Posted on 06/07/2005 7:22:51 AM PDT by 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.
(If you have to explain the joke . . .)
If you will thoroughly research the matter you will find that these diets are "low-carb". They are high fiber (which they include in the carb count) and fiber is not digestable. The carbs they allow also are slower to digest which blunts the insulin response. It is the exact mechanism that the demonized low-carb people promote for the maintenence portion of their "unhealthy" diets.
This represents a crack in the calorie is a calorie BS
That's great news! Good luck on the home stretch.
I've gotten pretty lax lately too, especially when it comes to exercise. If I just had the willpower to start exercising again, I could lose that last ten pounds and be at my ideal weight.
I just need somebody to pester me in about two months to help my motivation:)
It was easier before the baby came along... Mrs. kevkrom is pretty much off the diet until she's done nursing, and it makes it much harder to go it alone, especially when I'm doing 90+% of the cooking and working full-time. (Not to mention all of the stress, sympathy and otherwise.) But, I've started going back to the pool to swim laps, and I just need to get back on a good eating track...
I tried Atkins, and lost, but it was really hard to stay on it because it required lots more time for food preparation than I had.
I think everyone is different, but I still agree with the concept of low-glycemic. I just can't get away with eating too many carbs that aren't fruit or vegetables. I can't even eat that much of whole grains, like oats.
I also now know that I can't experience weight loss without decent, consistent exercise at my age. It just isn't going to happen through my diet alone.
Here is what I have been doing for the last 4 months:
Three or four days on non-starchy carbs, protein, and good fats/oils. On the fourth or fifth day, I carb up a little more and add some grains or whole grain bread. Then back to the low-glycemic for another three or four days.
I take green tea extract and drink green tea for it's fat-burning benefits.
I do 45-50 minutes of aerobic activity 3-4 times per week. I do pilates 4-5 times per week. The key is that I found things that I like to do, and I have some variety. Aerobics can be an exercise tape, a walk, or 45 minutes on my elliptical while watching a movie! My husband has set up a place for me in the garage with the TV mounted!
Since the end of February, I have lost 1.5 inches from my hips and 1 inch from my waist. It's coming off effortlessly now, and I don't really deny myself food. Also, with this approach, I can still sip a little red wine in the evening.
No no, I got the joke; I just wondered if it was my choice of tense/mood that left me open for it!
This is FR, after all. You've got to dot every t, and cross every i!
Dan
(c8
No, my twisted sense of humor would've made a beeline for it anyway. I grew up during the Steve Allen days of TV. ("Show me a man who'll whip a prune and I'll show you someone who'd beat an egg.")
ping
Er, no. Bread has just about the same glycemic index whether it's wholegrain or not. Wholegrain bread has more vitamins, to be sure, but it still tweaks the insulin response and causes weight gain in susceptible people.
"Because it's not low carb. You can have as many carbs as you want on a low-glycemic index diet, so long as the glycemic index is low. This includes whole-grain breads, beans, and lots of other goodies."
No low carb cookie for you! Did ya read the article?
It says -
> 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. <
NON STARCHY. Whole grain bread are not included in this study. They have a lower glycemic index than table sugar, but not low enough. If the dieters had restricted the use of legumes and limited fruit consumption, they would have done even better.
No S#!t Sherlock...Where'd you park the Squad Car?
Leave it to the media to come to the truth when they find a euphemism that doesnt say how flat out wrong they have been....
Low fat doesn't work, especially if you don't watch how much "low fat" sugar you cram in your mouth.
I don't understand why the foods that are less processed/refined cost more. Wouldn't you think that less work would go into producing them?
Carolyn
Your Freudian slip is showing...
South Beach spends a lot of time talking about glycemic levels. I never paid it much attention until the past year when my hypglycemia started getting really bad. No I pay attention to glycemic levels. My diet is basically the South Beach diet, except that I need a bit more fat in my diet than SoBe calls for to prevent low blood sugar attacks.
Yeah, everyone thought I was going to die when I went on that horrible diet! But, I had put my parents on it in the early 70s and they both lost weight and felt great. So, I knew it worked and was safe.
susie
Two big reasons, in no particular order:
Carolyn
Basmati rice and white parboiled rice is allowed on the low glycemic diet, as is pasta and tortillas, and oatmeal is particularly good.
The low glycemic index diet doesn't restrict all carbs. It restricts carbs that cause a rapid rise in blood glucose. That excludes a lot of carbs, including a good whole-grain bread.
It also doesn't allow a free for all with fats. Olive oil and other non saturated fats are allowed, even encouraged. Bacon, butter, heavy cream -- all examples of what a lot of low carbers include in their diets -- are avoided in a low glycemic index diet.
Here's a good summary that I found with a Google search: http://www.becomehealthynow.com/article/carbs/8/
The glycemic index of food is a ranking of foods based on their immediate effect on blood glucose (blood sugar) levels. Carbohydrate foods that breakdown quickly during digestion have the highest glycemic indexes. Their blood sugar response is fast and high. Carbohydrates that breakdown slowly, releasing glucose gradually into the blood stream, have low glycemic indexes.
What is the significance of Glycemic Index?
* Low GI means a smaller rise in blood sugar and can help control established diabetes *
Low GI diets can help people lose weight and lower blood lipids *
Low GI diets can improve the body's sensitivity to insulin *
High GI foods can help re-fuel carbohydrate stores after exercise
How to switch to a low GI diet *
Breakfast cereals based on wheat bran, barley and oats *
"Grainy" breads made with whole seeds
* Pasta and rice in place of potatoes *
Vinegar and lemon juice dressings
In short, the goal should be to build a good plan including the low Glycemic Index foods. This way, hunger is minimized, and there is less tendency to "cheat" or overeat. Consequently, you can continue to lose body fat or maintain your weight - once the excess pounds have been lost. The GI of foods has important implications for the food industry. Terms such as complex carbohydrates and sugars, which commonly appear on food labels, are now recognised as having little nutritional or physiological significance. The WHO/FAO recommend that these terms be removed and replaced with the total carbohydrate content of the food and its GI value. However, the GI rating of a food must be tested physiologically and only a few nutrition research groups around the world currently provide a legitimate testing service. The Human Nutrition Unit at the University of Sydney has been at the forefront of glycemic index research for over a decade and has tested dozens of foods as an integral part of its program. Jennie Brand Miller (JBM) is the senior author of International Tables of Glycemic Index published by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 1995.
Desirable Foods
Breads: Coarse European -Style, Whole Grain wheat or Rye Pita Bread, Cracked or Sprouted Whole wheat
Cereals: Compact noodle-like high bran cereals (All-Bran, Fiber One) Coarse Oatmeal, Porridge, Coarse Whole Grain (Kashi) Cereal mixed with Psyllium (Fiberwise)
Pasta, Grains and Starchy Vegetables: Pasta (all types) Barley, Bulgur, Buckwheat (kasha) Couscous, Kidney Beans dry, (Lentils, Black-eyed peas, Chick-peas Kidney beans, Lima beans, Peas, Sweet Potato, Yam (soybeans lowest) Most Vegetables.
Milk Products: Skim, 1%, cottage cheese, (lowfat or regular), Buttermilk, Low-fat plain yogurt, Low-fat fruited yogurt, Low-fat frozen yogurt ( artificial sweetener)
Fruit: Most fruit and natural fruit juices, including apple, berries, cantaloupe, grapefruit, honeydew, oranges, pears, grapes, peaches, applesauce, (Cherries, plums and grapefruit lowest).
Meats: Shellfish, "white" fish (cod, flounder, trout, tuna in water), Chicken, turkey, cornish hen, venison (white meat no skin), Egg substitutes (cholesterol free) cottage cheese
Moderately Desirable
Breads: 100% Stone Ground whole Wheat, Pumpernickel, 100% whole grain Rye Crisp Cracker
Cereals: Grape-nut cereal, medium-fine grain oatmeal, (5-minute variety)
Pasta, Grains and Starchy Vegetables: Rice, Boiled Potato, Corn Navy beans, Kidney beans (canned), Baked beans. Beets.
Milk Products: 2% milk, cheese, Regular plain yogurt
Fruit: Banana, Kiwi, Mango, papaya, orange juice.
Meats: Higher fat fish, (salmon, herring, lean cuts of Beef, Pork, Veal. Low-fat imitation luncheon meat, low-fat. cheese, Eggs.
Less Desirable Foods
Breads:
Breads: White bread, most commercial whole wheat breads, English muffins, bagel, French bread, most commercial matzoh
Cereals: Corn flakes, puffed rice, puffed wheat, flaked cereals, instant "Quick" or pre-cooked cereals. Oatbran, rolled oats. Shredded wheat, Muesli.'
Pasta, Grains and Starchy Vegetables: Instant rice, Brown rice, instant precooked grains, Baked potato, micro-waved potato, instant potato, Winter squash (acorn, butternut), carrots, parsnips.
Milk Products: Whole milk, ice milk, ice cream, Yogurt sweetened with sugar, Low-fat frozen desserts with sugar added, Low-fat and regular frozen yogurt with sugar added. Tofu ice cream.
Fruit: Pineapple, raisins, watermelon, fruit juices sweetened with sugar.
Meats: Most cuts of beef, pork, lamb, hot dogs (including "low-fat' versions) cheese, luncheon meats, peanut butter.
Congratulations on your weight loss, that's impressive!
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