All carbs are not created equal -
Robbie - 10-21-2009
Well briefly all carbs are not created equal.
Some people have no problems what so ever with carbohydrates.
Others do.
About 1/3 of all people have problems with carbohydrates spiking blood sugar levels. When this happens insulin raises to accommodate the rise in blood sugar and insulin is a storage hormone.
Of all the hormones if there were a tug of war insulin would win. So insulinâs job is to store that last meal (high blood sugar) as fat.
The problem with that is this. When the insulin stores that last meal as fat the brain calls for more carbohydrates because the brain did not get any carbohydrates.
Your brain is the single biggest carbohydrate hog in the body. Carbohydrates store in muscle tissue and the liver but if the brain is starving for the carbs and the last meal stored them as fat then you will eat again.
Well guess what if you are spiking your blood sugars again with carbohydrates the insulin will rise again and store that meal as fat as well.
To slow down the spiking of blood sugars there are a number of things you can do like:
1. eat carbs low in the glycemic index.
2. eat a protein, fat and fiber with the carbs.
3. keep the carbs pretty low.
4. carbs exit the stomach really fast and if you eat a protein with it you will get more stable blood sugars.
By doing that you will not get sleepy after a meal, have more constant energy and get carbohydrate cravings which is not good. There is actually people that have an addiction to carbohydrates.
Now that can be a problem especially if the carbs are high in the glycemic index and you are prone to spiking of blood sugars. Also after prolonged periods of time the pancreas gets kind of worn out and you can be a candidate of Type 2 diabetes.
So if you are prone to that kind of condition modification of the diet might be in order if you want to keep the weight down.
Remember later on in life your metabolism will slow and some point in time you will need to modify it.
All carbs are not created equal -
FunkyMan - 11-11-2009
and again great article Robbie. I always knew about glycemic index of carbs and mixing protein with carbs but this remained me again to be on track.
Would be good to post an article with low and high glycemic index of carbs.
All carbs are not created equal -
Robbie - 02-28-2010
FunkyMan Wrote:Would be good to post an article with low and high glycemic index of carbs.
hows this ?
Food category
Breads
White bread 70
Wholemeal bread 69
Pumpernickel 41
Dark rye 76
Sourdough 57
Heavy mixed grain 30-45
Legumes
Lentils 28
Soybeans 18
Baked beans (canned) 48
Breakfast cereals
Cornflakes 84
Rice Bubbles 82
Cheerios 83
Puffed Wheat 80
All Bran 42
Porridge 46
Snack foods
Mars Bar 65
Jelly beans 80
Chocolate bar 49
Fruits
Apple 38
Orange 44
Peach 42
Banana 55
Watermelon 72
Dairy foods
Milk, full fat 27
Milk, skim 32
Icecream, full fat 61
Yogurt, low fat, fruit 33
Soft and sports drinks
Fanta 68
Gatorade 78
Theres plenty of others but thats arough guide any specific food then let me know and ill have a look what i can find!
Robbie