Day 11 - Glycemic Load

A calorie is just a calorie right? It doesn't really matter what I eat as long as I stay within a certain number of calories.


I personally believe this to be FALSE. I base my understanding of why a calorie is not just a calorie by examining closely the scientific explanation for glycemic load and insulin release.

Let's define a few things first.

What is Glycemic index? - The Glycemic Index (GI) of a food indicates how much eating a certain food will affect the glucose levels in your blood. Foods that have a high glycemic index will cause a surge of sugar blood levels and insulin which your body will store the excessive glucose as fat. Foods low in glycemic index will be digested slowly and increase blood sugar and insulin levels gradually, which is a very good thing.

OK. Makes sense? So what do you need to do to prevent your body from storing your food as fat vs. using it as fuel? Easy, eat a diet that is low in glycemic index foods.

You want to know something else that is pretty scary? Having surges in blood sugar and insulin levels can lead to insulin resistance and DIABETES. In fact, nearly 10% of all Americans are diabetic! That is HUGE!!! Keeping tight controls of your blood sugar levels will help in preventing this horrible disease. Even if you are not overweight, you can still become a diabetic.

Begin making sure the majority of your food choices are low glycemic. This will help you reach your goals for weight loss AND prevent the 7th leading cause of DEATH in the United States, diabetes. A simple and easy way to do this is to avoid packaged and processed foods.

 

 

- FitWhitt

A Little Bit of Science Saturday

I am relaxing on a Friday night which for me means I am meal prepping and looking on pinterest. I am searching through the general feed and keep pinning sweet yummy desserts.

 I know I do not necessarily want to eat them, they are just so pretty and sound so tasty. I began having cravings and have a little pep talk with myself. "Think about how you feel after you eat crap like that." I tell my head "your right! I always feel horrible." Not just emotionally, but physically. So what is the science behind why sugar is so so bad for us? Maybe being more aware of the chemical madness that is occurring in our bodies when we eat those delicious sweets will help them not be so appealing and control my cravings.
Here is some science for you. Sugar is bad. We all know that. We know it makes us feel good at first but then we crash and feel awful. We know it can cause a host of diseases, make us fat, steal our energy, and a whole world of other problems. There are alot of books and research out there that have tried to encourage people to participate in a Sugar Detox. This is because for the majority of the world that does not practice the art of clean eating, sugar floods their system in literally toxic amounts every day. But how and why?

The average American will consume between 2-3 pounds of sugar every week. This is easily achieved when taking in a diet high in processed foods that are filled with high fructose corn syrup, fast food, breakfast cereals and breads, sauces, sodas and mocha triple double frapachino. All foods have a glycemic index rating. Glycemic index "is a measure of how a given food affects blood-glucose levels, with each food being assigned a numbered rating. The lower the rating, the slower the absorption and digestion process, which provides a more gradual, healthier infusion of sugars into the bloodstream. On the other hand, a high rating means that blood-glucose levels are increased quickly, which stimulates the pancreas to secrete insulin to drop blood-sugar levels. These rapid fluctuations of blood-sugar levels are not healthy because of the stress they place on the body".

So what's the big deal? A pesky side effect of elevated insulin levels with sugar is that it inhibits the release of growth hormone, suppressing your immune system. It SUPPRESSES YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM, also known as, makes you ill! (thought this should be stressed).
"An influx of sugar into the bloodstream upsets the body's blood-sugar balance, triggering the release of insulin, which the body uses to keep blood-sugar at a constant and safe level. Insulin also promotes the storage of fat, so that when you eat sweets high in sugar, you're making way for rapid weight gain and elevated triglyceride levels, both of which have been linked to cardiovascular disease. Complex carbohydrates tend to be absorbed more slowly, lessening the impact on blood-sugar levels".

But how does it suppress my immune system. Interesting enough, our bodies immune system needs a particular vitamin that helps it determine when a virus, bacteria or cancer cell are invading. You may have heard of it, Vitamin C. Interestingly Vitamin C and glucose have similar chemical structures, so much so that they literally compete to enter our cells. "If there is more glucose around, there is going to be less vitamin C allowed into the cell. It doesn't take much: a blood sugar value of 120 reduces the phagocytic index by 75%. So when you eat sugar, think of your immune system slowing down to a crawl".

"Here we are getting a little bit closer to the roots of disease. It doesn't matter what disease we are talking about, whether we are talking about a common cold or about cardiovascular disease, or cancer or osteoporosis, the root is always going to be at the cellular and molecular level, and more often than not insulin is going to have its hand in it, if not totally controlling it".

But is all sugar bad? Why do people tell me to eat complex over simple sugars?
Simple carbohydrates or simple sugars - These carbs are broken down and digested very quickly, but most simple carbs contain refined sugars and very few essential vitamins and minerals. Examples include table sugar, fruit juice, milk, yogurt, honey, molasses, maple syrup and brown sugar.

Complex carbohydrates - the complex carbs take longer to digest and are packed with fiber, vitamins and minerals. Examples include vegetables, whole grain breads, oatmeal, legumes, brown rice and wheat pasta

So we now know that there is no nutritional gain to achieve by eating simple sugar and it is foolish to desire that poison that will have no impact but negative on your body. Research also proves that ingesting sugar creates issues in asthma, mood swings, personality changes, mental illness, nervousness, the list goes on and on. Besides, why intake something that benefits you in no way and is completely void of any mineral or vitamin, but causes chaos when entering your system?

Think about the chemical and science of sugar next time you sit down to your daily soda or afternoon pastry. Maybe thinking about the immediate negative impact and being aware of what is truly happening at the cellular level will prevent you from regularly partaking.

I challenge you to detox yourself from your daily sugar intake. Make on change at a time until you can break free from it and begin feeling the way your body runs when you fuel it appropriately with good, clean and healthy food. Here are some different programs that might be helpful.

http://www.doctoroz.com/challenge/sugar-detox

http://simplemom.net/the-great-sugar-detox-cmon-you-know-you-need-it/

http://www.facebook.com/21daysugardetox

Talking about this made me want to explain so much more about simple vs. complex carbohydrates, secret sugar contents, etc. Looks like we have plenty to talk about on Science Saturday. Let me know if there are any topics you specifically have a question on. I will address the issues with sweeteners next week.

I am off to spend the morning in the gym, followed by some time in the sauna before a very busy Saturday commences. I love working out on Saturdays because the gym is so quiet and I can be so focused. Do work!

- Whittney C.

Sources:
http://www.briancalkins.com/simplevscomplexcarb.htm
http://www.healingdaily.com/detoxification-diet/sugar.htm