Forget glycemic index
The glycemic index of foods has been much promoted as important in diet. A recent study (excerpt below) has however debunked most of the claims concerned
Effects of High vs Low Glycemic Index of Dietary Carbohydrate on Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors and Insulin Sensitivity
Frank M. Sacks et al.
ABSTRACT
Importance
Foods that have similar carbohydrate content can differ in the amount they raise blood glucose. The effects of this property, called the glycemic index, on risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetes are not well understood.
Conclusions and Relevance
In this 5-week controlled feeding study, diets with low glycemic index of dietary carbohydrate, compared with high glycemic index of dietary carbohydrate, did not result in improvements in insulin sensitivity, lipid levels, or systolic blood pressure. In the context of an overall DASH-type diet, using glycemic index to select specific foods may not improve cardiovascular risk factors or insulin resistance.
SOURCE
Posted by John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.).
1 comment:
All you have to do is have one or both of those diseases and you quickly realize doctors and dieticians are stupid, ignorant, evil, or a mix. They know nothing.
What you have to do, if you have the mojo, is study foods and how your body reacts to them. My guess is, each person is enough different that there isn't an actual common thread. Further, I actually need sugar once in a while to maintain a lower level. For some that doesn't work at all. I don't have the mojo to do a full dietary study. But heavy one the meats and fats, light on carbs, seems to work, with a caveat I'll get to.
I usually run high, but never drop. Ever, except when on too high of a dose of straight insulin. Without any intervention, my blood sugar often runs higher than my home meter can measure. On medicine, I can keep it, sometimes, around normal. Though usually I run at about 200-300 almost no matter what I do, even through weeks of starvation.
Further, I believe that what foods do what to my levels can change, at least a bit. Too many beans, of several sorts at least... black, pinto, and even into legumes, will raise my levels. If I eat enough meat with it, and certain vegetables (green, mainly), I can tolerate beans for longer. Ham and beans, toss in carrots, onions, and maybe add spinach on the side, I can eat that indefinitely. But just bean soup, with a little meat/fat for flavor, and I'll jack my blood sugar after a few days.
It's tricky. Nothing seems static. The volume of food also seems to play a part. A lot of calories, even if just protein and fat, can sugar me up good.
The best thing I can figure is home cooked food, from raw meats, vegetables, and starches like whole grain rice and potatoes, is the best general bet. But there simply isn't any guarantee. And I do need a couple of heavy sugar doses a week.
Then again, I think my diabetes is caused by organ difficulties due to lack of blood flow. With a 20% refraction ejection... there just isn't enough blood going to the right places. It's more like whatever is screaming for blood gets it, just enough to stay alive, then on to the next scream. Blood flow triage.
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