I would like to talk about the glyciemic index and how it relates to overall health and good eating habits. This term may have caught your attention as it is mentioned in many of the popular diet plans such as Nutri System, Jenny Craig, Atkins, South Beach, Weight Watchers and the Zone.

Specifically, the Glycemic Index (GI), measures how much a particular carbohydrate raises a persons blood sugar levels compared with a control. ex. pure glucose. Each food is assigned an index number from 1-100, with 100 as the reference score for pure glucose. These foods are rated as High GI (greater than 70), moderate (56-69), and low GI (less than 55). Foods that produre high levels of blood sugar are called high GI foods. When your diet consists predominately of these foods, your body responds by producing higher levels of insulin than it would if you were to eat lower GI foods.

The point being is that when insulin levels are high, your body not only converts blood sugar to energy, but also stores unused energy as fat. So, when insulin levels are high, you store more fat, when insulin levels are normal, you burn fat more efficiently.

The confusion comes in because of the wide range of GI scores on foods are based on ripeness to cooking methods, to quantity of food. Also, very few people eat one food at a time at a single serving. Most people combine different foods when eating a meal. That is why looking at the glycemic load, which also takes into account the number of carbohydrates per serving, gets you closer to the actual affect a food has on blood sugar when eaten in normal life style conditions. So, the glycemic load takes the number of carbs per serving into consideration along with the foods glycemic index.

Additionally, a diet that consists primarily of high GI foods can lead to carbohydrate cravings and an overall increase in appetite, potentially resulting in unwanted weight gain.

These foods can cause large fluctuations of both blood sugar and insulin levels, leading to a vicious cycle of overeating.

 The top ten low GI foods that support normal blood sugar levels are: apples, berries, barley, grapefruit, legumes, nuts, oatmeal, green peas, tomatoes and unsweetened plain yogurt.

 Now the top ten high GI foods that can produce harmfully high blood sugar levels are: candy, cookies, juices with added sugar, white potatoes, chips, sugar, most breakfast cereals, sweetened soda, sweet snacks, and white bread and bagels (processed flour).

Also, insulin stimulated by an over abundant of high GI foods not only add fat gain, but also suppress hormones that are responsible for burning fat, sugar and promoting muscle development.

This leads down a path toward metabolic syndrome with obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

 I tell my patients that not all carbohydrates are the same. A Snicker's bar has a lower GI than a carrot, but doesn't mean it is healthier for you. As long as you choose healthy carbs (veggies) that are high in fiber, whole, natural and less processed, and you get your lean meats and sea food, paired with the low GI foods, you will stand a better chance of keeping your weight under control and avoid the most popular chronic diseases affecting Americans today. 

Finally, there is no diet that works well without exercise. For most people to lose weight and keep it off, they should get 150 minutes of exercise a week with cross- training involving stretching, aerobics and light resistance exercises.

Dr. Richard Haas DC, FACO