Glycemic Index - Are Rice Cakes Diet Food?

WHAT IS THE GLYCEMIC INDEX? The Glycemic Index (GI) is a measure of how much a carbohydrate food raises blood glucose in your body. Foods with high GIs raise blood glucose levels more than foods with low GIs.

CARBOHYDRATE FOODS ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL! Whole food carbohydrates such as vegetables have low Gl values, while foods containing processed flours and sugars have high GI values. A donut raises your blood glucose levels much faster and much higher than a cup of broccoli.

SO WHAT? Excess sugar in your system causes your pancreas to secrete insulin. Insulin brings your blood sugar down primarily by converting the excess sugar to stored fat. This means the donut doesnt just make you fat because it of its high calories, it also spikes your insulin levels and causes your body to go into fat-storing mode. In fact, that donut dumps sugar into your system so fast that your pancreas is likely to secrete too much insulin, resulting in an energy crash and increased hunger! (When your insulin levels drop too low, fueling of the cells is inhibited, causing a release of hormones to make you hungry).

THERES MORE! Chronically high insulin levels have been associated with other life risking diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, kidney damage, liver damage and high blood pressure - just to name a few.
Chronically high insulin levels can lead to insulin resistance. This is a big problem. Think of insulin as the key to the door of your cells. It opens the door so that your cells can receive vital nutrients. If your cells dont respond to insulin they cant receive the nutrients they need to function.

WHY DO CHRONICALLY HIGH INSULIN LEVELS LEAD TO INSULIN RESISTANCE? Desensitization. Think of walking into a room with a fresh Christmas tree. Youll be flooded with the smell of the tree. But it doesnt take long for you to become desensitized to the smell. Soon, you need to stand next to the tree to smell it. Next youll need to bury your face in the tree to smell it youve become desensitized. Its the same with insulin and your cells. The cells become desensitized to the insulin when insulin is always high in the system. When this insensitivity becomes dangerous it is called Type II Diabetes.

BACK TO THE GLYCEMIC INDEX: Whole foods are naturally more balanced and less likely to cause insulin spikes than processed foods. Fiber helps slow down the absorption of glucose into the body. Nature typically combines fiber with sugar in whole foods. Vegetables and fruits have sugar, but they also contain a lot of fiber. Hence whole food carbohydrates typically have a lower Glycemic Load then processed carbohydrates.

GLYCEMIC LOAD? WHATS THAT? Because fiber slows the absorption of glucose, the higher the fiber content in relationship to carbohydrate content the lower the Glycemic effect of the food on the body. The actual effect is called the Glycemic Load (GL) of foods: GL = GI/100 x (Total Carbs Dietary Fiber).

One cup of oatmeal has a GI of 58 but its GL is only 9 because it has 21g net carbs. 4 oz of potato chips has a lower GI of 55, but a higher GL of 30, because it has 55 net carbs. You already knew that oatmeal is healthier than potato chips, but what about a potato? One medium size potato has a GI of 85 and a GL of 28. Thats triple the GL of Oatmeal. The lesson? A potato is more likely to make you fat AND more likely to make you hungry sooner than a bowl of oatmeal.

HEART DISEASE! THE DOUBLE WHAMMY! Combine a diet of high GI/GL foods with transfats and you have a recipe for DISASTER. Chronically high insulin levels can lead to scarring of the vascular walls. Add transfats to that situation and you get fatty deposits on the walls of the vascular system and a greatly increased chance of heart failure. Yikes!

In this article you learned the danger of why foods high in sugar and low in fiber will make you fat and sick, especially when combined with transfats.

THE MORAL OF THE STORY:

1.EAT WHOLE FOODS Carbohydrate foods should have at least 3g of fiber per serving
2.EAT DIETS RICH IN FIBER with good quality protein and good fats
3.IF SUGAR IN ANY FORM - IS IN THE FIRST 3 INGREDIENTS its a dessert
4.SHOP THE PERIMETER of the grocery store

By the way, one rice cake has a GL of 17. Thats only 2 less than a Snickers bar!