By Joseph Hazan,M.D., FACOG
Glycemic index (GI) has to do with
how quickly the foods you eat
are broken down into glucose.
Fast is bad and slow is good.
Foods that have a high Glycemic Index
break down into glucose
quickly and cause a sudden surge
in your blood glucose-
blood sugar level.
This causes a big insulin surge or
spike which
then leads to a drop in your blood
sugar and causes you to feel
hungry for more sweet foods.
This, then becomes a vicious cycle,
which causes diabetes and metabolic
syndrome, the leading cause
of illness and death in this country.
What, then, are the High GI foods
we should avoid?
These are:
Snacks and drinks made with
sugar and flour
Breads
Potatoes
Pasta
Rice
Most cereals
Fruit juice
These should be avoided.
Instead, the type of foods that
break down into glucose slowly
and steadily should be chosen.
These are the LOW GLYCEMIC
INDEX foods.
By eating more of these foods you
have a slow and
steady rise in your blood sugar level
and stay full longer and eat less.
This keeps your insulin level in check
and your cholesterol
also tends to improves.
The reason that sugar levels are related
with high cholesterol is because
excess sugar and extra calories
are stored as LDL cholesterol
which is the type that is related to
atherosclerosis, with the increased
risk pf heart disease and stroke.
So, which are the LOW GI foods
we should prefer?
Here is a brief list:
Vegetables ( avoid root vegetables)
Green leafy vegetables are best
Salads
Beans
Legumes
Salmon
Peas
Fruits (avoid dried fruit because
of their high sugar content)
Lean proteins (lean chicken,
turkey, fish, low
fat yogurt and cheese)
Monounsaturated oil (olive oil)
Nuts
Seeds especially flaxseed
THE ISSUE OF FISH
The reason salmon is singled out
is due to the fact that
cold water fish contain OMEGA-3 EFA’s
(essential fatty acids)
and in a 20 year sudy of 20,000
male physicians
who ate fish once a week their risk of
dangerous arrythmias
and heart attack was cut by 50%.
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