Today’s article is to round out our discussion of blood sugar issues in our efforts to prevent Metabolic Syndrome and Diabetes. To this point I have focused mainly on the obvious – sugar. Have you been reading labels? Amazed at how much sugar there is in products? Wonder why they use so many different kinds of sugar in the products? The ingredient label lists contents by highest percentage first. A product like a breakfast cereal might be 60% sugar by volume, but by using four different sugar sources it can look like sugar is a minor component. The first two ingredients might be whole wheat and corn (at 20% each) making it sound like a good whole grain cereal, but the next four ingredients might be different sugars (at 15% each). Manufacturers know many people read ingredient labels, so they hide the true sugar content by using many different kinds of sugar.
Here is the real secret that they really don’t want you to know – the actual sugar content is around 90%. All your breakfast cereals are around 90% sugar! Twenty to thirty minutes after you eat your “wholesome” wheat, or corn, or rice cereal your digestive tract has broken it down to sugar and is smacking your bloodstream with a massive sugar high. In fact sugar-free cereals actually turn into sugar and enter your bloodstream faster than the high sugar cereals!
How can this be? To understand this strange reality we have to talk about two key concepts – Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load. In simple language, Glycemic Index is a measure of how fast a food breaks down to sugar and ends up in the blood. Glycemic Load is a measure of how much total stuff is in the food you are eating that will turn into sugar in your digestive system. Every food breaks down at a different rate. The same food cooked different ways will break down at different rates.
Is the glycemic index a concern for everyone? No. Some people are blessed with a metabolism that handles carbohydrates breaking down into sugars much better than other people. We all know these people. They are perpetually thin with abundant energy and can eat as much as they like and never gain weight. Somewhere between 10% and 25% of the people have this type of metabolism. Sugars are still possibly a problem for them, but starches are not.
Glucose (the main sugar in your blood) is used to compare all other foods to and is given a glycemic index value of 100. The glycemic index of table sugar is 65, while the glycemic index of plain corn flakes is 81. Corn flakes break down and enter the blood stream faster than table sugar.
Our concern for protecting ourselves from the health damaging and premature aging effects of sugar just took on a whole new complexion. The impact of sugar on your body is not about what looks like sugar sitting on your table, but about what hits your bloodstream as sugar. To protect ourselves from sugar we need to eat foods that break down slowly. That means choosing foods that have chew to them. Carbohydrate based foods that are airy and light and crunchy turn to sugar rapidly. To be healthy we want to stick with foods that have a glycemic index of below 55. Generally the denser a carbohydrate food is the lower its glycemic index. For instance a corn tortilla or spaghetti cooked just enough have indexes under 55, while breads and cereals all have very high glycemic indexes.
For a detailed list of the glycemic index of all foods that have been tested so far as well as glycemic load go to: http://www.mendosa.com/gilists.htm
Now we come to the pay off – what works? How much total starch and sugar is in the food you are about to eat is just as important as how fast it breaks down. Two ounces of a food with a glycemic index of 50 will hit you just as hard as one ounce of a food with an index of 100. So even though pasta may have a good glycemic index, eating a pound of pasta would be a killer to your system. The total load would be overwhelming. All that sugar hitting your bloodstream would immediately start filling up fat cells, damage arteries, send your hormones into inflammation mode, and age your tissues making you old prematurely. So even foods with low indexes can be dangerous to your health if eaten in excess. In order to be truly healthier we need to eat foods that have High Nutrient Density. That means foods that have a lot of food value without a lot of starch, sugar, or fat. So what are we talking about? You have heard this a million times before – Vegetables, fruits, and clean, healthy proteins! These foods naturally have low glycemic indexes, low glycemic loads, and high nutritional value.
So what am I really saying here? Bottom line: eat mostly above ground vegetables, fruits, legumes, and healthy proteins. Occasional meals of low glycemic starchy foods like pasta or treats laden with healthy fats (see previous newsletters for what healthy fats are) are not something to be feared as long as they stay occasional. Root vegetables should be eaten either raw or in small (tablespoon) quantities. Spices are wonderful, use with abandon.
Higher glycemic foods like breads or sugars would ideally be avoided completely for health. Realistically however we know there are times socially where it is important to have that slice of birthday cake, or share that special treat with someone you care about. Most bodies can handle this up to 2 or 3 times a week and do ok (some people can not handle the sugar or high glycemic foods at all). You just have to find out for yourselves. Be sure that if you do challenge your system with a couple starch or sugar loads that you keep the challenges ALWAYS AT LEAST 24 HOURS APART. This gives your body the time it needs to reset its insulin response back to normal.
The human body actually has no need for grains in the diet and is much healthier without them altogether. I will discuss this topic in a later issue. I will also need to devote a newsletter to just what makes up a clean, healthy protein.
So we are ready for our next health challenge:
Health Challenge #5 Stop eating cereals and breads made with flours.
I have suggested this to many of you individually and the usual response I get is “What is there to eat for breakfast?” Around my house breakfast and dinner look alike. Your body actually likes its biggest protein meals early – before 2pm. Free-range eggs are a wonderful choice for those looking for a traditional breakfast. But for us any combination of vegetables and protein works to get us going in the morning.
Some of you are wondering what I mean by “breads made with flours”. Most breads are made with flour – usually some type of wheat flour. All breads made with flours are too high on the glycemic index. The alternative is breads made solely with sprouted grains. If you have no problem with gluten or gliadin (the allergenic proteins in most grains) then sprouted grain breads may work well for you. Give these a try. They are usually better toasted as they tend to be more crumbly than flour based breads.
In case you are wondering cereals includes Muesli and granola. They may look good for you, but they aren’t. Would it hurt you to eat a bowl once a week – probably not much. Will it hurt you if you eat it every day – absolutely (unless you are one of the starch tolerant people).
One extra concern, which will be more fully addressed in a later newsletter, is the impact of toxic chemicals in our foods on the formation of diabetes. Check out the link in the “on the wire” section below for a good piece on this.
One unanticipated positive of these health challenges you will find is that your shopping trips become much simpler and quicker. We cruise the fruit and vegetables and maybe a quick check of a couple meats and we are done. We never even go down the isles except for the occasional legume or spice. There is almost nothing in the isles that is healthy to eat.