So, here we
meet again, for the continuation of The Truth series. This is a series of
articles for those of you who want to know exactly what a healthy diet is, with
no crap or frilly bits. It’s just an honest look at achieving health. Hopefully
you will learn enough from this series that you can immediately start making
better food choices. Whether you’re trying to lose weight or improve your
wellbeing, this information is for you. So far we have covered
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| redhothealth.com |
Protein
-
What
it is and why you need it
-
How
much protein you need
-
Where
you get your protein
-
How
do you get your daily intake
-
Protein
sources and saturated fats – I will be covering this in more detail when we
look at fat
-
What
to do if you’re vegetarian or vegan – I will be covering this in more detail
-
Are
you worried about contamination in seafood?
If you’ve
just joined us, you can find this article here. I would suggest you take a look.
Carbohydrates part 1
-
Where
you find carbohydrates and what they are
-
Some
common types of sugars and differences between them
-
What
is starch? Where do we find it and what happens when we eat it?
-
Is
one type of carbohydrate better than another?
-
The
glycaemic index
-
How
to alter the Glycaemic index of a food
Again, if
you haven’t read this article, find it here. That article in particular is
important in understanding what we’re talking about today so I’d suggest
reading it before continuing on.
What are we
covering today?
1. The glycaemic load
2. Carbohydrate modified diets
a. Low carb – ketogenic diets, Atkins
b. High carb – for endurance training or
weight gain
c. Paleo – neither high or low carb,
this diet restricts certain types of carbohydrates
d. diabetes
3. What does all this protein and
carbohydrate information mean for you?
Let’s begin
with the glycaemic load
What is the
glycaemic load?
In the last
article, I talked about the glycaemic index (GI) being a measurement of the effect of a food one ones blood sugar. The
glycaemic load (GL) is a measurement of how many grams of carbohydrate is
present in a food, and how much each
gram of carbohydrate raises the blood sugar. So, essentially, it is a way of comparing the blood sugar
effects of say, 100 grams of sweet potato, to 100grams of white bread (approx.
4 slices), which are both carbohydrate foods.
The formula
for establishing the Glycaemic Load (GL) of a food is
Grams of
Carbohydrate X Glycaemic index (GI) of food
100
If you look
back on what you learnt during the last article, you’ll see that both white
bread and sweet potato contain starch, which converts quite quickly into a
flood of glucose. Let’s compare the two
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|
100g Sweet potato – boiled
|
100g Commercially produced white bread
(4 slices)
|
|
Carbohydrates (g)
|
18
|
51
|
|
Starch (g)
|
5.2
|
40.5
|
|
Glycaemic index
|
46
|
70
|
|
Glycaemic load
|
8
|
35
|
|
Calculations
|
18 x 46 = 8.3
100
|
51 x 70 = 35.0
100
|
*These
figures were taken from a variety of sources so may vary slightly.
How do I use the GL value?
<10 is
considered low GL
11-19 is
considered medium GL
>20 is
considered high GL
So, sweet
potato is a carbohydrate food, white bread is a carbohydrate food. In part 1 we
talked about the reasons you would choose whole food over processed foods, and
the different ways your body breaks down and uses these foods. Here, you can see
that eating 100grams of sweet potato is going to work out much better for you
when compared to 100grams of white bread. The glycaemic index is lower, as is
the glycaemic load, meaning that it will have a much lower impact on your blood
sugar compared to the white bread, which, by the way, has a high GI and GL.
Don’t eat 2 sandwiches, or 4 slices
of white bread a day?
That’s ok, if we calculate the GL of 2 slices of white bread, it still comes
out at 17.8.
25.5 x 70
=
17.8. This is a medium GL
100
Can you see
how the GL is an indicator of the effect
of a serving size on your blood sugar? It tells you what happens if you eat
a small portion, or a large portion.
What about
fruit? Let’s compare the sweet potato, and say, pineapple. Both, by a healthy
diet standard, are great carbohydrates foods to include in moderation.
|
|
100g Sweet potato – boiled
|
100g Pineapple - raw
|
|
Carbohydrates (grams)
|
18
|
13
|
|
Sugars (not starch)
|
6
|
10
|
|
Glycaemic index (GI)
|
46
|
66
|
|
Glycaemic load (GL)
|
8
|
8.6
|
|
Calculations
|
18 x 46 = 8.3
100
|
13 x 66 = 8.58
100
|
Here you can
see that even though pineapple has quite a bit of sugar, and a much higher GI
than the sweet potato due to its higher concentration of sugar, if you eat
100grams of each, they have roughly the same effect on blood sugar.
What does all this mean for you? Knowing how to use the GI and the GL
allows you to choose foods that have minimal impact on your blood sugar levels.
Now I’m not suggesting you walk around with a GI book and a calculator all day.
Your dinner date would have eaten and left before you’ve worked it all out and
ordered.
I haven't included the GL of some 'naughty' foods here because it can get a bit confusing. I will cover this in a later topic.
How do you
use the GI and GL daily?
Here are 3
easy way to fit the GI and GL into your life
-
Think
‘Is it processed or is it a ‘whole food’’
– a juice is processed, the fruit or veg is the whole food
-
Does it have much fibre, protein or
fat? Think about the
type of food it is. What is in it? How will that affect the GI? (we discussed
this in the last topic)
-
Consider portion size – a huge bowl of pasta will affect
your body much more than a smaller bowl.
-
Example
- If you want to order the pasta, get a small, or entrée size and choose one
that has some meat in it. If you got, say an entrée sized chicken basil pesto
with fettuccine topped with pine nuts, you’ve got protein (chicken) good fats
and fibre (pine nuts) and a lower GL because you’re eating less pasta. Correct?
Remember the
name of the game with both GI and GL is maintaining that stable blood sugar. Here’s
why,
Benefits of
maintaining a stable blood sugar
1. Reduced risk and better management of
insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes
2. Better management of Polycystic
ovarian syndrome
3. Reduced likelihood of obesity
4. Lowered risk of heart disease, high
cholesterol and stroke
5. Lowered risk of some cancers
6. Reduced risk of fatty liver
7. Better, more consistent energy
8. Improved immunity
9. Better sleep
10. Better nutritional status (foods that
have the greatest effect on blood sugar are often the ones with the least
nutrients)
Whether
you’re eating for health or for weight loss, it’s important to understand the
effect carbohydrates are having on your body. Aim for lower GI carbohydrates
and/or moderate your intake of higher GI carbohydrates to lower the glycaemic
load. I personally would suggest both.
Now you know
more about carbohydrates, what they do, how your body uses them, and how to
make the most out of them to achieve your goals, let’s take a look at different
ways people manipulate carbohydrate intake for their personal gain. Before we
do so however I’d like to stress that this is not me endorsing or encouraging a
particular method, although I will give my opinion and experience with each. It’s
simply a discussion for educational purposes, so you can see the use of this
information in action and understand what people are referring to when they say
‘paleo’ or ‘no carb’, or when they use terms like ‘ketogenic’ or ‘carb
loading’. The more you know the better your decisions, true?
a. Low carb – ketogenic, atkins
b. High carb – for endurance training or
weight gain
c. Paleo – neither high or low carb,
this diet restricts certain types of carbohydrates
d. Diabetes
Low
carbohydrate diets
First, let’s
look at ‘low’ carb. ‘Low carb’ is a pretty generic term and can really mean
anything, however it generally means that a person is ingesting less than
50grams carbohydrates per day, or less than 20% of their daily calories are
coming from carbs.
Two popular
types of low carb diets are ketogenic diets and the Atkins diet
Ketogenic
Diets
A ketogenic
diet is by far one of the lowest carbohydrate diets, often not more than 20
grams usable carbs (not fibre). The term ‘ketogenic diet’ doesn’t refer to just
one diet, rather is a general name for diets that induce the process of ketosis.
Ketosis is essentially the process of your body burning fat as its main fuel
source. When you drop your carbohydrate intake right down, your body needs to
adapt in order to maintain your blood sugar. Remember, we discussed that in the
last article. Your body is this brilliant machine that is adept at self-preservation.
As your brain runs on glucose, when glucose is not present (because you’re not
ingesting carbohydrate) your body begins to produce a compound called ketones,
from fatty acids (taken from fat tissue). Your body therefore is able to supply
itself with everything it needs via this process. Reaching ketosis can take a
few days from the time you reduce your carbohydrate intake, because you have
some carbohydrate stored in the form of glycogen in muscle tissue and in your
liver. So, essentially, you reduce your carbs, your body begins releasing
glycogen from your muscle tissue and liver, and you’ll run on that for a few
days (depending on how much you have stored) and then, when that runs dry and
your body is running low on fuel, you’ll begin the fat conversion into ketones.
Depending on how overweight you are, you could have an enormous amount of
untapped energy here.
When doing a ketogenic diet, you consume
decent amounts of meat, or animal protein, they are typically high protein
diets with a decent amount of fat. Generally speaking vegies are encouraged,
but not the starchy kind like our sweet potato. Small amounts of fruit can be
consumed occasionally, however too much will throw you back out of ketosis and
into using glucose as your energy source. Some diets allow you to consume small
amounts of nuts or seeds, and limited amounts of dairy, such as yoghurt and
butter, although these will always need to be factored in when looking at the
daily carbohydrate intake.
Pro’s and con’s?
I have quite
a bit of experience with ketogenic diets, and I have definitely found them
effective for quick, short term weight loss. The biggest issue I find with this
type of diet is that it is not sustainable. Don’t get me wrong, you can
certainly maintain your weight loss, but it requires a shift to a more moderate
diet over the long term. I find these diets work best for a short ‘kick start’
period, but inevitably, lessons need to be learnt with regard to good healthy
eating habits. When you’re in ketosis, you’re not physically hungry so that
‘starved’ feeling isn’t an issue, however I’ve found people generally wanting
‘more’ and having the feeling of missing out, and ‘craving’ certain foods like
fruit. Because you’re burning fat as an energy source your energy tends to be
pretty good. A side effect of being in ketosis is bad breath that smells a bit
like nail polish remover, constipation is also common because of the lowered intake
of fibre. I personally believe that this type of diet should always be done
under the guidance of an experienced practitioner. The reasons for this are as
follows
1. A practitioner can make sure you’re
doing it correctly. If you’re not in ketosis but you’re operating on very
little carbohydrate, you’re likely to be tired and hungry. Not the best
beginning to a weight loss journey.
2. Many people on self-prescribed low
carb diets find their mood alters, they might get angry and snappy, irritable.
Who wants to live that way for long? This is generally an indication that they
are doing the diet incorrectly, a few tweaks in the right places can make all
the difference.
3. Education is important in order to
maintain the weight loss. If you simply restrict your carbohydrate intake for a
few weeks then give up because it’s too hard and you’re grumpy, and you haven’t
learn the necessary skills, you will return to your usual way of eating and
most likely regain the weight.
Atkins
I have very
little personal experience with Atkins, but from what I’ve read (and I’m sure
you’ll correct me if I’m wrong) the first stage of the Atkins diet is based on
ketogenic principles. During the first 2 weeks you’re largely consuming animal
proteins and fats. Carbohydrates are restricted to under 20grams. After a
couple of weeks, you’re allowed to add in some vegetables, fruit and whole
grains, but no white refined anything. As time goes on you can add more
carbohydrates in and the emphasis switches to more exercise. The Atkins.
The pros and
cons of the first 2 weeks of Atkins are the same as ketosis (it is ketosis).
But notice the types of foods that are added back into the diet. They are low
GI, lots of vegetables and whole grains, fruit, particularly berries. Nothing
with a particularly high GI or GL is added. Why? Because of the effects on
blood glucose (sugar). The higher the blood glucose, the less likely you are to
burn fat stores. In fact, the more likely you are to store fat. These two diets
are just using the basic premise of the GI and the GL to induce quick weight
loss. They do so in a relatively restrictive way however, what if you
manipulated the GI and GL in a more sustainable fashion, with a goal of
enduring weight loss?
High
carbohydrate? Really?
At the other
end of the spectrum, we have the high carbohydrate people. Given everything
you’ve just learned about carbohydrates and GI’s and GL’s and blood glucose,
why on earth would you want to ingest a high amount of carbohydrates? Let’s try
thinking about what we know in reverse.
The
endurance athlete
I’ve
mentioned a few times now about the way our bodies use carbohydrates. Carbs are
converted to glucose which is burned as fuel. Excess glucose is stored in the
liver and muscle tissue as glycogen, whatever is left over is stored as fat,
yes? After we burn through our blood glucose, then our muscle and liver
glycogen, our bodies will begin burning fat for fuel. Unfortunately this
process is not particularly quick. It’s not our most efficient means of gaining
energy. That is fine if we’re the average person sitting at our desk during the
day, or even going for a 1 hour walk after work, but for someone who requires
urgent energy… If you’re an endurance athlete, let’s say a marathon runner, you
require energy for 42km. Now I don’t know about you, but it would take me days
to run 42 km’s. That’s a decent amount of fuel, and most people would struggle
to produce that much energy, that quickly from fat. As soon as the muscle and
liver glycogen are depleted, fatigue sets in. It’s called hitting the wall. It’s
that feeling of exhaustion, like you can’t go on. Personally I’ve never pushed
myself that hard!
What does
that have to do with high carbohydrates? It’s really the reverse of ketosis
isn’t it? Instead of trying to deplete blood glucose and muscle glycogen,
you’re wanting to make sure that
1. Your
blood glucose and muscle glycogen are fully topped up and
2. That they
stay that way.
In order to
do this, many endurance athletes consume large amounts of carbohydrate rich
foods in the days leading up to an event and longer training sessions. They’ll
eat breads, pasta and lots of rice. High GI and GL foods, ensuring there is
enough glucose and glycogen going in. They also drink sports drinks during
events, which are filled with electrolytes (rehydration salts) and glucose
(sugar).
Do you see what’s
happening? It really is just the reverse of limiting our carbs for weight loss.
Isn’t it
amazing? There’s no mystery to diet and carbs, it’s a simple process. It’s all
about the types of carbs and the amount of carb you put in. Once you know how
to work this process, you can twist it to do whatever you like!
Weight
gain
I can see
some of you wondering why on earth you want actively try to gain weight,
however for some it is a necessity. There are many people who despite their
best efforts struggle with weight gain, and there are many more who lose weight
through illness and will need to put it back on, this includes the elderly. Quite
often hospital bound elderly come out quite a few kilograms lighter than they
originally were. All the weight gain products, whether designed for the
elderly, or designed for the 20 year old weedy kid who wants to look bigger to
his mates, are high carbohydrate.
The Paleo
diet
I’ve chosen
to include the paleo diet here because it is a diet that does essentially
manipulate carbohydrates for blood sugar maintenance. The paleo diet
essentially excludes all grains and legumes. So there is no inclusion of bread,
pasta, rice, beans, lentils, wheat products, oats etc. It’s all eliminated.
Some people include small amounts of raw dairy, like raw butter or milk, but
others don’t consume dairy at all. What is included in the diet is lots of
meat, vegetables, fruit and nuts and seeds.
I’ve seen this diet referred to as ‘low carb’
and I would tend to disagree, but it really depends on the amount of fruit and
vegies you’re eating. I personally have never really eaten many grains anyway,
not for any particular reason mind you, it’s just been a natural evolution, so I
tend to eat closest to paleo. I definitely don’t eat low carb. Nor do I eat
high carb. I’d estimate I’m over 100grams of carbs daily. I eat fruit, and I do
eat starchy vegies, as well as all other vegies, and lots of them. Of course if
you eat dairy then there are more carbs present in that. However, if you follow
a paleo diet without starchy vegies or dairy, and you’re not eating a wide
variety of vegies or fruit, then one could suggest you’re on a low carb diet.
Diabetes
Now I’m
really not going to go into diabetes here, it’s a whole 10 page article in
itself. I would like to say that the manipulation of carbohydrates to effect
blood sugar is of vital importance to a diabetic. They generally aim for low GI
foods and a consistent release of glucose into the blood stream. On the other
hand, diabetics can also have a low blood sugar attack, this is called hypoglycaemia.
Remember the brain runs on glucose, so if your levels are too low, it isn’t good.
For most of us this won’t happen, our body can sort this out but diabetes is a
different game. When their blood sugar drops low, a diabetic is required to
work themselves to bring it back to normal. They do this by ingesting lollies
like jelly beans and specifically formulated glucose products from chemist.
So you see, the
importance lies in maintaining your blood sugar. Whether you’re diabetic or an
endurance athlete, whether you’re trying to lose weight or simply reduce your
risk of disease, it’s all about what you’re doing with your carbohydrates.
What do I do
with this information?
-
Start
switching some of your higher GI foods to lower GI ones, there are some great
books out there that give you the GI of all the foods
-
Reduce
your serving size of high GL foods, or minimise your intake of them all
together. Learn which foods have the greatest effect on your blood sugar and
swap them for the better, lower GI and GL kinds.
-
Make
sure you’re including lots of protein, good fats and fibre at every meal
-
You
can’t go wrong with vegies, if you’re wanting to reduce your GL, fill half your
plate with them (not potato)
-
Include
2 pieces of fruit every day, lower GI/GL fruits include berries, grapefruit,
apple and pear
Hopefully
now you have a full understanding of carbohydrates, well, as full as you need
to make better food choices and understand what’s going on in your body. Look
at your type of carbs, look at your portions, and you’ll be on your way to
better health and weight loss.
The next article - Fats.
As always,
if you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment, or find me on Facebook
– First Be Healthy.
Chris
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Lentils have a delicious earthy flavour. They make a great addition to
any soup or salad. They are available in a variety of colours including red,
green, brown, black, blue or puy lentils. You can also buy them dry and
uncooked, or in precooked cans, ready to eat. They also freeze really well. I make some
great lentil soups during winter which keep for ages in the freezer. Store your
uncooked lentils in an air tight container in the cupboard and they’ll last a
long time. 
