Thursday, March 4th, 2010
The Glycemic Index is a measure of the effects of carbohydrates on blood sugar levels.
Bad carbs (high glycemic foods: sugar, potatoes, white bread, white pasta and white rice) cause dangerous spikes in blood sugar because they breakdown more quickly during digestion, releasing sugar rapidly into the blood causing high and low blood sugar swings. High glycemic foods may be used after endurance exercise or for people who have hypoglycemia.
Good carbs (low glycemic foods: whole grains, beans and most vegetables) release sugars slowly into the blood keep you healthy and fit.
Eating high glycemic carbohydrates forces your pancreas to produce an insulin surge to lower your blood sugar as fast as possible. Your body does this by converting sugar into fat.
Your blood sugar then drops way down out of the high danger zone into the low blood sugar zone. While this mechanism protects you from poor food choices, the spiking-then-dropping insulin workout your body goes through makes you feel ravenously hungry.
What’s more, insulin keeps you from metabolizing the fat you’ve got stored. And, when you’re feeling hungry, since you can’t burn your excess fat, you have to eat more food for energy.
