Low-glycemic may be better than low-fat diet

Reuters ^ | Jun 6, 2:46 PM ET | Alison McCook

[Nov3]

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Foods with a low-glycemic index, which are digested relatively slowly and cause smaller increases in blood sugar, may protect the heart and blood vessels better than low-fat fare, according to the findings of a small study.

Researchers in Boston found that when obese people consumed as many carbohydrates with a low-glycemic index as they wanted, they lost just as much weight in 12 months as people who stuck with a conventional, calorie-restricted low-fat diet.

Carbohydrates with a low-glycemic index include foods such as nonstarchy vegetables, fruit, legumes, nuts and diary products, according to the report in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Dieters who watched their glycemic indices also experienced a larger decrease in fatty substances in the blood linked to heart disease and had a drop in levels of a protein that interferes with the body's ability to break down blood clots. In contrast, low-fat dieters had an increase in levels of the same protein, which may put them at higher risk of heart attack.

"Reducing (glycemic index) may be more effective than cutting back on fat over the long-term, both for weight loss and also for reducing risk of heart disease," study author Dr. David S. Ludwig told Reuters Health.

"Based on our results, and several dozen other clinical trials and epidemiological studies, I would recommend" eating foods with a low-glycemic index, added Ludwig, who is based at Children's Hospital.

The glycemic index measures how efficiently the body can metabolize carbohydrates. It ranks carbohydrates by how much a person's blood sugar rises immediately after eating, and tends to favor high-fiber foods that take longer to digest.

Ludwig and his team asked 23 obese young adults to follow either a low-fat diet or a diet in which they ate low-glycemic index foods for one year. As part of the low-glycemic index diet, people could eat as much as they wanted of foods with a low index, and got roughly 45 to 50 percent of calories from carbohydrates, and 30 to 35 percent from fat.

Low-fat dieters cut their daily intake by 250 to 500 calories, limited fat to less than 30 percent of their total calories, and got between 55 and 60 percent of calories from carbohydrates.

Ludwig noted that even though low-glycemic index dieters had no calorie limits, they likely didn't overeat because they felt less hunger after eating foods that take longer to digest.

"Numerous previous studies by our group and by others have shown that individuals feel less hunger and greater (sense of fullness) after low-glycemic index compared to high-glycemic index meals," he added.

SOURCE: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, May 2005.

[Bella_Bru]

Low glycemic/low carb is great, until I hit summer. Then all I want is watermelon, strawberries, peaches, blueberries, etc. And I mean I want more than a handful.

That's when life sucks on low-glycemic/low carb.

[kevkrom]

Flavorored alcohols and liquers are not like the clear hard stuff, to be sure. The "lighter" ones like spiced rum, Bailey's, etc., are about 6/oz; medium stuff like amaretto, Grand Marnier, Kahlua, etc., are about 12/oz; and the sugary stuff like Chambourd is about 18/oz.

That said, a sugar-free chocolate fondue (with Splenda) and a shot of Bailey's is really nice for dipping strawberries...

[No.6]

Carbohydrates with a low-glycemic index include foods such as nonstarchy vegetables, fruit, legumes, nuts and diary products

Hmm, diary products. I don't know why this is such a novel idea, certainly nothing to wax poetic about.

[editor-surveyor]

Low fat diets kill, but they can't seem to rise up and admit it. Is it part of their population control agenda?

Low fat milk is probably the most harmful product on your grocer's shelves.

[Nov3]

Strawberries and Blueberries can be eaten in relatively large quantities.

[Nov3]

Thanks for the thread.

Your Welcome and your thread on PCOS is a hot button for my wife. Her female problems went away after beginning Atkins, heartburn too.

[Nov3]

I've tried low-carb. I know it works, but I excercise a lot and really struggle with my energy level doing Atkins.

Eliminate all manufactured food and boxed or canned food and potatoes and rice. With an active lifestyle the weight loss will start eventually.

[Bella_Bru]

So I went off for nothing?

My other real weakness is potatoes. Ain't nothing I can do about that. They are high carb/high glycemic. I don't suppose one every now and then would hurt that much.

[Nov3]

Did the protein power plan work?

That is the book my wife brought home - 8 years ago. It works.

[Nov3]

Mrs Gb. did indeed get pregnant, four months after I posted this thread. The due date in fact is tomorrow.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

[diamond6]

bttt

[utahagen]

Friends say I am crazy for asserting there is a "conspiracy" against low-carb diets, but I maintain this is the case.

[utahagen]

You're right about the "no juice" policy. It drives me crazy when I read about nutritionists who tell parents to replace soda with fruit juice. WRONG! Replace sugary soda with water, seltzer, even diet soda. Fruit juice is loaded with calories and the sugar enters the bloodstream quickly, because there's no fiber or fat to slow it down. A kid drinks fruit juice; his blood sugar spikes; his body makes fat from the calories; his appetite soars when the blood sugar levels come crashing down; and the kids eats more carbs. But listen to the hysterics when you tell someone to give his kid diet soda! I concede that water or seltzer would be far preferable to diet soda, but I insist that even diet soda would be better for kids than fruit juice.

[gobucks]

Many thanks, and please add me to your ping list.

[gobucks]

Thanks, and yes she is planning to breastfeed. We've heard that works as a great weight loss aid, but time will tell.

I'm glad the wait is about done.

[gobucks]

Thank you and will do ...

[gobucks]

see post number sixty two...

[gobucks]

Our experience is just one data point. But for us it was black and white: she was in ketosis, mild, week after week, and lost 2'lbs of fat week after week. The bottom line was keeping track of the carbs and making sure overall calorie intake dipped under the keto trigger point. It was hard on her for a bit up front. The first few months cals were greater than 1000 a day, but eventually had to be cut to 800 a day. It was pretty much hell for awhile, but she simply learned to deal w/ the hunger and religiously avoid the carbs

Plus, she drank at least a gallon of water a day. It worked. Of course, 9 months later and a baby later, there is some ground to recover. But the trade is more than even...

[gobucks]

Your Welcome and your thread on PCOS is a hot button for my wife. Her female problems went away after beginning Atkins, heartburn too.

Given you know what PCOS is, then you are likely aware of the thrall so many women who are afflicted by it are in by the medical establishment.

True, the doctors will say, 'lose weight'. They won't, ever, say use ketosis to be your helper. If we didn't have that, plus the ketostix, I don't think we could have done it. She lost 70 pounds before she got pregnant; but every morning leading up to that the ketostix was checked: light purple, good. Light Tan ... not good.. it was utterly effective as a feedback tool.

So yep, PCOS is a hot button for us too...

[zerosix]

Better check further on any choice of diet soda; only those not containing aspartame, caffeine or sodium are without serious harmful effects.

Aspartame has been linked to brain tumors and other potentially lethal medical conditions. Soft drink makers are catching on as people are leaving Diet Coke and other diet soft drinks on orders from enlightened health care advisers. Phenylalanine added to most Coke products is far worse than caffeine for keeping everyone up and "reving up your body" - harmful for kids too, giving symptoms of ADD and hyperactivity.