Diet - Carbs Indexed

For starters, the intent of this post is not to be anti-carbs, it will deal with the proportion of carbs that are consumed. Noone gets fat by eating healthy carbs like vegetables, fruits, beans and whole grains. The truth is that byeating more of them is the first line of defense against cancer and other diseases, with one specific benefit of eating whole grains to protect you from prostate cancer, based on data recently compiled from 59 countries. Now, we will focus on what carbs do for you-good, bad and ugly-and how it will fit into the diet plan.
The way carbs are looked at by nutritionist today is based on the way your body reacts to the carbs instead of the number of sugar molecules. The main tool for measurement is called the glycemic index (GI), because this shows how fast the food turns into glucose. The foods that are quickly digested and turned into glucose are referred to as being high-glycemic, and the ones that are transformed slowly are called low-glycemic. When a person eats foods that are high-glycemic, that quick rush of glucose makes your body use straight glucose for energy, instead of the fat/glucose mixture. Since none of the fat reserves have burned off, any fat that you have eaten is added to your fat reserves. Since your body has then digested the high-glycemis foods quickly, your stomach is emptied out faster, which in turn, makes you hungry faster. Below, you will find a sample GI that assigns all carb containing foods a number that shows how fast your body turns them into glucose. The chart is based on a chart from a book written by Lou Schuler. Foods with GIs of 55 or lower cause only a small change in the blood sugar level, and those with a GI of 70 or more shoot your glucose level higher.

FRUITS VEGETABLES/GRAINS & PASTAS

• Cherries 32 Peas 68
• Plum 34 Sweet potato 77
• Grapefruit 36 Corn 78
• Pear 51 Carrots 101
• Apple 52 Potato 121
• Apple Juice 58 Barley 36
• Grapes 62 Rye 48
• Orange 62 Spaghetti 59
• Grapefruit Juice 69 Brown Rice 79
• Banana 76 White Rice 81
• Watermelon 103 Instant Rice 128

DAIRY PRODUCTS LEGUMES

• Yogurt 20 Lentils 41
• Whole Milk 39 Kidney Beans 42
• Skim Milk 46 Lima Beans 46
• Low-fat Ice Cream 71 Pinto Beans 55
• Ice Cream 87 Baked Beans 69

CEREAL SNACKS

• All-Bran 60 Peanuts 21
• Oat Bran 78 Chocolate 70
• Shredded Wheat 99 Potato Chips 77
• Puffed Wheat 105 Oatmeal Cookies 79
• Cheerios 106 Popcorn 79
• Rice Krispies 117 Corn Chips 105
• Corn Flakes 119 Jelly Beans 114

PASTRIES BREADS

• Sponge Cake 66 Hamburger Bun 87
• Bran Muffin 85 White Bread 99
• Croissant 96 Whole wheat bread 99
• Doughnut 108 Bagel 103
• Waffle 109 Kaiser Roll 104

As you can see, many of the simple carbs like fruit and dairy products have a good low rating on the index, while many of the complex carbs like bread have a higher index. Keep in mind, the size of the individual particles of the the food factors into this equation as well. For example, instant oatmeal has a higher GI than slow cooking oatmeal, and whole grain flour is turned into glucose at a much slower rate than refined flour.

There really is only one point in the day when high GI carbs are recommended, and that is after exercising. The good workout will drain your muscles of the glycogen they have stored and a lack of glycogen will cause the body to use two other sources of energy: fat and amino acids. The fat usage is graeat, but you don't want to use the amino acids because that protein comes from your muscles. Therefore, the faster you put those high GI carbs into your body, the faster the body can produce insulin. This does two great things after excercising, first the proteins stop breaking down and starts to synthesize. The higher the GI rating, the faster the process begins, which is why so many post workout meal replacement supplements contain maltodextrin, which is an easy to digest carb made from corstarch.

Next, I will focus on putting together the right pre and post exercise nutrition plan.