that
matter, any sugar or carbohydrate and they must provide their bodies with an
artificial atmosphere by receiving injections of insulin every day.
The
complications of diabetes are enormous and will be covered in more depth later
in this book. If you are not familiar with diabetes, please, take the time to
research it even after reading this book. It is so common that people seem to
“play it down” as if it is no big deal. It is a very big deal. Diabetes can
lead to so many serious complications and ultimately death.
But, there is hope. By following the recommendations of
the Glycemic Index and then by going even further with Glycemic Loading and
incorporating the Insulin Index, you may avoid the risk of developing diabetes
altogether. The next chapter will go into even more depth of how to avoid
diabetes with the Glycemic Index.
Chapter 7: The Glycemic Index and Diabetes Connection
As we have
learned it isn’t only cakes, cookies and candy desserts that contain sugars and
raise our blood sugar to dangerous levels. Any food that is considered a
carbohydrate is made up of starches and sugars. Foods that you would never
imagine being “sweet” are full of glucose, dextrose or sucrose. Foods like
baked potatoes, pretzels, beets and even some lean meats can raise your blood sugar
levels very high, which then forces your body’s insulin levels to spike, as
well.
When the
body’s insulin becomes over worked and no longer responds to high blood sugar
levels, it will begin to show symptoms of the disorder. The symptoms of
diabetes include being extremely thirsty all of the time, which leads to
drinking a lot of fluid and in turn, excessive urination. When the insulin
levels are barely there anymore, people also complain of blurry vision, leg
cramps and open sores.
There are
two types of diabetes, simply called “Type 1” and “Type 2”. Type 1 is the more
serious of the two. People who are diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes no longer
have any insulin response to counteract their sugar levels. The body cannot
survive for long without insulin, because it is impossible to avoid foods that
raise our blood sugar. Mainly because sugar and starch are our body’s main
sources of energy and it is found in nearly every food. But insulin is required
to direct the cells and tell them how to deal with the fuel they are receiving.
Without insulin, the body malfunctions and cannot handle the incoming energy.
Therefore,
people who have Type 1 Diabetes must be supplied with artificial insulin on a
daily basis through injections and also they must constantly be aware of what
they are eating and in addition, they must monitor their blood sugar levels
several times throughout the day. It is not an easy life.
Type 2
Diabetes is also very serious and means that there are some levels of insulin
present, but it doesn’t do the job it was meant to do as effectively anymore.
People with Type 2 Diabetes can usually control their disease with diet,
exercise and medication, and also may have to continuously monitor their sugar
levels. Unfortunately, many people do not take it seriously enough and many
times the condition deteriorates.
Excessive
eating of High Glycemic and High Insulin Index foods is a major cause that
leads to the failure of the insulin response. It is vitally important not to
overwork the intricate workings of our bodies.
If you are
not a diabetic, it is not necessary or even recommended that you avoid all
carbohydrates and sweets forever, but moderation must be the key. Try to limit
yourself to foods that are categorized as Low Glycemic Index foods. Eat less of
foods that are listed as Medium on the Glycemic Index. And finally, of course
you may eat of any food that finds itself listed as High on the Glycemic Index,
but only have one of those choices every once in a while – not every day.
Once the
damage has been done and you have been diagnosed with diabetes, it is too late
to reverse it with a proper diet. Diabetes is a chronic condition and once
insulin is no longer being produced, it does not heal itself. It is so much
easier to eat properly now rather than have to confront the complications that
diabetes can throw at you.
Some of the
scary complications and risks that come along with diabetes are hypoglycemia,
which is an inadequate supply of glucose that can create neurological problems.
(Isn’t it ironic that eating too much glucose can result in diabetes, which in
turn can result in complications from too little glucose!) Other complications
from diabetes are blindness, heart disease, impotence, and nerve damage.
The other major complication from diabetes is how slowly wounds take to heal.
Because of this, injuries can become infected and it is quite common for
diabetics to have to have amputations of limbs because of this.
As you can
see, even though many people suffer from diabetes and it is something that can
be treated and lived with, it is a very serious condition that requires daily
vigilance to keep it under control and even then many complications can still
arise.
Following the Glycemic Index now will lower your risk of
ever developing diabetes. More of how to do this will be covered in the
upcoming chapters.
Chapter 8: Incorporating the Insulin Index
The Insulin
Index is almost a duplicate of the Glycemic Index. The difference is that
during the testing, insulin levels in the blood are tested instead of the blood
sugar or glucose levels. The results are very similar. The differences are that
when testing foods for raised insulin levels, many proteins and even lean meats
were found to raise insulin levels as well.
Following
some basic guidelines can incorporate the Insulin Index into the Glycemic Index
very easily.
Foods that
are very rich in protein such as most cuts of beef and lamb, eggs, shellfish
and hard cheeses can mimic a sugar response in the body as they break down.
These foods are very rich in protein, vitamins, minerals and many essential
nutrients and therefore, should not be avoided completely. Still, a person’s
diet should not be made up of primarily these choices and not on a regular
basis.
As with any advice,
it is always wisest to do everything in moderation. Even the healthiest food
choices would be detrimental if they were the only foods that a person ever
ate. Our bodies need a variety and in fact, the only way to accomplish a task
such as losing weight is to keep the body guessing. Our bodies are made to try
to adapt to any conditions they are put under. Therefore, if we starve it, it
will still manage to hold on to every last pound of fat in order to survive and
in the process, allow other functions to suffer.
Just because
we cannot see the damage we are causing to our systems when we overindulge in
high fat and high sugar foods does not mean that we are not causing major
bodily malfunctions. It is probably true that binge eating, even for a prolonged
period on poor food choices may not immediately result in our succumbing to a
disease or serious condition. But, we may not realize that the little things
that we are suffering from, things like insomnia, headaches, weight gain and
moodiness can be traced back to what and how much we are eating and how hard
our bodies are working to correct all of the imbalances.
Both the
Glycemic Index and the Insulin Index are working toward the same goal. They
both strive to inform people of the intense reactions and hard work that our
bodies must go through to process every mouthful of food that we eat. And when
we make mostly poor choices, we force our bodies’ to work even harder until
eventually one or more of the systems eventually fail.
Our bodies
are like any complicated machine. For example, if we overwork our vehicles and
never do maintenance on them, they will eventually break down. And when our
vehicle breaks down, it may not have given us any big clues that it was ready
to quit on us. The same thing can be said of our bodies. We may not notice any
changes when our insulin levels are through the roof, but your pancreas, your
liver, heart and brain are all feeling the strain and trying to keep making
adjustments to what you are eating and to your lifestyle choices.
Unfortunately, even the strongest body will ultimately crack under the pressure.
What is
frightening is that when our insulin levels cannot counter the high blood
sugars in our system any more, the results are extremely serious: diabetes,
heart disease and heart failure, liver and pancreas problems, and increased
weight.
On the other hand, following the recommendations of
making most food choices from the low ranges of the Glycemic and Insulin
Indexes can result in noticeable improvements to your health. So, not only can
you reduce the risk of all of the above mentioned diseases and conditions, you
can actually improve your heart health or lower your weight and become a much
more healthy person overall.
Chapter 9: Glycemic Index
Benefits: Weight Loss
Let’s start
this “Benefits” section of the book with the benefit that is most noticeable.
Our weight. Sure, we want a healthier heart and lower cholesterol and all that,
but mostly we want trimmer thighs and hips and a smaller gut. Right?
Weight loss
is one of the great side benefits to following the recommendations of the
Glycemic Index. While the main reason for its development was to control our
blood sugar from severe dips and spikes and allow our insulin levels to remain
more constant, the fact is that the food choices we make when following the
Glycemic Index are foods that also allow us to lose weight naturally – and even
better, keep it off easily.
The reason
why is because foods that keep our sugar and insulin levels on a healthy and
constant plateau are the same foods that are also giving us a longer, more
constant feeling of fullness and satisfaction. When our energy levels are kept
“fed” on a more continuous basis, we do not feel the need to keep eating.
Everyone has
had that feeling of euphoria after eating a food high in sugars and
carbohydrates, but unfortunately, along with that “high” comes the equal and
sometimes unbearable low. This “bottoming out” happens every time and yet we
put our bodies through this sort of situation so often that we don’t even
recognize it. We seem to be continuously confused as to why we are “hungry”
again so soon after completing a meal, snack or binge that was made up of foods
from the high end of the Glycemic Index. We don’t realize that we aren’t really
hungry it is just that our hormones have just gone on such a roller coaster
ride that we are trying to adjust them.
Just as a
pendulum swings back and forth, our bodies react to one extreme by trying to
correct it, which swings the pendulum back in the other direction. These
extreme actions and reactions are the conduct that will destroy our health and
keep us from losing weight successfully.
Of course,
along with any change you must prepare for it mentally. Even though logically
we know that what we are doing is harmful to our body it has become such a
habit that we may feel helpless to break the cycle. Because as much as we hate
it when our blood sugar levels are low, which leaves us feeling down and
depressed, we absolutely adore those feelings of euphoria that comes with
dangerously high blood sugar.
It will definitely take some time and some hard work at
first, but once you learn to focus your joys on things other than food and on
the way food makes you feel, following the Glycemic Index will be effortless.
Chapter 10: Glycemic Index
Benefits: Reduced Diabetes Risk
The direct
link between the Glycemic Index and diabetes was covered quite a bit in
chapters 7 and 8, but there is still quite a lot to say. The previous chapters
went into some detail about the risks that we take when we overwork the hormone
insulin and all of the complications that can arise from choosing foods that
keep taxing our glucose and insulin levels.
The good
news is that by following the Glycemic Index, you can virtually eliminate your
risk of contracting diabetes. The Glycemic Index protects your insulin response
from becoming overtaxed, which in turn keeps your heart, brain and other organs
healthier.
In fact,
focusing most of your diet on foods from the low Glycemic Index list can even
make your insulin more responsive and sensitive. This is a very good thing.
Having insulin that can react promptly and efficiently to anything you feed
your body will result in you being a much healthier individual overall. Think
of it as a workout routine for your insulin. Eating right and making the best
choices will have your internal systems and organs looking and working as good
as the outside of you will look.
If you also
add exercise, even light activity for a very moderate 20 minutes per day to
your healthier lifestyle, you increase your odds of warding off diabetes
forever. In addition to that, there isn’t one disease or condition that you may
ever suffer from that is not improved when you add regular, moderate exercise
to your daily routine.
Diabetes is
not a disease to take your chances with. It changes and complicates the rest of
your life, and although it can be kept in check for the most part with strict
diet regulations and medication, it is still not a condition that anyone would
ever want to contract.
If for no
other reason, begin practicing the recommendations of the Glycemic Index to
better protect you from developing this disease. If you are someone whose
family history is full of relatives who have suffered and are suffering from
diabetes, then this book is especially needed. You, of all people can see
what diabetes does to people especially to people you love. Don’t become
another member of this terrible club.
Begin making
better choices today. You don’t have to change everything all at once. Start
slowly and make small changes every week until a year from now you will be able
to look back and see a completely different person not only on the outside, but
on the inside as well.
Chapter 11: Glycemic Index
Benefits: Improved Heart Health
It seems
like a stretch to imagine a link between eating foods high in starches and
sugars and heart disease, but the link is most definitely there. Every time you
overindulge in high Glycemic Index foods, your entire system has to go into
“High Alert” in order to bring your system back down to more normal functions.
Since sugars
and starches are our body’s main sources of energy, when we ingest these types
of foods, our bodies try to either use it all or store whatever can’t be burned
as a quick source of needed fuel. When we overdose on high Glycemic Index
foods, we are asking our body to work that much harder. Every system in our body
begins feeling the burden we have just given it. Our blood pressure increases
in order to move the sugar and insulin in our bloodstream as fast as it can.
Along with that, our heart must go into “marathon mode” in order to keep all of
the blood moving and to increase the oxygen needed to perform all of these
functions.
Even hearts
of healthy marathon runners can give out unexpectantly. It isn’t a stretch to
imagine that when the heart of a person who isn’t quite as healthy, who is
overweight, doesn’t exercise and who continuously feeds their body food that
keeps it unhealthy – it just isn’t hard to imagine this poor heart wearing out.
It was found
that people who continued diets high on the Glycemic Index were twice as likely
to have a heart attack or develop heart disease within the next decade as those
who followed a diet based on foods that were lower on the Index.
And if you
are a woman, you must become even more aware of the threat of heart disease and
strokes. Women have now surpassed men in the number of heart attacks, strokes,
and in the number of deaths. Women are more likely to die within five years of
suffering a heart attack or stroke than a man is. In fact, the numbers show
that almost twice as many women die from coronary attacks every year than men
do. Heart disease and strokes kill more women every year than all of the
cancers combined.
As you can
see, this isn’t a situation to be taken lightly. Knowing that there is a way to
improve your heart health significantly should be a major priority in your
life. Especially if you are someone whose family history includes a lot of
family members who suffer from heart attacks or strokes.
Again, focusing your diet on mostly foods from the low
Glycemic Index list will significantly improve your heart’s health and may
increase your life span by many healthy years.
Chapter 12: Glycemic Index
Benefits: Lower Cholesterol
Most of the
foods that you will find on the low end of the Glycemic Index are foods that
are higher in fiber and lower in fat and calories. These are exactly the right
types of foods to eat in order to keep your heart healthy and your cholesterol
low.
Cholesterol
is a trace molecule found in food that travels in our bloodstream and helps with
some very important tasks. One of its jobs is to help re-form the membranes of
certain cells. Another of its jobs is to help in the creation of certain
steroid hormones that the body needs to function.
If we never
ingested any cholesterol are bodies would suffer. But, there is a difference
between “good” cholesterol and “bad” cholesterol. Bad cholesterol is known as
LDL, while good cholesterol goes by the initials HDL. These two different types
of cholesterol although very similar in make up are very different when it
comes to how they affect our bodies.
Having high
levels of HDL in our systems actually helps lower our overall cholesterol
levels and keeps our arteries clear and our heart running smoothly. The
opposite is true when a body is tested and shows high levels of the cholesterol
LDL. This is the harmful cholesterol that clogs arteries and causes instances
of heart arrhythmia, heart attacks, and strokes.
The amazing
thing about all of this is that the main supplier of this cholesterol to our
body is the food that we eat. We are doing this to ourselves! If we decide to
eat foods that are very high in hydrogenated fats, (that is, fats that do not
dissolve or break down easily and that contain high amounts of LDL cholesterol)
then we are endangering our own health and playing Russian roulette with our
lives.
By following
the Glycemic Index, you will be choosing foods that along with helping you to
lose weight and reduce your risk of ever developing diabetes, will also help to
lower your cholesterol which in turn, will virtually eliminate a plethora of
other health issues.
Another
health issue that people may suffer from who have high levels of cholesterol
are gallstones. When there is an excess of cholesterol, the liver tries to
process as much as it can and the excess is absorbed into the other organs of
the body. Once in these other organs such as the gallbladder, the cholesterol
can sit and harden and develop into very painful gallstones that in some cases
may need to be surgically removed.
Doctors are
beginning to agree that testing for cholesterol levels should be made more on a
“ratio basis”. The ratio that is becoming widely accepted is 5:1. That means
that for every measurement of one particle of bad cholesterol (LDL), we should
have at least five particles of good cholesterol (HDL) in our blood.
The Glycemic
Index will help you realize the goal of increasing your amount of good
cholesterol while at the same time decreasing the bad. This happens because the
food that you are putting in your body is keeping your systems running smoothly
without any spikes or dips. When your body doesn’t have to use all of its
resources to try to overcompensate for the bad food you feed it, it can spend
more time dealing with other things. Things like burning extra storage cells of
fat and keeping our arteries clean and our heart healthy.
Chapter 13: Go One Step
Further with Glycemic Loading
Remembered
back in Chapter 3 when we talked about how a banana rates on the Glycemic Index
scale? It was a 53, which meant that it fell in the medium range of the
Glycemic Index. Now, what if you ate two bananas? Does that mean you have
doubled its Glycemic Index and now the rating is double or 106?
No, the
Glycemic Index rating always remains constant or the same, but you have doubled the amount of carbohydrates
and sugars that your body now needs to process. On the other hand, if you ate
one banana now and after about four hours, when the first banana has completely
digested, you ate another banana, your system would not have to work twice as
hard.
This may
seem a little confusing at first, but it is just common sense. Likewise, if you
only ate half a banana you would be decreasing the amount of sugar or glucose
that your body would have to process, but the Glycemic Index would still be 53.
The Glycemic
Load takes the Glycemic Index a little further and is a formula that figures
the relationship between the Glycemic Index and the amount of carbohydrates
that is in each food.
When testing
was done for all of the foods for the Glycemic Index, the measurement that was
used was almost always 50 grams. In some cases, that was a lot of food.
Considerably more than a person would typically eat as a serving. Although,
this was necessary in order to keep the test results consistent, it can
sometimes make it a little confusing to understand.
Let me see
if I can explain it a little better. The control food for all of the Glycemic
Index testing was 50 grams of pure glucose, which is a carbohydrate. So that
means that every item of food that was tested had to compare and be equal to 50
grams worth of carbohydrate. That doesn’t mean that they weighed enough carrots
until it was 50 grams in weight, it meant that they had to eat enough carrots
until they had consumed 50 grams worth of carbohydrates in the carrots. That’s
a lot of carrots!
Just to make
it even clearer, a half a cup of cooked carrots only has 8 grams of
carbohydrates. That means that each test subject had to eat over 3 cups of
cooked carrots in order to equal 50 grams of carbohydrates! Eating 3 cups of
cooked carrots all by yourself in one sitting would be like eating a large bag
of those peeled baby carrots as a single serving.
In contrast,
the Glycemic Load will take the information gathered from the Glycemic Index
and calculate it to reflect a more reasonable serving size. And in so doing,
the rate number will be substantially reduced and many items that are on the
high end of the Glycemic Index will make more sense
The Glycemic
Load gives you a more realistic overview of each food on the Glycemic Index and
allows you to practically apply this information into your daily diet. Later,
in chapter 15 we will discuss the easy formula and how you can calculate the
Glycemic Load for any food that you eat.
Chapter 14: How to Recognize
Low Glycemic Index Foods Easily
Many of the
foods that are considered low on the Glycemic Index are going to look very
familiar to you. In fact, you may have to shed some of your old ideas about
these types of foods been nothing but “diet” foods. The types of food you are
going to find as being categorized as low on the Glycemic Index are all foods
that are healthy, delicious, and keep your blood sugars level and your body
running smoothly. And did I say that these choices were delicious? Indeed, they
are. Forget about the old-fashioned “diet plate”, these foods are foods that
you are going to want to eat.
Some of the
characteristics that will help you recognize if the food is a low Glycemic
Index choice are if the food is comprised of whole grains or an abundance of
fiber. This includes breads, pastas, rice, low fat milk and yogurt and
practically every variety of bean or lentil. Also, you can’t go wrong if it is
a fresh vegetable or fruit.
Before you
know it, you will be able to look at a food and just “know” if it is one of the
magic foods that will help you lose weight, reduce your risk for diabetes,
promote a healthier heart and lower your cholesterol. Once you become familiar
with these types of foods, you will be amazed that there aren’t spotlights on
these foods in the grocery store (or at the very least, have little halos
hovering above them.)
Chapter 15: How to Calculate
the Glycemic Load of any Food
As we stated
in Chapter 13, the Glycemic Load a is a way of ranking every food that you eat
in order to determine even more information than the Glycemic Index shows.
Calculating
the Glycemic Load is a simple matter of multiplication. You simply multiply the
food’s Glycemic Index rating with the number of grams of carbohydrates it
contains in the serving size you are eating. If the food’s Glycemic Index
Rating is below 100, use a decimal point to show that it is less than one. For
instance, a baked potato has a high Glycemic Index rating of 85. The number of
grams of carbohydrates in a medium baked potato is 37. By multiplying .85 and
37, we get just over 31. Therefore, a baked potato has a Glycemic Load of 31,
making it a better choice in our daily diet.
This is a
great example that shows how the Glycemic Index has provided us with an abundance
of useful information and how the Glycemic Load can take that information and
make it more practical for us to use on a daily basis.
The average
range in the Glycemic Load is lower than the Glycemic Index. A food may be
considered pretty high on the Glycemic Load ranking if it is above 50.
Let us now
figure the Glycemic Load of the carrots we discussed in Chapter 13. As we
mentioned, it would take over 3 cups of cooked carrots to eat 50 grams worth of
carbohydrates. Carrots as you may remember have a Glycemic Index rating of 39.
A typical and more realistic serving of cooked carrots would be about 1/2 cup
and this serving contains 8 grams of carbohydrates. Therefore, we multiply 8
(grams of carbs) by .39 (the Glycemic Index in decimal form) to get a Glycemic
Load of 3 !!! This shows that eating carrots is an even better choice than the
Glycemic Index reveals.
The best
recommendation is to keep the total number of your daily Glycemic Load to fewer
than 150. This is much easier than counting calories or fat grams and it
ensures that you are making the best choices.
You can find the information on how many grams of
carbohydrates are in all of your food by looking at the nutritional label. Use
the number listed there to multiply with the Glycemic Index rating and be able
to further enhance your weight loss and improve your health.
Chapter 16: Glycemic Index
Table of Common Foods
Use the
Index ratings listed here for common foods as a guide to help you make the best
dietary choices every day. To begin with, let’s look at some of the most common
foods that are considered high on the Glycemic Index. Usually, these are foods
that you will want to limit and only eat occasionally. You will notice that
there are a couple of foods that look out of place. Baked potatoes, rice cakes,
and watermelon are all on the dreaded “high” list and yet, they all seem like
very healthy choices. “What are they doing on this list?” you might ask.
As stated
before in previous chapters, in order to keep the testing consistent and
scientific all foods had to be tested in equal amounts of carbohydrates. This
means that watermelon, which has very low amount of carbohydrates, had to be
consumed in massive quantities in order to keep the test results equal. But,
watermelon also has a lot of natural sugar and sweetness, which when eaten in
such a large quantity raised the blood sugar levels significantly. This is
where the Glycemic Load value becomes an invaluable tool. When we calculate the
Glycemic Index of watermelon, which is .72 and multiply it by 5 grams of
carbohydrates in a typical slice of watermelon, we get a Glycemic Load value of
3.6. So even though it is listed as a high Glycemic Index food, we find that
when it is consumed in a typical serving size it does not raise our blood sugar
levels to the extent as on the list.
The same is
true of rice cakes and potatoes, but to a lesser extent. They do raise blood
sugar levels more than whole grain pastas and brown rice, but they are also
loaded with so many nutrients and vitamins that it isn’t wise to avoid them
altogether. Use good judgement and common sense when you make your food
choices. Remember that this doesn’t have to be hard or take a lot of thought
once you get the idea. All it takes is being aware of how your body functions
and what we can fuel it with that will help it to operate rather than work
against it.
Also, in
case you are wondering, Gatorade is on the list as a high Glycemic Index food
because as an energy drink it is made up mostly of carbohydrates and sugars,
which replenish a body after it has exerted an enormous amount of energy. But,
as a high Glycemic Index food, you would want to limit how often you drink it.
(Unless you have suddenly become a professional athlete or a long-distance
runner!)
Common High Glycemic Index foods.
Remember to limit them as much as you can.
Remember to limit them as much as you can.
Now let’s
take a look at the medium Glycemic Index list of common foods. These are foods
that you may still want to limit, but definitely choose them more often than
you would a choice from high Glycemic Index list.
Always
remember that if you see something on one of the lists that look “too good to
be true” it probably is. That is when it is best to calculate the Glycemic Load
value.
Also, if you
see something that you’d always thought was very healthy, but now you see it
listed pretty high, remember the testing process and how much of that food they
may have had to test in order to keep the playing field level. If you are
unsure of the index rating always calculate the Glycemic Load of the food item
in order to get a better idea of its value.
Common Medium Glycemic Index foods
Remember to choose these more often than those on the
High Index list.
And now for
the list of foods that score with the lowest values on the Glycemic Index.
These are the foods that should be chosen most of all. Most meals should be
made up of these items and other items that are similarly rated.
As with the
other lists, you may see some items that surprise and confuse you. For instance
a Snickers Bar? On the Low Glycemic Index list?
Remember
that it took 50 grams of carbohydrates to compare with the control, which was
50 carbohydrates of glucose. It only takes a small portion of a Snickers bar to
equal 50 grams of carbs. That means that the small amount of candy bar that
they did the tests with did not raise the blood sugar as much as the large
portion of watermelon that had to be tested.
Once
we calculate what rating a Snickers Candy Bar would get with the additional
information given to us through Glycemic Loading, a Snickers Bar gets a rating
of 80! That is huge when you figure that you will want to keep your total
Glycemic Load points for the day below 150. With this one candy bar you have
used up more than half of your allotted food for the day.
Common Low Glycemic Index foods
Remember to choose these most of all
This is not
a comprehensive list by any means. It would take hundreds of pages to list
every food there is and its Glycemic Index. But, it gives you an idea of the
types of food choices to make.
Following
the Glycemic Index effortlessly should be just that – effortless. You
shouldn’t have to feel that you need to log every item of food that you eat or
look up everything in some dictionary-sized book. Neither should you have to
walk around with a calculator before you eat a mouthful. By familiarizing
yourself with these foods that are listed and some general guidelines, you will
become “Master of your Domain!” Or at least, “Master of the Glycemic Index
Domain”!
Speaking of
domains. If you have a favorite food and you just cannot imagine where it would
fall on the Glycemic Index or the Glycemic Load rating, as of the writing of
this book, the website http://www.glycemicindex.com has a free searchable database that
stays updated with thousands of food items. Once you have the Glycemic Index
rating, you can very easily calculate its Glycemic Load. This way you can get
an even clearer picture of how worthy that food item is to either remain as one
of your favorites or if it should only be eaten on an occasional basis.
In the next chapter we will discuss some of the general
guidelines to practice when following the recommendations of the Glycemic
Index. Along with many helpful guidelines about what to do will be quite a few
cautions and bits of practical advice to help you get the most out of the
Glycemic Index.
Chapter 17: “Do’s” and
“Don’ts” of Following a Glycemic Index Diet
Do choose whole grains over processed
whenever you can. This means looking for the words “whole grain”, “whole
wheat”, etc. on all of your food’s packaging.
Do enjoying as many fresh fruits and vegetables as you
possibly can every day.
Don’t mix too many foods together. Try to eat as many foods as
you can alone and in their natural state. For example, the banana with a
Glycemic Index rating of 53 will change if you add peanut butter to the banana
or dip it in chocolate.
Do look at the “whole picture” when choosing your food
items. Consider all of its characteristics. A food choice that may be listed on
the medium or high Glycemic Index may have so many vitamins and minerals that
it may be the best choice.
Do try to have at least one food from the
low Glycemic Index list at every meal.
Do add vinegar or a no-fat vinaigrette
dressing to your food whenever possible since vinegar is acidic and lowers the
food’s Glycemic Index rating (because it slows down your digestion.)
Don’t over-eat or take too large of portions.
Doubling a portion size doubles how hard that your system has to work, which
causes more insulin to be released.
Do try as many foods as you can from the low Glycemic Index
list. You may be surprised to find some delicious choices that you have never
tried before.
Don’t completely forget about fats and calories. Just because
something is low on the Glycemic Index, for instance peanuts, doesn’t mean that
it is the best choice to be eating often. It may not raise your blood sugar,
but it will certainly pack on the fat and calories.
Do choose foods that are high in fiber. The higher the fiber
the longer it takes to digest, which will leave you feeling fuller longer and
keep your blood sugars at a steady level for hours. Aim for between 26-35 grams
of fiber per day!
Don’t forget about beans! (This should be embroidered on a
pillow in every home!) Most beans fall in the low Glycemic Index and are
packed full of nutritional value. If you are worried about embarrassing
gas from eating a diet rich in fresh vegetables, fruits and beans there are
many products that can counteract that problem.
Do start the day with a great breakfast of low Glycemic
Index foods. Be sure to choose whole grains and fresh fruits and
vegetables. Beginning your day this way will make it easier for your
blood glucose levels to remain constant throughout the rest of the day.
Do try to eat your meals at regular times and on a regular
basis. Just as a car runs better when maintenance regularly, so do our bodies.
Don’t overindulge in unhealthy items such as salt, caffeine or
alcohol. Your body has a very hard time correcting the imbalances that these
items cause.
Do be aware of the types of fats that you
choose. While fat is a necessary nutrient, some are better choices than others
are. Try to use fats that are better for your heart like olive oil and canola.
Do eat a variety of good foods every day. Our bodies adjust
to foods and by eating differently all of the time it keeps our system “on its
toes” and in shape.
Don’t become discouraged. Even the easiest changes are still
changes. We are creatures of habit and we struggle against any change. Be aware
of your feelings and put them in perspective.
Do look for “coarseness” in your food choices. Food that
hasn’t been over-processed will appear to have more texture and will result in
lower Glycemic Index numbers.
Don’t avoid some of the healthiest food choices like beets,
cabbage, Swiss chard, Pomegranates, and prunes. Find ways to incorporate them
either fresh in salads or sandwiches, cooked as a side dish or squeezed in a
juice.
.
Do plan your menus, shop with a list and
buy plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables when they are in season.
Do invest in a large variety of herbs and
seasonings and experiment with them to add new and exciting flavors to your
meals.
Don’t fry your foods in oils as much as using
other methods like baking or boiling or steaming.
Do look up new Glycemic Index recipes to try in order to
keep your meals interesting and fun
Don’t be afraid to eat out. Choose the
simplest prepared dishes and items where you can control what goes on them or
in them.
Chapter 18: In Conclusion
Following
the guidelines recommended by the Glycemic Index is effortless once you become
familiar with it. You will soon come to realize that it doesn’t prohibit you
from eating any food that you choose, it only recommends that you make the best
choice you can in most situations because your body deserves it.
In the perfect
scientific conditions the Glycemic Index is infallible. However, our lives are
not as regimented as a laboratory. This means that in many outside factors can
influence the Glycemic Index. As stated earlier in the book, eating foods
together with other foods can change the Glycemic Index. But that doesn’t
necessarily have to be a bad thing. It works for the good, too. If you choose a
higher rated item and eat a low rated food with it, you will lower the Glycemic
Index value of the higher rated food.
In fact,
rather than eat a high Glycemic Index food by itself either as a meal or as a
snack, it would be better to add a low index food to it in order to slow your
digestion down and help your system deal with the higher blood sugar.
Also, the
way in which food is prepared can skew the Index. But the basic premise is
there and the Glycemic Index does not lose its value because it is still
providing us with invaluable information.
Even if the
Glycemic Index values become “off” by a few points, they are still letting you
know which foods are better for your system then others. And the whole purpose
of the Glycemic Index is to help you live your life while effortlessly choosing
the best foods and becoming healthier every day.
There are
still going to be some of you who will need a little bit more structure. That
is fine and very understandable. It is going to be hard to make some of these
changes and break some of the lifelong habits that have been formed.
If, in the
beginning you find that you want to spend more time and become even more aware
of how your food choices affect your blood glucose levels you could purchase a
blood glucose meter and test your glucose levels at the same time after every
meal. These meters are the same ones that diabetics use to test their blood
sugar levels. They can be a little expensive and they aren’t really necessary,
but if you would feel better knowing exactly how certain foods affect your
system it may be a worthwhile investment.
But do not
rely on this sort of behavior for a long. Learn what you need to know and move
on. Lifelong changes will not happen if every time you have to eat it is a
chore. Eating should just be a natural response to hunger. That is probably the
hardest thing to learn. Food is so wrapped up with emotions and social
situations that it will be hard for our brains to disconnect these bonds.
If you are
going to spend a lot of time exerting tons energy on anything related to
following the Glycemic Index recommendations, it would be best to focus all of
your energy on dealing with the emotions that you will encounter when you try
to break established habits. This is where we sabotage our own actions. Invest
in books or videos that will help you to deal with the anger and stubbornness
that you will begin to exhibit once you start making changes.
There are
many good books and websites and support groups that will help you to overcome
these emotional issues. And always remember that no matter how hard it seems to
be to live a healthier lifestyle (at least, at first) instead concentrate on
how much harder it is on your body to fix itself if you continue making the
food choices that you are currently making.
The best
thing you could ever do is to start now and learn how to control your Glycemic
Index and then pass these recommendations on to your family. By starting these
habits with your children while they are young you will be instilling in them a
lifetime of good health. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to know that your children
may not ever have to struggle with weight issues or the threat of diabetes? And
as they age and continue in this lifestyle they may avoid so many other
diseases and serious health issues.
Now you are
aware of what the Glycemic Index is and the terrible effects that an overload
of glucose can do to your body. You have also learned what insulin is and what
function it performs and how we can actually wear it out.
Additionally,
you read how momentous the threat of diabetes is and how serious and
complicated the disease can be. Along with that, you learned that heart disease
is prevalent and even more so among women.
The good
news is how easily all of these serious situations can be improved or even
eliminated. And maybe the sweetest benefit of all is that along with a healthy
body on the inside, comes a beautiful body on the outside!
After learning all of this, it
is only natural that you will want to do everything that you can to improve
your health and assist your body to function more naturally. It only takes a
little bit of exertion at first and after that controlling your Glycemic Index
is truly – Effortless
