Dieting for your Good Health - Ten Simple Rules
The advent of low-fat dieting has not seen a decrease in the problem of obesity or the associated health problems. The problem with low-fat dieting is simply that many low-fat foods are high-glycaemic, and high-glycaemic food can cause the body to produce excess triglycerides, a blood fat that makes up the majority of each cholesterol molecule.
Many scientists believe that the healthiest way to nourish your body is by eating a low-glycaemic diet.
"Eating a food that drives your blood sugar above normal causes you to secrete insulin to normalise it. When the insulin spikes, the mechanism by which food is converted to energy is shut off, and then most or all of what you have eaten is turned to fat." Here are ten simple rules to help you follow a low-glycaemic food plan. These concise rules will make eating very simple and easy to remember.
1. Eat foods that are in their natural state whenever possible. When Carrots are eaten raw, they are safe and natural - the way they were designed to be eaten. Raw carrots have an index number of 35 (low-glycaemic), but cooked carrots have an index of 65 (moderately glycaemic). The same applies to some other vegetables.
2. Eat foods that are harder to digest. The harder a food is to digest, the lower-glycaemic it usually is, and the harder it is to digest, the longer it takes to convert to sugars. This longer process minimises insulin reactions, so that you can maximise your conversion of food to energy and minimise the amount of food converting to fat. For example, cooked carrots are very easy to digest, which is another reason why their index is much higher than raw carrots.
3. Eat high fibre foods. The harder the fibre is to digest, the better it is for us. Fibre not only gives us a feeling of fullness but it also helps clean out our colons which is essential for our good health. As well, the higher the fibre, the more absorbent it is for fats. If the digestive process for a specific food is slow, generally the lower will be the glycaemic index of that food. Bread is a good example of this. The fibre in highly refined white bread is so broken down and easy to digest that it is virtually useless for colon health.
However, whole grain bread with seeds is as close as bread gets to the natural state of grain. Depending on the grain and the seeds, it could be low- or moderately glycaemic, but not high-glycaemic. So you can eat bread, but avoid highly refined flours and breads that are high-glycaemic.
4. Please don't use artificial sweeteners. There is some evidence that artificial sweeteners may in fact slow the fat-burning process by causing confusion to the normal chemical signals of the brain. These signals are usually associated with sweet tastes. There is also an increasing body of evidence that indicates that some harmful effects to the human body may be caused by artificial sweeteners.
5. Don't eat fried foods. Fried foods cause stress to the pancreas, which, regardless of your weight or health is not advisable. Eating low-glycaemic foods will help to keep the pancreas healthy.
6. Avoid eating white foods. There are, of course, exceptions to every rule, but, in general, white foods tend to be high-glycaemic. White potatoes are the highest (85-98) on the glycaemic index. They are a starchy complex, and those starches convert to glucose rapidly. Additionally, they are very easy to digest and contain very little fibre.
7. Be sure to drink enough water. Water is absolutely vital to the efficient functioning of our bodies. Approximately 50% of the female body is made up of water and 60% of the male body. It is impossible to maintain a proper hormonal balance without it and water is extremely important in weight management and for fat transfer.
Having said that we must drink lots of water, the quality of the water we drink is also vitally important.
Don't worry that you seem to be 'weighing heavy' from all this water. The extra water-weight can sometimes be misleading as you monitor your progress. Check how your clothes are fitting and use the tape measure instead of the scales to get a true picture of your progress. Just keep in mind that you cannot expect long-term success on any program without proper hydration.
8. Time your food intake. It is important in achieving a lean body and also very important to your overall health that you keep your blood sugar balanced. You may save a few kilojoules by skipping meals, but this will eventually backfire since your body will perceive a state of starvation and reduce the rate at which you convert your stored fats. It is OK to snack as long as it is with the right foods. Snacking helps keep your blood sugar balanced, and this in turn helps control appetite and maximise your ability to convert stored fat as energy.
Low-glycaemic fruit and vegetables make the ideal snacking food. As it isn't always convenient to be eating fruit or vegetables, an alternative would be to have a little stash of natural almonds on hand. A dozen almonds eaten every couple of hours between meals should help the average person maintain a reasonable blood sugar level.
9. Do not try to mix different diets with low-glycaemic eating. Some fad diets give quick, temporary results that sound good but can result in bad health over the long term. The GlycoLEAN Body System has been designed as a system to support you for life. Unless you have found a system that is working for you (and, if that is the case you probably won't be reading this report) ignore all the media hype, and focus on just one system that is proven to work longterm.
10. Be committed to a healthy life. This last rule on the list is vitally important. Unless you are prepared to make a commitment to your health, don't start on this complete system based around the glycaemic-index. The GlycoLEAN Body System is designed to support good health, not just fat loss. It is a system you should adopt for life - not just until you can fit into a particular item of clothing. In order to have a healthy and fit body, we may need to take a good look at our lifestyle and habits and make changes where necessary.
Article Source: http://www.search-raven.com
About the Author
Before starting on any weight control program, learn more about glycaemic indexing and how this method of measuring the effect of food on your blood sugar is vital in any weight loss program.
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