OUT
Kevin was a 55-year-old photographer with coronary artery disease. He had read about the low-fat, high-complex-carbohydrate diet recommended by Dean Ornish, M.D., and took it to an extreme. He avoided
all
fats. Unfortunately, Kevin developed dry skin, constipation, increased thirst, brittle nails, and dry hair—all signs of essential fatty acid deficiency.
After I taught Kevin how to include healthy fats in his diet and he added essential fatty acid supplements to his program, his symptoms resolved without compromising his heart condition—and he felt a whole lot better.
THE RIGHT CARBS ENERGIZE YOUR WORKOUTS; THE WRONG CARBS WILL KILL YOU
Over the last 10 to 20 years we have been convinced by the American Heart Association, USDA Food Pyramid, and the food manufacturers that high-carbohydrate/low-fat diets are the way to eat if we want to avoid heart disease and achieve ultimate health. We have all been led to believe that fats are bad and carbohydrates in any form are okay when it comes to healthy eating. We have actually been given license to eat any and all carbs with little or no regard to whether they are the healthy types (vegetables and fruits) or the unhealthy, highly processed types produced by the profit-motivated food manufacturers.
Vegetables and most fruits are healthy carbohydrates because they are digested very slowly and enter our bloodstream in small amounts, gently and gradually increasing our blood sugars. Man-made carbohydrates, on the other hand, come from grains that undergo processing that removes most of their natural fiber and nutrients, making them easily digestible and rapidly assimilated by our bodies. These carbohydrates have very high glycemic indexes (a measure of how fast a particular food will raise your blood sugar), and they mainline sugar into our bloodstream, pushing blood sugars and insulin levels sky-high, causing subsequent huge drops in blood sugars. As our blood sugars fall, hunger returns, cravings rapidly follow, and compulsive, uncontrolled eating takes over. This vicious cycle is replayed countless times, day in and day out, throughout America by most of us who have bought into the high-carb/low-fat mind-set.
UNDERSTANDING THE GLYCEMIC INDEX
The glycemic index determines how fast a particular food will raise your blood sugar. Glucose forms the base number of the index because it’s the second-fastest sugar to get into your bloodstream—maltose is the fastest. Glucose is given a value of 100, and other carbohydrates are given values relative to glucose depending on how fast they get into your blood—the lower the index the longer it takes. Diabetics have successfully used the glycemic index for many years to help control their blood sugars. Recently, people who have wanted to lose weight and prevent cravings have used this index. The idea is that when blood sugar and insulin levels are kept low, your body is much less likely to convert sugars to body fat, and food cravings are reduced or even eliminated altogether. This has worked very well for me, and I recommend it to all of you as another tool that can be used to get lean and stay lean.
You can find a glycemic index list of some of the common foods we eat on my website, www.drlife.com. Foods that have a high index (greater than 60) include ice cream, white breads, all white flour products, bagels, white potatoes, bananas, raisins, potato chips, alcoholic beverages, white rice, and pastas made with white flour.
Low-glycemic-index foods (under 45) include most fruits and vegetables, whole wheat or whole grain foods, regular oatmeal, sugar-free peanut butter, high-fiber sugar-free cereals, yams, brown rice, sugar-free dairy products, grains, legumes (with the exception of baked beans and fava beans), new potatoes, nuts, and most vegetables.
The evidence is overwhelming that the overfat/obesity and type 2 diabetes epidemics are a direct result of our obsession with high-glycemic carbohydrates. It is
Kevin was a 55-year-old photographer with coronary artery disease. He had read about the low-fat, high-complex-carbohydrate diet recommended by Dean Ornish, M.D., and took it to an extreme. He avoided
all
fats. Unfortunately, Kevin developed dry skin, constipation, increased thirst, brittle nails, and dry hair—all signs of essential fatty acid deficiency.
After I taught Kevin how to include healthy fats in his diet and he added essential fatty acid supplements to his program, his symptoms resolved without compromising his heart condition—and he felt a whole lot better.
THE RIGHT CARBS ENERGIZE YOUR WORKOUTS; THE WRONG CARBS WILL KILL YOU
Over the last 10 to 20 years we have been convinced by the American Heart Association, USDA Food Pyramid, and the food manufacturers that high-carbohydrate/low-fat diets are the way to eat if we want to avoid heart disease and achieve ultimate health. We have all been led to believe that fats are bad and carbohydrates in any form are okay when it comes to healthy eating. We have actually been given license to eat any and all carbs with little or no regard to whether they are the healthy types (vegetables and fruits) or the unhealthy, highly processed types produced by the profit-motivated food manufacturers.
Vegetables and most fruits are healthy carbohydrates because they are digested very slowly and enter our bloodstream in small amounts, gently and gradually increasing our blood sugars. Man-made carbohydrates, on the other hand, come from grains that undergo processing that removes most of their natural fiber and nutrients, making them easily digestible and rapidly assimilated by our bodies. These carbohydrates have very high glycemic indexes (a measure of how fast a particular food will raise your blood sugar), and they mainline sugar into our bloodstream, pushing blood sugars and insulin levels sky-high, causing subsequent huge drops in blood sugars. As our blood sugars fall, hunger returns, cravings rapidly follow, and compulsive, uncontrolled eating takes over. This vicious cycle is replayed countless times, day in and day out, throughout America by most of us who have bought into the high-carb/low-fat mind-set.
UNDERSTANDING THE GLYCEMIC INDEX
The glycemic index determines how fast a particular food will raise your blood sugar. Glucose forms the base number of the index because it’s the second-fastest sugar to get into your bloodstream—maltose is the fastest. Glucose is given a value of 100, and other carbohydrates are given values relative to glucose depending on how fast they get into your blood—the lower the index the longer it takes. Diabetics have successfully used the glycemic index for many years to help control their blood sugars. Recently, people who have wanted to lose weight and prevent cravings have used this index. The idea is that when blood sugar and insulin levels are kept low, your body is much less likely to convert sugars to body fat, and food cravings are reduced or even eliminated altogether. This has worked very well for me, and I recommend it to all of you as another tool that can be used to get lean and stay lean.
You can find a glycemic index list of some of the common foods we eat on my website, www.drlife.com. Foods that have a high index (greater than 60) include ice cream, white breads, all white flour products, bagels, white potatoes, bananas, raisins, potato chips, alcoholic beverages, white rice, and pastas made with white flour.
Low-glycemic-index foods (under 45) include most fruits and vegetables, whole wheat or whole grain foods, regular oatmeal, sugar-free peanut butter, high-fiber sugar-free cereals, yams, brown rice, sugar-free dairy products, grains, legumes (with the exception of baked beans and fava beans), new potatoes, nuts, and most vegetables.
The evidence is overwhelming that the overfat/obesity and type 2 diabetes epidemics are a direct result of our obsession with high-glycemic carbohydrates. It is
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