Maintaining a steady blood sugar level is very important component of
your dieting effort. While your body breaks down all digestible carbohydrates into blood sugar,
some are converted into blood sugar faster than others. Thus, some
carbohydrates cause a spike in your blood sugar level which causes you
to feel hungry faster and to crave more sugary foods. While other
carbohydrates are converted into blood sugar more slowly leveling out
you blood sugar resulting in less hunger and less food cravings.
For this reason, the Glycemic Index (GI) was developed to classify how
quickly your body converts carbohydrates into blood sugar as compared to
pure glucose. Glucose has a GI of 100 and all other carbohydrate based
foods are ranked against it. Foods with a score of 70 or more are
defined as having a high GI while those with a score of 55 or less are
considered as low.
Eating lots of food with a high GI causes spikes in your blood sugar
level which can lead to many health issues such as type 2 diabetes,
heart disease, and obesity. While eating low GI foods causes your blood
sugar level to stay even thus, keeping your energy level balanced and
causing you to fill fuller longer between meals. The following are some
additional benefits of eating low GI carbohydrates.
· Helps you to lose and manage weight your weight.
· Increases your body's sensitivity to insulin.
· Decreases your risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
· Reduces your risk of heart disease.
· Improves your blood cholesterol levels
· Reduces hunger and keep you fuller for longer.
· Helps you prolong physical activity.
· Helps you to re-fuel your carbohydrate stores after exercise.
The GI is very interesting because some foods that you intuitively think
would have a high rating do not. For instance, fructose which is fruit
sugar has a minimal effect on blood sugar while white bread and
French-fried potatoes are nearly converted to blood sugar as fast as
pure glucose. In other words, you can’t classify foods as having a high
or low GI according to the sweetness of taste. Many factors affect a
foods GI such as:
· Processing: Grains that have been milled and refined have a higher GI
· Type of starch: Starches come in many different
configurations. Some are easier to break into sugar molecules than
others. For example, starch in potatoes is digested and absorbed into
the bloodstream relatively quickly.
· Fiber content: The sugars in fiber are linked in a way that is
hard for your body to break down. Thus, the more fiber a food has, the
less digestible carbohydrate, and consequently the less sugar it can
deliver into your blood stream.
· Fat and acid content: The more fat or acid a food contains,
the slower its carbohydrates are converted to sugar and absorbed into
your bloodstream.
· Physical form: Finely ground grain is more rapidly digested, and so has a higher GI than more coarsely ground grain.
The basic technique for eating the low GI way is simply a "this for
that" approach - i.e., swapping high GI carbohydrates for low GI
carbohydrates. You don't need to count numbers or do any sort of mental
arithmetic to make sure you are eating a healthy, low GI diet. Follow
these easy to implement suggestions.
· Use breakfast cereals based on oats, barley and bran
· Use breads with whole-grains, stone-ground flour, sour dough
· Reduce the amount of potatoes you eat
· Enjoy all other types of fruit and vegetables
· Use brown rice
· Enjoy whole-wheat pasta and noodles
· Eat plenty of salad vegetables with a vinaigrette dressing
I'm an ACE certified personal trainer and National Masters Over 60 Powerlifting Champion with over 25 years of experience in the health and fitness industry. I've seen a lot of fads come and go, but three things remain constant in getting healthy and staying fit. A positive mental attitude, a healthy balanced diet, and a fitness program built on proper strength training and cardiovascular exercise. Practice these three things daily and you will discover that they lead to "The Fountain of Youth."
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