Weight Loss Information

Glycemic Index: A Magic Weight Loss Solution or a Soap Bubble Ready to Burst?





Glycemic index ranks different carbohydrate foods depending on their potential to raise blood glucose levels.

The ranking is on a scale from 0 to 100.Higher the Glycemic index, higher is the particular carbohydrates ability to effect a spike(rise) in blood glucose levels.

Low-GI foods, by virtue of their slow digestion and absorption, produce gradual rises in blood sugar and insulin levels, and have benefits for health.

Low GI diets have been shown to improve both glucose and lipid levels in people with diabetes (type 1 and type 2).

This is as far as it goes about the use of glycemic index for weight loss.

Popular diet books like the south beach diet are founded on the premise that the spike in blood glucose levels leads to more hunger and subsequent weight gain, whereas the foods with low GI have a tendency to delay the haunger or lower appetite, leading to weight loss, which is too simplistic, but ,not quite supported by scientific evidence.

Read this excerpt taken from WebMD:Experts Take On the Glycemic Index

It sounds like a magic formula for dieters --but experts have long been saying there's no such thing. "If you don't have peaks and valleys in your glucose level then hunger should be kept at bay," says Kathleen Zellman, RD, a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association (ADA). "However, it's not that simple. It's also affected by meal size, whether there's any fat in the meal, and overall health status."

"Glycemic index looks at individual foods -- not how that food might interact with another," says Connie Diekman, RD, an ADA spokesperson in St. Louis, Missouri. "If you eat a high glycemic index food with a protein, for example, it might be absorbed more slowly. ... That's the hang-up with glycemic index. Very few people will sit down and eat one high glycemic index food and then another. It's meals that we eat."

Michael Jensen, MD, an endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., says it's never been proven that high insulin levels -- which result when a high glycemic index food is eaten -- mean increased hunger. "When [you] work with patients who get real hungry between meals, you have to try a couple of different things. I'm not sure if it's glycemic index, the bulk of food, the content of food that gives [the sense of fullness] ... I also have them consider adding protein and modest amounts of fat to decrease overeating between meals."

All the researchers are unanimous in that, it's the fiber content of the diet that is more important for controlling diabetes and weight gain than the Glycemic Index.Read the exerpts of a new research document from WebMD,....

New research shows that when it comes to type 2 diabetes, not all carbohydrates are created equal. Tufts University researchers report that eating whole-grain foods, especially fiber-rich cereals, appears to improve insulin sensitivity and lower the risk of the metabolic syndrome.

Whole-grain foods have already been found to help protect against heart disease and certain cancers, and the newly published study is one of several that indicates there is a protective role for whole grains against a constellation of major risk factors that lead to metabolic syndrome -- a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and the development of type 2 diabetes.

"Unless you're a diabetic, glycemic index may not be all that important," says Jack Alhadeff, PhD, professor of biochemistry at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa. , who adds that since most of us eat a variety of foods in a meal, the accuracy of the index can be questionable.

But what about the notion that glucose from high-index foods is more likely to be stored as fat?

"The scientific literature is very clear that eating carbohydrates that are embedded in plant cellulose -- complex carbohydrates -- is always better," says Nagi Kumar, PhD, director of clinical nutrition at the Moffitt Cancer Center and professor of human nutrition at the University of South Florida in Tampa. "But the reasons it is better are not because it somehow lessens or alters fat storage."

All this leads one to conclude that the importance of fiber is far more that Glycemic index for dieters. The weight loss programs like many low carb diets and the popular south beach diet are only trying to exploit the limited scientific data on Glycemic Index to sell their diet wares.

A diet rich in fibre has many advantages like:

Fiber can help you avoid overeating. It has been found that fiber can bind with cholesterol in the digestive tract, thus lowering blood cholesterol.

Another important point about fiber-rich foods is that they tend to be loaded with phytochemicals that appear to have anticancer functions,along with these benefits and its role in weight maintenance, fiber helps prevent the following:

Constipation Hemorrhoids Appendicitis Diverticulosis -- an intestinal disease where pockets, which can become infected, develop in the intestinal lining.

A diet program which recommends fiber rich foods and is loaded with healthy and natural weight loss alternatives to the foods recommended by the fad diets is the only alternative to safe and sure weight loss.

You can get more cutting edge fat burning secrets in my Free 5day email ecourse by subscribing to my newsletter at: www.eweightlosstips.com

Rajesh Shetty
Expert in weight loss principles of Ayurveda Medical Scienceand Author of the Best selling book,"Proven weight loss secrets revealed".


MORE RESOURCES:

Ashlee Simpson Buys Tiny Jeans to Inspire Weight Loss
Actress Archives, NY - 7 hours ago
Ashlee Simpson has bought six pairs of size zero jeans to motivate her to lose weight. The singer – who is expecting her first child with husband Pete Wentz ...


Weight loss surgery can leave saggy skin
WRAL.com, NC - 3 hours ago
While weight loss surgery can be a life-changing and life-saving experience for many people, the after-effect can leave problems with sagging skin. ...


Author Finds 'Perfect' Weight Loss Recipe
Sun-Sentinel.com, FL - 18 hours ago
She scheduled appointments with a medical doctor and a therapist, "not realizing at the time that those two acts were going to result in my weight loss. ...


The Associated Press

Weight-loss camps invite families to come along
The Associated Press - Aug 26, 2008
PAUL SMITHS, NY (AP) — It took Kelsey Galer four weeks at a weight-loss camp to lose 9 pounds. It took her dad just three days to start acting like a "dork. ...


Ultimate Weight Loss Race filmed at Bill Bates Ranch
McKinney Courier Gazette, TX - Aug 27, 2008
"The Ultimate Weight Loss Race" is slated to kick off during the week of Sept. 8 on CBS. The show will be part of the seventh season for the Dr. Phil show. ...


Griffiths Stumps Fans After 80-pound Weight Loss
Showbiz Spy, UK - Aug 27, 2008
Heavyweight HARRY POTTER star RICHARD GRIFFITHS has shed 80 pounds (36.29 kilograms) in preparation for his Broadway appearance in EQUUS. ...


Pittsburgh Post Gazette

Weight loss, 'body lift' ends woman's bumpy ride through surgeries
Pittsburgh Post Gazette, PA - Aug 27, 2008
And, again, weight loss was minimal, so she continued her search for a surgical solution. "The only reason I did it was because I wasn't losing weight," Ms. ...


Examiner.com

Weight Loss Examiner
Examiner.com - Aug 27, 2008
These websites were picked by the Weight Loss Examiner as useful resources. I subscribe to the e-mail newsletter of Biggest Loser trainer Jillian Michaels ...


Joy Fit Club vets reveal weight-loss secrets
MSNBC - Aug 25, 2008
And while Bauer vacationed from the show, the trio of weight loss leaders happily took her place Monday to provide encouragement to others facing a battle ...


Mushrooms and weight loss
Los Angeles Times, CA - Aug 25, 2008
Far be it from us to pander to awareness-themed events, but did you know it's almost time for National Mushroom Month? As it happens, the journal Appetite ...

Weight-Loss - Google News


Your Ad Here

| Home | Site Map | Free weightloss information | Free Diet Information | weight loss | Free exercise information | Learn to lose weight | way to lose weight | body fat | healthy | weight loss program | weight loss diet | loss weight |
Ratings Health Supplement  Stair Lifts  Womens Story and Pregnanc  Quit smoking  DignityMedical.com  
Free Backlinks
exercise program | Ab exercise | exercise equipment | fitness exercise | exercise for | exercise | body fat | heathly | weight loss program | weight loss diet | workout |
© 2007