If you look at the numerous weight loss plans and diet products around, it's easy to become confused.
Heck, it's easy to become confused even if you decide to follow even one of them, much less try to compare claims, food lists, "facts", and figures... yours and theirs!
Sorry, bad joke.
Well, I have been looking at such subjects for over 40 years, and have got to try a few out, see what happened to other people on other programs, and try to integrate the good things I have learned into a system that works for my fairly fit, but aging (67 years old) body.
One thing has struck me again and again. Many of the valid weight loss, or weight management, programs, not fad diets, usually get down to a list of foods you should eat that are fairly similar to one another. Whether it's the Atkins diet, the south Beach diet, the Ph balance diet, they all wind up being pretty close to duplicates except in the details. The foods they want you to eat, however, are generally about the same in the long run.
You are supposed to eat protein, usually from meat, fish, milk, cheese, and eggs, a lot of "good" carbs, and a little fat. So-called "good" carbs are those that take longer to pass through the digestive system. These are primarily going to be most vegetables, fruits, and whole grain products.
"Bad" carbs, such as refined sugar, common American white bread, most white rice, potatoes, and several other foods, often of the processed kind, are to be avoided, not, as you might think because of the calories they are often loaded with, but because they cause a sudden rise in blood sugar. Carbs are naturally converted into sugar in the body, a substance called glucose, which is then distributed to cells for energy. Sensing a rise in blood sugar levels after the introduction of carbohydrates, the pancreas causes insulin to be released which in turn tells the cells, "please accept this glucose".
In case you are beginning to wonder, I have not forgotten what I was writing about. I will get to the part about the glycemic index in just a minute!
Now, the body ingested carbs. The body converts the carbs to glucose, a sugar. The sugar enters the blood. The pancreas notices the sugar and sends out insulin which tells the cells to accept and store it for energy.
In certain situations and conditions, the cells will say, "No!"
This is called insulin resistance, and, at this point, with no other options, the body stores most of the glucose as fat.
One common reason for the insulin resistance is that you are getting older. Another is that you are getting too fat.
Yet another reason, which increases the incidence from all the other reasons is that the "bad" carbs, those rapidly converted to glucose, simply overwhelm the system. And, in our modern society, those kinds of carbs are quite often a large percentage of the foods we eat... all day long!
Many studies have shown that when a group of people with little in the way of weight problems, diabetes, and even conditions such as diverticulosis, a weakening of the bowel which can result in painful and dangerous conditions, adopt a diet similar to our modern American diet, the incidence of these problems, together with heart disease, stroke, and cancer tend to rise.
Okay, what about the "good" carbs?
Well, these are common vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, tomatoes, cabbage, etc., which have not been processed. They are also beans and whole grains in general.
What makes them "good"?
They take longer for the body to process. This means that they are causing a gradual creation of glucose and release of insulin over a longer period of time. Instead of a sudden demand to accept a large supply of glucose, the cells are receiving a small but steady supply over a period of time. This results in a more constant supply of energy, instead of the ups and downs experienced with more simple carbohydrates and refined sugar.
Here's the part about the glycemic index.
It is simply a mathematical means of ranking the various foods according to how long the processing in the body takes. It is not perfect in terms of weight loss and health benefits. Overall, however, foods with a low GI number are the carbs which are considered "good" carbs.
Now, you can find food charts which will tell you the GI numbers of a wide range of foods. You can find books which explain this in even more detail. You can find recipes which make use of low glycemic index foods.
That's fine, if you wish to educate yourself on the subject. Your health will be better for it and I commend you.
However, just one of my reference books has a food list several pages long of low GI foods, and you and I know that you probably don't want spend long periods selecting the foods, putting together the meal plans, and preparing the foods. That's not the American way! We want it fast and easy.
Even fast and easy, you can do a lot to eat something close to a low glycemic index diet. Simply cut out sugar(s), and let your daily diet consist of lean protein, fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains rather than refined ones, and you will be fairly close.
By the way, cutting out sugar is a great idea, but, unless you really read the food labels, you probably have no idea HOW MUCH SUGAR YOU ARE REALLY GETTING! Many foods, even "lite" foods and "diet" foods often have a lot of sugar, as do many dressings, barbecue sauces... you get the idea.
So, what is the glycemic index and why does it matter to me... and you?
It is a scientific method for defining the best carbs (usually) for your body. However, it is clumsy for the ordinary person to use in daily life and its scientific designations sometimes do not fully gibe with reality. That having been said, sticking fairly close to its recommendations, or rather its rankings, by making sure the carbs you eat come from the low GI end of the scale you will probably improve your health and fitness and make weight loss a whole lot easier than you ever imagined.
Heck, it's easy to become confused even if you decide to follow even one of them, much less try to compare claims, food lists, "facts", and figures... yours and theirs!
Sorry, bad joke.
Well, I have been looking at such subjects for over 40 years, and have got to try a few out, see what happened to other people on other programs, and try to integrate the good things I have learned into a system that works for my fairly fit, but aging (67 years old) body.
One thing has struck me again and again. Many of the valid weight loss, or weight management, programs, not fad diets, usually get down to a list of foods you should eat that are fairly similar to one another. Whether it's the Atkins diet, the south Beach diet, the Ph balance diet, they all wind up being pretty close to duplicates except in the details. The foods they want you to eat, however, are generally about the same in the long run.
You are supposed to eat protein, usually from meat, fish, milk, cheese, and eggs, a lot of "good" carbs, and a little fat. So-called "good" carbs are those that take longer to pass through the digestive system. These are primarily going to be most vegetables, fruits, and whole grain products.
"Bad" carbs, such as refined sugar, common American white bread, most white rice, potatoes, and several other foods, often of the processed kind, are to be avoided, not, as you might think because of the calories they are often loaded with, but because they cause a sudden rise in blood sugar. Carbs are naturally converted into sugar in the body, a substance called glucose, which is then distributed to cells for energy. Sensing a rise in blood sugar levels after the introduction of carbohydrates, the pancreas causes insulin to be released which in turn tells the cells, "please accept this glucose".
In case you are beginning to wonder, I have not forgotten what I was writing about. I will get to the part about the glycemic index in just a minute!
Now, the body ingested carbs. The body converts the carbs to glucose, a sugar. The sugar enters the blood. The pancreas notices the sugar and sends out insulin which tells the cells to accept and store it for energy.
In certain situations and conditions, the cells will say, "No!"
This is called insulin resistance, and, at this point, with no other options, the body stores most of the glucose as fat.
One common reason for the insulin resistance is that you are getting older. Another is that you are getting too fat.
Yet another reason, which increases the incidence from all the other reasons is that the "bad" carbs, those rapidly converted to glucose, simply overwhelm the system. And, in our modern society, those kinds of carbs are quite often a large percentage of the foods we eat... all day long!
Many studies have shown that when a group of people with little in the way of weight problems, diabetes, and even conditions such as diverticulosis, a weakening of the bowel which can result in painful and dangerous conditions, adopt a diet similar to our modern American diet, the incidence of these problems, together with heart disease, stroke, and cancer tend to rise.
Okay, what about the "good" carbs?
Well, these are common vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, tomatoes, cabbage, etc., which have not been processed. They are also beans and whole grains in general.
What makes them "good"?
They take longer for the body to process. This means that they are causing a gradual creation of glucose and release of insulin over a longer period of time. Instead of a sudden demand to accept a large supply of glucose, the cells are receiving a small but steady supply over a period of time. This results in a more constant supply of energy, instead of the ups and downs experienced with more simple carbohydrates and refined sugar.
Here's the part about the glycemic index.
It is simply a mathematical means of ranking the various foods according to how long the processing in the body takes. It is not perfect in terms of weight loss and health benefits. Overall, however, foods with a low GI number are the carbs which are considered "good" carbs.
Now, you can find food charts which will tell you the GI numbers of a wide range of foods. You can find books which explain this in even more detail. You can find recipes which make use of low glycemic index foods.
That's fine, if you wish to educate yourself on the subject. Your health will be better for it and I commend you.
However, just one of my reference books has a food list several pages long of low GI foods, and you and I know that you probably don't want spend long periods selecting the foods, putting together the meal plans, and preparing the foods. That's not the American way! We want it fast and easy.
Even fast and easy, you can do a lot to eat something close to a low glycemic index diet. Simply cut out sugar(s), and let your daily diet consist of lean protein, fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains rather than refined ones, and you will be fairly close.
By the way, cutting out sugar is a great idea, but, unless you really read the food labels, you probably have no idea HOW MUCH SUGAR YOU ARE REALLY GETTING! Many foods, even "lite" foods and "diet" foods often have a lot of sugar, as do many dressings, barbecue sauces... you get the idea.
So, what is the glycemic index and why does it matter to me... and you?
It is a scientific method for defining the best carbs (usually) for your body. However, it is clumsy for the ordinary person to use in daily life and its scientific designations sometimes do not fully gibe with reality. That having been said, sticking fairly close to its recommendations, or rather its rankings, by making sure the carbs you eat come from the low GI end of the scale you will probably improve your health and fitness and make weight loss a whole lot easier than you ever imagined.
Donovan Baldwin is a 67-year-old exerciser, freelance writer,
certified optician, and Internet marketer currently living in the Dallas
- Fort Worth area. A University Of West Florida alumnus (1973) with a
BA in accounting, he has been a member of Mensa and has been a Program
Accountant for the Florida State Department of Education, the Business
Manager of a community mental health center, and a multi-county Fiscal
Consultant for an educational field office. He has also been a trainer
for a major international corporation, and has managed various small
businesses, including his own. After retiring from the U. S. Army in
1995, with 21 years of service, he became interested in Internet
marketing and developed various online businesses. He has been writing
poetry, articles, and essays for over 40 years, and now frequently
publishes original articles on his own websites and for use by other
webmasters. You can learn more about weight loss and related issues at
his website, http://nodiet4me.com/.
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