Live Healthy with Mindy Mosser

Some of you may be asking what is low-glycemic, and why is it important to me?  Those are both great questions.  Until 3 years ago I had never heard of the glycemic index, or low-glycemic foods.  Once I realized what a key part the glycemic index played in weight and health management, I was sold.  I hope to give you a little insight today.

First, what is the glycemic index?  The glycemic index is a system used to rate foods (on a scale of 0 to 100) on how quickly they are broken down and cause a rise in your blood sugar.  A group of scientists started with straight glucose which is almost immediately absorbed into your blood system and they marked that a 100.  They tested various other carbohydrates and measured how quickly they resulted in the rise in blood sugar.  Proteins and Fiber are not broken down into sugars like carbs are, so they have a rating of 0.  They do not have an effect on blood sugar.  Anything that scored 0-55 is considered low-glycemic, any foods scoring 56-69 are considered mid-glycemic or moderate, and foods with a score of 70 or higher are considered high-glycemic.  Just a few examples: 

Broccoli and cucumbers are a 0 (great choices), carrots (although healthy) are higher glycemic with a rating of 47, black beans are a 20, chick peas a 28, low fat plain yogurt is a 31, apple 38, raw almonds 0, pineapple 59, watermelon 72, avocado 0, white rice 72, instant white rice 87, pearled barley 25, fruit roll ups 99, rice crispies 82, corn flakes 92, bagel 72, enriched flour breads 70, sprouted wheat bread 47, table sugar 61, apple juice 40, canned fruit in syrup 64, baked potato 93, rice cakes 92, and the list goes on and on...  you can visit www.glycemicindex.com to search their database and look for your favorite foods.

So how do you use the glycemic index (GI) and how does it affect your health and weight management? 

• Insulin is your body's storage hormone.  When carbs are consumed, they are broken down into sugars, and insulin comes along and grabs hold of the sugar and transports it to be burned as energy.  What isn't burned as energy is then stored as fat.  When you consume food that is high-glycemic it results in a spike in your blood sugar (see the chart below left red box).  High glycemic foods are broken down faster than they can be burned or used as energy, which results in a high amount of fat stored. Fast burst of energy and followed by a crash!  Then you are hungry again.  You are probably shaky, dizzy or light headed, willing to eat anything NOW to get out of that low blood sugar drop, and maybe ready for a nap. 
• When you consume lower glycemic foods, it takes longer for the body to break them down into sugar, so there is a slower release of sugar (see green box on chart below).  Slower release of sugar equals sustained energy.  The insulin then grabs hold of the sugar and takes it to be burned as energy.  Because there isn't a flood of sugars looking to be burned or stored all at once, you have more used as energy and less stored as fat.  Sustained energy means you stay satisfied longer and this results in consuming 50-80% fewer calories a day than someone who follows a high glycemic diet.

There is so much more to the benefits of low glycemic foods. Following a convenience foods diet, filled with processed foods, fast food, and packaged and canned foods can have a devastating impact on your health.  After some time of following a high glycemic diet, your body begins to stop recognizing its own insulin.  This process needs to be covered in more detail than what I can type on this page, but this eventually leads to Insulin Resistance, Pre-Diabetic, and then Type 2 Diabetes.  Studies show that 75% or more Americans are Insulin Resistance!  And most don't even know what it is.  Here are some symptoms of being Insulin Resistant:

Stage 1 Insulin Resistance: 

• craving sugary or high carbohydrate foods such as bread, rice, pasta, crackers, cookies, soda, diet soda, chocolate, potato chips...(you get the idea)
• feeling tired or sleepy after a meal
• midnight snacking or evening grazing (feeling that uncontrollable urge to snack in the evening)
• weight gain around your middle.  easier to gain weight and problems releasing it
• yo-yo dieting

Stage 2 Insulin Resistance (or pre-diabetic):

• High blood pressure
• Elevated cholesterol or triglycerides
• Central obesity (an accumulation of fat around the middle)

Stage 3 is Type 2 Diabetes!!  No turning back now...

The good news is that you can reverse insulin resistance, but you have to do it before it escalates to diabetes.  Watch this short video about the 5-day jump-start program and products I used to help stop my sugar cravings and get me on track to dropping the first 5 of the 50 pounds I released.

I thank Amber, and April, and The Healthy Edge for offering me the education I needed to reverse insulin resistance in me before it was too late.  The Healthy Edge 14-day FREE trial includes all of this information and more, in the week one seminar.  You have nothing to lose (except extra weight), so why not check it out.