The kinds of food you eat have a direct effect on your health. Our body uses the food we eat for many things, but the primary use is as a fuel. The calories we take in are used to run out bodies. The common denominator of this fuel is glucose, a six carbon sugar.
Our bodies try to maintain a constant blood glucose level in order to deliver a steady stream of energy to cells. Insulin is the primary regulator of blood glucose.
Carbohydrates and fats are the primary sources of energy. My last two posts have discussed the metabolism of carbohydrates and fats. In short, fats are absorbed into the bloodstream with minimal processing whereas carbohydrates must be broken down into simple sugars such as glucose before they are absorbed. The result is that fats are absorbed and can be easily stored for use when needed but the sugars that come from our food must be dealt with immediately. They must be either used by cells or converted into stored energy (fat or glycogen).
You can easily find the GI of most foods online. Try to eat a diet that includes mostly low GI foods and avoid high GI foods. This will help prevent diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Our bodies try to maintain a constant blood glucose level in order to deliver a steady stream of energy to cells. Insulin is the primary regulator of blood glucose.
Carbohydrates and fats are the primary sources of energy. My last two posts have discussed the metabolism of carbohydrates and fats. In short, fats are absorbed into the bloodstream with minimal processing whereas carbohydrates must be broken down into simple sugars such as glucose before they are absorbed. The result is that fats are absorbed and can be easily stored for use when needed but the sugars that come from our food must be dealt with immediately. They must be either used by cells or converted into stored energy (fat or glycogen).
Insulin
Insulin regulates our blood sugar by directing cells to take up glucose where it can be burned or stored. The problem is that if you take in a lot of sugar at one time, your pancreas must make a lot of insulin to keep your blood sugar from going too high. If you eat foods such as starches which a large complex carbohyddrates, these are broken down by your digestive system more slowly and absorbed into your bloodstream over a longer period of time. This places smaller demands on the pancreas for insulin.Glycemic Index
It turns out that a big jump in blood sugar and insulin is bad for you. It contributes to high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and, of course, diabetes. It's much better to eat foods that are digested slowly and don't require a large insulin response. There is a way to measure this trait called glycemic index (GI). Simple sugars such as glucose, fructose, sucrose have a high glycemic index meaning that they are absorbed quickly and cause a large rise in insulin. Glucose has the highest glycemic index which is defined as 100. Foods such as white bread, white rice and other sugars have a GI of over 70 and cause a severe insulin reaction. Foods such as whole wheat flour, whole rice and most fruits are medium GI foods and are healthier. Even better, foods with a GI of less than 55 such as beans, vegetables, nuts and seeds as well as intact whole grains are least challenging to your insulin response and are the healthiest.You can easily find the GI of most foods online. Try to eat a diet that includes mostly low GI foods and avoid high GI foods. This will help prevent diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
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