Glycemic Index: A Magic Weight Loss Solution or a Soap Bubble Ready to Burst?
Glycemic index ranks different carbohydrate foods depending on their potential to raise blood glucose levels.
The ranking is on a scale from 0 to 100.Higher the Glycemic index, higher is the particular carbohydrates ability to effect a spike(rise) in blood glucose levels.
Low-GI foods, by virtue of their slow digestion and absorption, produce gradual rises in blood sugar and insulin levels, and have benefits for health.
Low GI diets have been shown to improve both glucose and lipid levels in people with diabetes (type 1 and type 2).
This is as far as it goes about the use of glycemic index for weight loss.
Popular diet books like the south beach diet are founded on the premise that the spike in blood glucose levels leads to more hunger and subsequent weight gain, whereas the foods with low GI have a tendency to delay the haunger or lower appetite, leading to weight loss, which is too simplistic, but ,not quite supported by scientific evidence.
Read this excerpt taken from WebMD:Experts Take On the Glycemic Index
It sounds like a magic formula for dieters –but experts have long been saying there’s no such thing. “If you don’t have peaks and valleys in your glucose level then hunger should be kept at bay,” says Kathleen Zellman, RD, a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association (ADA). “However, it’s not that simple. It’s also affected by meal size, whether there’s any fat in the meal, and overall health status.”
“Glycemic index looks at individual foods — not how that food might interact with another,” says Connie Diekman, RD, an ADA spokesperson in St. Louis, Missouri. “If you eat a high glycemic index food with a protein, for example, it might be absorbed more slowly. … That’s the hang-up with glycemic index. Very few people will sit down and eat one high glycemic index food and then another. It’s meals that we eat.”
Michael Jensen, MD, an endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., says it’s never been proven that high insulin levels — which result when a high glycemic index food is eaten — mean increased hunger. “When [you] work with patients who get real hungry between meals, you have to try a couple of different things. I’m not sure if it’s glycemic index, the bulk of food, the content of food that gives [the sense of fullness] … I also have them consider adding protein and modest amounts of fat to decrease overeating between meals.”
All the researchers are unanimous in that, it’s the fiber content of the diet that is more important for controlling diabetes and weight gain than the Glycemic Index.Read the exerpts of a new research document from WebMD,….
New research shows that when it comes to type 2 diabetes, not all carbohydrates are created equal. Tufts University researchers report that eating whole-grain foods, especially fiber-rich cereals, appears to improve insulin sensitivity and lower the risk of the metabolic syndrome.
Whole-grain foods have already been found to help protect against heart disease and certain cancers, and the newly published study is one of several that indicates there is a protective role for whole grains against a constellation of major risk factors that lead to metabolic syndrome — a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and the development of type 2 diabetes.
“Unless you’re a diabetic, glycemic index may not be all that important,” says Jack Alhadeff, PhD, professor of biochemistry at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa. , who adds that since most of us eat a variety of foods in a meal, the accuracy of the index can be questionable.
But what about the notion that glucose from high-index foods is more likely to be stored as fat?
“The scientific literature is very clear that eating carbohydrates that are embedded in plant cellulose — complex carbohydrates — is always better,” says Nagi Kumar, PhD, director of clinical nutrition at the Moffitt Cancer Center and professor of human nutrition at the University of South Florida in Tampa. “But the reasons it is better are not because it somehow lessens or alters fat storage.”
All this leads one to conclude that the importance of fiber is far more that Glycemic index for dieters. The weight loss programs like many low carb diets and the popular south beach diet are only trying to exploit the limited scientific data on Glycemic Index to sell their diet wares.
A diet rich in fibre has many advantages like:
Fiber can help you avoid overeating. It has been found that fiber can bind with cholesterol in the digestive tract, thus lowering blood cholesterol.
Another important point about fiber-rich foods is that they tend to be loaded with phytochemicals that appear to have anticancer functions,along with these benefits and its role in weight maintenance, fiber helps prevent the following:
Constipation Hemorrhoids Appendicitis Diverticulosis — an intestinal disease where pockets, which can become infected, develop in the intestinal lining.
A diet program which recommends fiber rich foods and is loaded with healthy and natural weight loss alternatives to the foods recommended by the fad diets is the only alternative to safe and sure weight loss.
You can get more cutting edge fat burning secrets in my Free 5day email ecourse by subscribing to my newsletter at: www.eweightlosstips.com
Rajesh Shetty
Expert in weight loss principles of Ayurveda Medical Scienceand Author of the Best selling book,”Proven weight loss secrets revealed”.
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Weight Loss Psychology- Sticking to an Exercise Program!
IT’S NOT ABOUT THE NUMBERS!
The health clubs are always racking their brains trying to figure out why they have such a hard time keeping members coming back. Most owners would argue that cash flow and profit margins are the most important reason to retain membership. Yes, but what drives customers to these health clubs? These owners have lost touch with what matters most, the customer! Give the customer more than they expect and they will continue to do business with you. Selling a product or service is about people more so than numbers on a spreadsheet.
SINK HOLES VS. POTHOLES
I want you to think of this principle in your workout. You know it is very easy to get burdened down with all the details of an exercise and diet program. While guidelines are necessary, at times focusing too much on the numbers can and will set you up for failure. You may start to think all this counting calories, reps, and keeping track of heart rates are too much to accomplish. Unexpectedly, you start to lose sight of your goals and it becomes more of a job than a hobby or stress release. You may even quit exercising. This can be an immediate sinkhole for you.
IT’S BEING SOLD OUT!
The only way you will follow through on an exercise program is to be sold out. The military calls them "lifers." These are people who are committed to something for the long haul. Are you a lifer? Could you be a lifer? A lifer has a sold out mindset. He or she realizes that there will be potholes to go through; there may even be a sinkhole up ahead, but they get through it or they go around the situation. It may take support from others, but it gets done. You may not be a lifer today, but you could be if you don’t make changes now!
DECISION MAKING
I was named Mr. Michigan in the statewide bodybuilding contest in 1988. When I competed in bodybuilding contests, it took me a good month to decide if I really wanted to go for that particular goal. The decision process was well thought out. I realized the days ahead would bring doubt, frustration, pain, and at times, humility.
I also realized it could bring many emotional setbacks. Was I willing to pay the price? Was I willing to change my behavior and lifestyle for the hope of a future benefit? All those thoughts had to be debated before the decision to move forward was made. However, when I made the decision to go forward, a switch was turned on that could not be turned off. I could not turn back. There is a sense of relief that comes with making a decision. Perhaps because once that decision is made, all the pressure is off. My philosophy is: "GOALS CHANGE, DECISIONS DON’T"
BEING SOLD OUT IS AN ATTITUDE OF THE HEART!
IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU!
Twenty-two years ago, I attended college. Instead of studying, I wandered into a gym in the basement of the men’s dormitory. I didn’t have a bit of knowledge of how to begin an exercise program, where to go to start, or who to turn to for help. After about a month of blindly making my way through the steel machines, buffed bodies, and stinky locker rooms, something dawned on me. And to this day has kept me exercising all these years. I started to realize that whatever I was doing, it was going to impact my life more than I could imagine. Exercise and eating properly were not only going to change my life, but it was also going to propel me into making an impact on others. You can be motivated, but not disciplined. However, you cannot be disciplined without being motivated.
REWARDS BIGGER THAN LIFE
I understood there would be some good attitude days and some very bad ones. I knew some workouts would make me feel good and others where I never wanted to see a treadmill again. But, deep inside, I realized that just one more day could make a difference. For just one more day, I could force myself to eat good food. For just one more day, I realized this was not about my selfish attitude and me.
Each of you is different. You will put into exercise a certain amount of effort and everyone will get something different from it. You cannot just package good intentions and say, "If you do this or if you buy that, you will receive this in return." It just doesn’t work that way. But, I will guarantee you this: committing to exercise and eating right will bring you nothing but positive and fulfilling rewards, both physically and emotionally. It could very well save your life some day. It saved mine!
A PROMISE THAT CAN NOT BE BROKEN.
I have bad days. I have good days. I have days I had wish I had never started exercising. I want fried foods some days. I eat fried foods sometimes. I want to take a vacation from it all. I take a vacation from it all. Yet, at the end of the day, some small voice inside reminds me of that decision I made many years ago. I can’t turn back even when I want to. I made a commitment to myself years ago: Never be afraid to ask for help and realize every day to focus on the big picture.
What about you? Are you going to sell out to being miserable, achy, low energy, and suffer from low self-esteem? Or are you going to make a meaningful decision to get in better health? Let’s do it together.
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