Glycemic index

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Carbohydrate is a dirty word today.
But you have to remember that we are not eating the type of carbohydrate that nature intended for us to eat. The carbohydrate which we consume today is deformed, denatured and devaluated.
The type of carbohydrate which is naturally available and is good for our health is the ” COMPLEX FORM ” meaning they are composed of long chains of sugars. These longs chains are bound up with the food’s fiber. The sugars have to be broken free form both thier chains and the fiber if they are to be released into our bloodstream.
Absorption of these sugars is relatively slow and methodical. The sugars are broken free and taken into the bloodstream over the course of many hours, which is why complex carbohydrates provide long-lasting energy. If you eat a bowel of cooked grain in the morning, you will have energy throughout the entire morning, before you experience a dip in energy around noon – just in time for you to consume another round of complex carbohydrates to take you to dinner.
A very different process occurs when you eat processed foods. The sugars in the processed foods are in ” SIMPLE FORM” i.e they are free of their chains and fiber. The sweetness is tasted immediately and the simple sugars start entering your bloodstream through your the moment you start eating them. When refined white sugar enters your bloodstream, it becomes glucose or blood sugar. In response to the presence of sugar, your pancreas secretes insulin.Insulin brings your blood sugar back down, but primarily by converting the excess sugar to stored fat. Also, the greater the rate of increase in your blood sugar, the more chance that your body will release an excess amount of insulin, and drive your blood sugar back down too low.Therefore, when you eat foods that cause a large and rapid glycemic response, you may feel an initial elevation in energy and mood as your blood sugar rises, but this is followed by a cycle of increased fat storage, lethargy, and more hunger!
Thus GI carbs that slowly trickle glucose into your blood stream keeps your energy levels balanced and means you will feel fuller for longer between meals.

• Low GI diets help people lose and control weight
• Low GI diets increase the body’s sensitivity to insulin
• Low GI carbs improve diabetes control
• Low GI carbs reduce the risk of heart disease
• Low GI carbs reduce blood cholesterol levels
• Low GI carbs can help you manage the symptoms of PCOS
• Low GI carbs reduce hunger and keep you fuller for longer
• Low GI carbs prolong physical endurance
• High GI carbs help re-fuel carbohydrate stores after exercise

How to switch to a low GI carbs diet?

The basic technique for eating the low GI way is simply a “this for that” approach – ie, swapping high GI carbs for low GI carbs. You don’t need to count numbers or do any sort of mental arithmetic to make sure you are eating a healthy, low GI diet.

• Use breakfast cereals based on oats, barley and bran
• Use breads with wholegrains, stone-ground flour, sour dough
• Reduce the amount of potatoes you eat
• Enjoy all other types of fruit and vegetables
• Use Basmati or Doongara rice
• Enjoy pasta, noodles, quinoa
• Eat plenty of salad vegetables with a vinaigrette dressing