SEPTEMBER 2011 NEWSLETTER http://bit.ly/o62nvS
September is a tribute to our neighbors south of us. Mexico is a country with very beautifully rich history, from its people to…well it’s food. Mexican food is a mainstay for Americans but it can be very rich in calories, fat & sugars. Here are some ideas to both enjoy the wonderful cuisine while staying healthy…Enjoy!
Cinnamon Up Your Life
Cinnamon is a very common spice used in Mexican cuisine. There have been many studies discovering the many possible benefits of cinnamon such as: glucose metabolism, antiseptic powers against bacteria's and fungi and even for improving brain function.
Some of the possible ways in which one can enjoy this power spice:
- Add a cinnamon stick to flavor your favorite tea
- Add to unsweetened applesauce, cereal or oatmeal
- Sprinkle on toast or add to butter or cream cheese
- Sprinkle on coffee, cocoa, fruit juices, and ciders
- Add cinnamon to your favorite baked goods
Remember after opening your cinnamon store it in a tight sealed container away from the light.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Why You Should Make Weight Loss for Your Overweight Child a Family Affair http://bit.ly/ocvsZo Obesity can be a huge obstacle in a child’s development, both physically and emotionally. Children suffering from obesity can experience isolation, bullying, or poor self-image in their relationship with their peers. This can also be a fundamental detriment to a child’s ability to maintain a strong and healthy relationship with their family. Because of the emotional, physical, and familial on the line, making your child’s weight loss a family project is not only a good idea, it is nearly critical to your success. This guide will help you get both your child and your family in shape.
Kids can be very competitive. Whether they are competing with a sibling for rights to the front seat or battling it out with a friend in a video game, children, like adults want to feel the thrill of victory. One way to help them feel enthusiasm and zeal, instead of rebellion at the prospect of losing weight is to create a family competition. This way it will be about family goals and the child doesn’t feel isolated by their obesity. Since other members of your family may not need to lose weight, find goals and projects that they can work on in order to make this a true competition.
The Keys to Success
Get everyone involved in the competition.
For example, if one child needs to improve their grades in math, make it a daily objective for that child to focus on practicing and studying different math exercises and practice tests, in addition to regular homework. A goal such as this, long term and focused, will be a perfect correlation for a child struggling to lose weight. For, as one child is exercising, the same time frame can be utilized for the other child to study.
This helps take away some of the pressure and focus, real or imagined, the teen might feel weighing upon them. Many people, not just children, feel as if others are often focused negatively on their bodies when they are overweight. This belief can be a psychological obstacle you can easily eliminate for them. Plus, the need to study is an actual and necessary need. Not just busy work. And the educational benefits create an equal importance in terms of emotional reward for the sibling.
Make the reward a bonus, so that the child doesn’t feel punished if he or she fails to meet the goal in the appointed time frame. If your child is unable to reach his goal completely, it is important that he or she doesn’t feel devastated. After all, any weight loss is a huge step in the right direction. Allowing the child to feel like a failure because they somehow fell short of the ultimate goal is like taking a giant step backward over a cliff and freefalling. In fact, your child may ultimately feel as if he or she never wants to try to lose weight again. Or worst, go on an unhealthy binge.
Atlanta Nutritionist - Ilana Katz - can ensure your family is on the road to success with weight loss.
Kids can be very competitive. Whether they are competing with a sibling for rights to the front seat or battling it out with a friend in a video game, children, like adults want to feel the thrill of victory. One way to help them feel enthusiasm and zeal, instead of rebellion at the prospect of losing weight is to create a family competition. This way it will be about family goals and the child doesn’t feel isolated by their obesity. Since other members of your family may not need to lose weight, find goals and projects that they can work on in order to make this a true competition.
The Keys to Success
Get everyone involved in the competition.
For example, if one child needs to improve their grades in math, make it a daily objective for that child to focus on practicing and studying different math exercises and practice tests, in addition to regular homework. A goal such as this, long term and focused, will be a perfect correlation for a child struggling to lose weight. For, as one child is exercising, the same time frame can be utilized for the other child to study.
This helps take away some of the pressure and focus, real or imagined, the teen might feel weighing upon them. Many people, not just children, feel as if others are often focused negatively on their bodies when they are overweight. This belief can be a psychological obstacle you can easily eliminate for them. Plus, the need to study is an actual and necessary need. Not just busy work. And the educational benefits create an equal importance in terms of emotional reward for the sibling.
Make the reward a bonus, so that the child doesn’t feel punished if he or she fails to meet the goal in the appointed time frame. If your child is unable to reach his goal completely, it is important that he or she doesn’t feel devastated. After all, any weight loss is a huge step in the right direction. Allowing the child to feel like a failure because they somehow fell short of the ultimate goal is like taking a giant step backward over a cliff and freefalling. In fact, your child may ultimately feel as if he or she never wants to try to lose weight again. Or worst, go on an unhealthy binge.
Atlanta Nutritionist - Ilana Katz - can ensure your family is on the road to success with weight loss.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Atlanta Nutritionist Sounds Off On Energy Bars http://bit.ly/qAM08g The biggest names in energy bars are generally the worst for you. They want you to believe that what you are eating is good for you and ideal for a runners diet.
To achieve the best results you have to eat a healthy balanced way according to your body. Natural anything gives the body a significant source of minerals, vitamins, protein, etc. Even if it isn't the healthiest snack or meal, if you put effort into making something yourself you know it has more health benefits than energy bars.
Things that don't constitute running nutrition would be sugar, cane sugar, sugar alcohol, preservatives, milk ingredients, gluten, flavouring, colour, unhealthy fats, you get the picture. This is what you would expect in fast food, because it is quick, easy, and cheap; the typical north American's dream. So a runners diet usually includes energy bars that are quick, easy, cheap, and healthy?! Not so much, what food that is quick, easy, and cheap that is actually deemed healthy other than fruits or vegetables. Not much, especially in meal replacements.
Take your average energy bar, first ingredient might be a protein source. It might even be a good, healthy source. But many people justify it off that alone. Keep reading you will find milk ingredients, preservatives, and countless forms of sugar. It is fascinating how many different words you can use for sugar.
Researching one of the current bestselling Amazon products under "energy bars", it has 0 grams of fiber to 16 grams of sugar. The second ingredient after protein blend is caramel filling, the third being chocolate. This just goes to prove it is more of a chocolate bar than a healthy snack.
Plus there are always a high amount of carbohydrates in energy bars. Just remember, protein is necessary after a workout to help provide glucose to muscles for recovery. Carbs are not as important as most will be converted to fat anyways. Most people have too much carbs in their diet already causing spikes in blood sugar. Stressed adrenals, exhausted pancreas and diabetes is the end result.
A runner is burning up many calories on each day of running. Therefore a balance will need to be found to keep a consistent weight and energy level. In many ways the runner's body is like a machine. It needs fuel and good care if a runner is to perform at a top level.
The body can protect itself from many illnesses. We don't often think of our running body when they're working well. We worry about our health when we're not well. But the time to protect our health is when we do feel well.
Food is one of the basic human needs. A runner should eat enough food and also the right kind of foods for additional calories used up. A good practice when preparing foods is to eat selections in its most natural state. Take an apple for example. It's most natural state would be a raw apple, rather than in a pie or jelly.
Runners need plenty of carbohydrates as found in vegetables, breads and cereals. They help to give us plenty of energy. Other foods called proteins are found in meat, beans and peas. Although a good practice is to eat red meat no more than once a week if any. Meat source should be bird and or fish. My personal performance is no more meat than one day, a week. Such foods are also needed to build muscle. Fats also provide us with energy.
Minerals such as calcium found in milk, cheeses and yogurt are needed to build strong bones. Other minerals such as iron give us rich healthy blood. Very important in the runner, the machine. The constant pumping of blood to the muscles. All very important for a balanced healthy diet for runners. Just to make sure you're not losing out on any of your daily requirements of vitamins, it's best to take supplements. A couple rest days a week are important, to let your body time to fully recover from the long runs.
Bad diet comes from ignorance, poor food habits and poor distribution. Or lack of foods. Many people of the United States have a bad diet. Some people do not eat enough food or enough of the right foods. They suffer from malnutrition. However, as a runner it's your responsibility to stay abreast of your intake of calories to keep you feeling full of energy and vigor.
Running as a rule makes your metabolism work so fast that you constantly have to feed the fat burner, your fuel burner. Most runners don't have a problem losing weight. The problem is keeping it on. You may have read in my other articles, weight in every morning. This is to make sure you haven't lost more than three pounds in one day. If you have drink up! You've lost too many body fluids.
To balance out a healthy diet for runners is with plenty of fresh air and enough sleep. Of course we're runners we all get plenty of fresh air. Some runners may be choosing the wrong running routes. Maybe they have to choose between the factory route and the city park route. Take the park! The last of our healthy diet for runners is to get plenty of sleep. Top off each run with twenty minutes of stretching, yoga is best.
If you're looking for a healthy diet for runners, you must be very careful not to eliminate any major food groups, especially carbohydrates. Carbs provide the fuel your body needs. If you cut out carbs, you will notice that your energy level goes way down and your stamina will decrease.
As a runner, if you're looking to lose weight you must find a weight loss program that allows you to eat a well balanced diet. Even just cutting calories can be counterproductive. If you cut out too many calories, your metabolism will slow to the point where again you will notice your energy level decreases. So what's the answer?
There is a weight loss program called Calorie Shifting that approaches weight loss from a completely different perspective. You don't have to cut calories or carbs to lose weight. In fact, they recommend that you eat four normal sized meals a day instead of three. The key to Calorie Shifting is that you eat your meals at different times from day to day.
By doing this, your body doesn't get a chance to adjust to any one particular eating pattern. Because your body can't adjust, your metabolism doesn't slow down like it would with most diets. With your metabolism working at a higher rate, your body will burn calories much faster than normal and you'll lose weight without losing energy.
This sounds like an excellent choice for a healthy diet for runners. Of course, there's more to it than just eating meals at different times. They actually have software so you can enter your favorite foods and the software will give you a schedule of when to eat your meals. If you're looking to lose weight, Calorie Shifting is definitely something you'll want to look in to, especially if you're a runner.
Before turning to professional running, beginners must remember that it takes a lot to become a successful runner. In addition to being devoted to your sport and training hard to excel in it, you also need to take care of your diet. Nutrition and diet play a major role in all fitness programs, particularly during periods of strenuous training. As a committed athlete, you will obviously do everything legally possible to keep getting better at his sport. You may of course have a good diet. However, you also need to know that a few simple changes in your diet can work wonders in your overall performance.
Importance Of Nutrition For Athletes
Proper nutrition is very important to the success of your career. Athletes burn a lot of energy within short periods and obviously need to recharge their bodies. If running beginners do not ensure that they get adequate nutrition, they will soon slip into a condition known as overtraining - a condition that physically weakens an athlete and increases the risk of an injury. That is why most runners consume a variety of drinks and food to help them regain strength, energy and endurance as quickly as possible.
Depending on how strenuous your training is, your running diet must help you quickly regain whatever you have lost during each training session so that you can be well-prepared to face the next workout. Your training diet may include protein shakes, dried fruits and the power-packed nuts. Your emphasis here must be to make sure that you get enough calories and the right balance of all essential nutrients.
Most of the time, athletes use up so much calories that it is normal for them to consume almost double the amount of what an ordinary person eats and still continue to lose weight. So athletes must understand how many calories they need to maintain good physical health, high energy levels and adequate weight and then try to acquire those many calories everyday.
Eating Right
To continue performing at peak levels and be strong enough to cross that 'barrier of pain' that all endurance athletes face at some point in a race, here are some tips to keep in mind:
Drink lots of water: You will lose plenty of fluids in the form of sweat. So keep yourself well hydrated.
Maintain a good training diet: The right running diet must be low in processed cereals and refined sugars and rich in carbohydrates and proteins. Long distance runners may benefit more from a diet rich in fats and carbohydrates.
Ensure a proper race day diet: Keep your race day diet nutritious yet light so that your body is easily able to digest everything before the race. It would also be a good idea to reduce your intake of products like cow's milk to minimize buildup of lactic acid on the race day.
Keep away from junk food: Cut down on burgers, fries, buttered popcorn and carbonated beverages. Junk food is okay maybe once in a couple of weeks. But remember that to be a top-level runner, you must behave like one and eat like one.
To sum up, if you are a running beginner, you must have moderate levels of quality proteins, high levels of carbohydrates and moderate levels of fats to keep you body in top shape and keep you lean and healthy. A well-balanced diet will ensure development of strength and endurance so that you will be ready to give your best on the big day.
To achieve the best results you have to eat a healthy balanced way according to your body. Natural anything gives the body a significant source of minerals, vitamins, protein, etc. Even if it isn't the healthiest snack or meal, if you put effort into making something yourself you know it has more health benefits than energy bars.
Things that don't constitute running nutrition would be sugar, cane sugar, sugar alcohol, preservatives, milk ingredients, gluten, flavouring, colour, unhealthy fats, you get the picture. This is what you would expect in fast food, because it is quick, easy, and cheap; the typical north American's dream. So a runners diet usually includes energy bars that are quick, easy, cheap, and healthy?! Not so much, what food that is quick, easy, and cheap that is actually deemed healthy other than fruits or vegetables. Not much, especially in meal replacements.
Take your average energy bar, first ingredient might be a protein source. It might even be a good, healthy source. But many people justify it off that alone. Keep reading you will find milk ingredients, preservatives, and countless forms of sugar. It is fascinating how many different words you can use for sugar.
Researching one of the current bestselling Amazon products under "energy bars", it has 0 grams of fiber to 16 grams of sugar. The second ingredient after protein blend is caramel filling, the third being chocolate. This just goes to prove it is more of a chocolate bar than a healthy snack.
Plus there are always a high amount of carbohydrates in energy bars. Just remember, protein is necessary after a workout to help provide glucose to muscles for recovery. Carbs are not as important as most will be converted to fat anyways. Most people have too much carbs in their diet already causing spikes in blood sugar. Stressed adrenals, exhausted pancreas and diabetes is the end result.
A runner is burning up many calories on each day of running. Therefore a balance will need to be found to keep a consistent weight and energy level. In many ways the runner's body is like a machine. It needs fuel and good care if a runner is to perform at a top level.
The body can protect itself from many illnesses. We don't often think of our running body when they're working well. We worry about our health when we're not well. But the time to protect our health is when we do feel well.
Food is one of the basic human needs. A runner should eat enough food and also the right kind of foods for additional calories used up. A good practice when preparing foods is to eat selections in its most natural state. Take an apple for example. It's most natural state would be a raw apple, rather than in a pie or jelly.
Runners need plenty of carbohydrates as found in vegetables, breads and cereals. They help to give us plenty of energy. Other foods called proteins are found in meat, beans and peas. Although a good practice is to eat red meat no more than once a week if any. Meat source should be bird and or fish. My personal performance is no more meat than one day, a week. Such foods are also needed to build muscle. Fats also provide us with energy.
Minerals such as calcium found in milk, cheeses and yogurt are needed to build strong bones. Other minerals such as iron give us rich healthy blood. Very important in the runner, the machine. The constant pumping of blood to the muscles. All very important for a balanced healthy diet for runners. Just to make sure you're not losing out on any of your daily requirements of vitamins, it's best to take supplements. A couple rest days a week are important, to let your body time to fully recover from the long runs.
Bad diet comes from ignorance, poor food habits and poor distribution. Or lack of foods. Many people of the United States have a bad diet. Some people do not eat enough food or enough of the right foods. They suffer from malnutrition. However, as a runner it's your responsibility to stay abreast of your intake of calories to keep you feeling full of energy and vigor.
Running as a rule makes your metabolism work so fast that you constantly have to feed the fat burner, your fuel burner. Most runners don't have a problem losing weight. The problem is keeping it on. You may have read in my other articles, weight in every morning. This is to make sure you haven't lost more than three pounds in one day. If you have drink up! You've lost too many body fluids.
To balance out a healthy diet for runners is with plenty of fresh air and enough sleep. Of course we're runners we all get plenty of fresh air. Some runners may be choosing the wrong running routes. Maybe they have to choose between the factory route and the city park route. Take the park! The last of our healthy diet for runners is to get plenty of sleep. Top off each run with twenty minutes of stretching, yoga is best.
If you're looking for a healthy diet for runners, you must be very careful not to eliminate any major food groups, especially carbohydrates. Carbs provide the fuel your body needs. If you cut out carbs, you will notice that your energy level goes way down and your stamina will decrease.
As a runner, if you're looking to lose weight you must find a weight loss program that allows you to eat a well balanced diet. Even just cutting calories can be counterproductive. If you cut out too many calories, your metabolism will slow to the point where again you will notice your energy level decreases. So what's the answer?
There is a weight loss program called Calorie Shifting that approaches weight loss from a completely different perspective. You don't have to cut calories or carbs to lose weight. In fact, they recommend that you eat four normal sized meals a day instead of three. The key to Calorie Shifting is that you eat your meals at different times from day to day.
By doing this, your body doesn't get a chance to adjust to any one particular eating pattern. Because your body can't adjust, your metabolism doesn't slow down like it would with most diets. With your metabolism working at a higher rate, your body will burn calories much faster than normal and you'll lose weight without losing energy.
This sounds like an excellent choice for a healthy diet for runners. Of course, there's more to it than just eating meals at different times. They actually have software so you can enter your favorite foods and the software will give you a schedule of when to eat your meals. If you're looking to lose weight, Calorie Shifting is definitely something you'll want to look in to, especially if you're a runner.
Before turning to professional running, beginners must remember that it takes a lot to become a successful runner. In addition to being devoted to your sport and training hard to excel in it, you also need to take care of your diet. Nutrition and diet play a major role in all fitness programs, particularly during periods of strenuous training. As a committed athlete, you will obviously do everything legally possible to keep getting better at his sport. You may of course have a good diet. However, you also need to know that a few simple changes in your diet can work wonders in your overall performance.
Importance Of Nutrition For Athletes
Proper nutrition is very important to the success of your career. Athletes burn a lot of energy within short periods and obviously need to recharge their bodies. If running beginners do not ensure that they get adequate nutrition, they will soon slip into a condition known as overtraining - a condition that physically weakens an athlete and increases the risk of an injury. That is why most runners consume a variety of drinks and food to help them regain strength, energy and endurance as quickly as possible.
Depending on how strenuous your training is, your running diet must help you quickly regain whatever you have lost during each training session so that you can be well-prepared to face the next workout. Your training diet may include protein shakes, dried fruits and the power-packed nuts. Your emphasis here must be to make sure that you get enough calories and the right balance of all essential nutrients.
Most of the time, athletes use up so much calories that it is normal for them to consume almost double the amount of what an ordinary person eats and still continue to lose weight. So athletes must understand how many calories they need to maintain good physical health, high energy levels and adequate weight and then try to acquire those many calories everyday.
Eating Right
To continue performing at peak levels and be strong enough to cross that 'barrier of pain' that all endurance athletes face at some point in a race, here are some tips to keep in mind:
Drink lots of water: You will lose plenty of fluids in the form of sweat. So keep yourself well hydrated.
Maintain a good training diet: The right running diet must be low in processed cereals and refined sugars and rich in carbohydrates and proteins. Long distance runners may benefit more from a diet rich in fats and carbohydrates.
Ensure a proper race day diet: Keep your race day diet nutritious yet light so that your body is easily able to digest everything before the race. It would also be a good idea to reduce your intake of products like cow's milk to minimize buildup of lactic acid on the race day.
Keep away from junk food: Cut down on burgers, fries, buttered popcorn and carbonated beverages. Junk food is okay maybe once in a couple of weeks. But remember that to be a top-level runner, you must behave like one and eat like one.
To sum up, if you are a running beginner, you must have moderate levels of quality proteins, high levels of carbohydrates and moderate levels of fats to keep you body in top shape and keep you lean and healthy. A well-balanced diet will ensure development of strength and endurance so that you will be ready to give your best on the big day.
The Glycemic Index - Easy to Read Tables http://bit.ly/pxJLwK The glycemic index is a list of foods. It rates carbohydrate foods by comparing how much they raise blood sugar after eating a measured portion of the food compared to a reference food set to equal 100. The reference can be either glucose or white bread, depending on the researcher. All the foods in the glycemic index are high in carbohydrates. Foods low in carbohydrates and high in fat or protein don't cause a significant rise in blood sugar, so researchers don't bother to measure them.
How fast a food raises blood sugar is important, because it determines how much insulin is produced to keep the blood sugar from going too high. For some people, this isn't an issue. However, some people will produce an excess of insulin in response to high glycemic index foods, and that's where the trouble starts.
Insulin reduces blood sugar by sending it out of the blood and into the cells to be stored as fat. If there's too much insulin, then after the blood sugar goes up, the excess insulin causes it to fall too low, which can create the rollercoaster effect of a temporary lift, then fatigue and carbohydrate cravings.
In Summary: The Glycemic index measures how fast the carbohydrate of a particular food is converted to glucose and enters the bloodstream. The lower the number, the slower the conversion and therefore, the more stable the blood sugar.
The numbers are percentages with respect to a reference food. The scale here is with respect to white bread, with it being set at 100. I have listed a few foods which you would use quite frequently.
Overconsumption of high glycemic index foods appears to contribute to insulin resistance and diabetes, as well as an impressive list of common health problems, all of which result from the long-term effects of too much insulin in the body.
A simple tool for making better choices
Using white bread as the standard, sucrose (table sugar) has a glycemic index of 92. So white bread, with a glycemic index of 100, raises blood glucose slightly faster than table sugar. Baked potatoes may be the biggest surprise, with a glycemic index of 121, which is 29 points higher than table sugar!
Proponents claim that using the glycemic index in making food choices can help you lose weight, reduce your risk of heart disease, improve your energy level and athletic performance, stabilize your blood sugar and enjoy greater overall wellness.
For high glycemic baked potatoes (121), you can substitute pasta, prepared slightly al dente (typically 50 to 60), beans and legumes (typically 40 to 60) or sweet potatoes (77), all of which have less of a glycemic effect. Instead of regular rice (126), you can substitute basmati (83) or Uncle Ben's Converted Rice (63), or for part of the rice, substitute the much lower glycemic pearled barley (36). Instead of highly processed breakfast cereals, cookies, crackers, cakes and muffins, look for those made from unrefined cereals or those that add dried fruits, which have a lower glycemic index than refined flour. Instead of tropical fruits such as bananas (77) switch to temperate climate fruits such as apples (54) or peaches (60).
Glycemic Index
Cereals
Snacks
Pasta
Beans
All Bran
51
chocolate bar
49
cheese tortellini
50
baked
44
Bran Buds + psyll
45
corn chips
72
fettucini
32
black beans, boiled
30
Bran Flakes
74
croissant
67
linguini
50
butter, boiled
33
Cheerios
74
doughnut
76
macaroni
46
cannellini beans
31
Corn Chex
83
graham crakers
74
spagh, 5 min boiled
33
garbanzo, boiled
34
Cornflakes
83
jelly beans
80
spagh, 15 min boiled
44
kidney, boiled
29
Cream of Wheat
66
Life Savers
70
spagh, prot enrich
28
kidney, canned
52
Frosted Flakes
55
oatmeal cookie
57
vermicelli
35
lentils, green, brown
30
Grapenuts
67
pizza, cheese & tom
60
Soups/Vegetables
lima, boiled
32
Life
66
Pizza Hut, supreme
33
beets, canned
64
navy beans
38
muesli, natural
54
popcorn, light micro
55
black bean soup
64
pinto, boiled
39
Nutri-grain
66
potato chips
56
carrots, fresh, boil
49
red lentils, boiled
27
oatmeal, old fach
48
pound cake
54
corn, sweet
56
soy, boiled
16
Puffed Wheat
67
Power bars
58
green pea, soup
66
Breads
Raisin Bran
73
pretzels
83
green pea, frozen
47
bagel, plain
72
Rice Chex
89
saltine crakers
74
lima beans, frozen
32
baquette, Frnch
95
Shredded Wheat
67
shortbread cookies
64
parsnips
97
croissant
67
Special K
54
Snikers bar
41
peas, fresh, boil
48
dark rey
76
Total
76
strawberry jam
51
split pea soup w/ham
66
hamburger bun
61
Fruit
vanilla wafers
77
tomato soup
38
muffins
apple
38
Wheat Thins
67
Drinks
apple, cin
44
apricots
57
Crackers
apple juice
40
blueberry
59
banana
56
graham
74
colas
65
oat & raisin
54
cantalope
65
rice cakes
80
Gatorade
78
pita
57
cherries
22
rye
68
grapefruit juice
48
pizza, cheese
60
dates
103
soda
72
orange juice
46
pumpernickel
49
grapefruit
25
Wheat Thins
67
pineapple juice
46
sourdough
54
grapes
46
Cereal Grains
Milk Products
rye
64
kiwi
52
barley
25
chocolate milk
35
white
70
mango
55
basmati white rice
58
custard
43
wheat
68
orange
43
bulgar
48
ice cream, van
60
Root Crops
papaya
58
couscous
65
ice milk, van
50
french fries
75
peach
42
cornmeal
68
skim milk
32
pot, new, boiled
59
pear
58
millet
71
soy milk
31
pot, red, baked
93
pineapple
66
Sugars
tofu frozen dessert
115
pot, sweet
52
plums
39
fructose
22
whole milk
30
pot, white, boiled
63
prunes
15
honey
62
yogurt, fruit
36
pot, white, mash
70
raisins
64
maltose
105
yogurt, plain
14
yam
54
watermelon
72
table sugar
64
If you are confused about how the Glycemic Index affects weight loss, please ask Atlanta NutritionistIlana Katz.
How fast a food raises blood sugar is important, because it determines how much insulin is produced to keep the blood sugar from going too high. For some people, this isn't an issue. However, some people will produce an excess of insulin in response to high glycemic index foods, and that's where the trouble starts.
Insulin reduces blood sugar by sending it out of the blood and into the cells to be stored as fat. If there's too much insulin, then after the blood sugar goes up, the excess insulin causes it to fall too low, which can create the rollercoaster effect of a temporary lift, then fatigue and carbohydrate cravings.
In Summary: The Glycemic index measures how fast the carbohydrate of a particular food is converted to glucose and enters the bloodstream. The lower the number, the slower the conversion and therefore, the more stable the blood sugar.
The numbers are percentages with respect to a reference food. The scale here is with respect to white bread, with it being set at 100. I have listed a few foods which you would use quite frequently.
Overconsumption of high glycemic index foods appears to contribute to insulin resistance and diabetes, as well as an impressive list of common health problems, all of which result from the long-term effects of too much insulin in the body.
A simple tool for making better choices
Using white bread as the standard, sucrose (table sugar) has a glycemic index of 92. So white bread, with a glycemic index of 100, raises blood glucose slightly faster than table sugar. Baked potatoes may be the biggest surprise, with a glycemic index of 121, which is 29 points higher than table sugar!
Proponents claim that using the glycemic index in making food choices can help you lose weight, reduce your risk of heart disease, improve your energy level and athletic performance, stabilize your blood sugar and enjoy greater overall wellness.
For high glycemic baked potatoes (121), you can substitute pasta, prepared slightly al dente (typically 50 to 60), beans and legumes (typically 40 to 60) or sweet potatoes (77), all of which have less of a glycemic effect. Instead of regular rice (126), you can substitute basmati (83) or Uncle Ben's Converted Rice (63), or for part of the rice, substitute the much lower glycemic pearled barley (36). Instead of highly processed breakfast cereals, cookies, crackers, cakes and muffins, look for those made from unrefined cereals or those that add dried fruits, which have a lower glycemic index than refined flour. Instead of tropical fruits such as bananas (77) switch to temperate climate fruits such as apples (54) or peaches (60).
Glycemic Index
Cereals
Snacks
Pasta
Beans
All Bran
51
chocolate bar
49
cheese tortellini
50
baked
44
Bran Buds + psyll
45
corn chips
72
fettucini
32
black beans, boiled
30
Bran Flakes
74
croissant
67
linguini
50
butter, boiled
33
Cheerios
74
doughnut
76
macaroni
46
cannellini beans
31
Corn Chex
83
graham crakers
74
spagh, 5 min boiled
33
garbanzo, boiled
34
Cornflakes
83
jelly beans
80
spagh, 15 min boiled
44
kidney, boiled
29
Cream of Wheat
66
Life Savers
70
spagh, prot enrich
28
kidney, canned
52
Frosted Flakes
55
oatmeal cookie
57
vermicelli
35
lentils, green, brown
30
Grapenuts
67
pizza, cheese & tom
60
Soups/Vegetables
lima, boiled
32
Life
66
Pizza Hut, supreme
33
beets, canned
64
navy beans
38
muesli, natural
54
popcorn, light micro
55
black bean soup
64
pinto, boiled
39
Nutri-grain
66
potato chips
56
carrots, fresh, boil
49
red lentils, boiled
27
oatmeal, old fach
48
pound cake
54
corn, sweet
56
soy, boiled
16
Puffed Wheat
67
Power bars
58
green pea, soup
66
Breads
Raisin Bran
73
pretzels
83
green pea, frozen
47
bagel, plain
72
Rice Chex
89
saltine crakers
74
lima beans, frozen
32
baquette, Frnch
95
Shredded Wheat
67
shortbread cookies
64
parsnips
97
croissant
67
Special K
54
Snikers bar
41
peas, fresh, boil
48
dark rey
76
Total
76
strawberry jam
51
split pea soup w/ham
66
hamburger bun
61
Fruit
vanilla wafers
77
tomato soup
38
muffins
apple
38
Wheat Thins
67
Drinks
apple, cin
44
apricots
57
Crackers
apple juice
40
blueberry
59
banana
56
graham
74
colas
65
oat & raisin
54
cantalope
65
rice cakes
80
Gatorade
78
pita
57
cherries
22
rye
68
grapefruit juice
48
pizza, cheese
60
dates
103
soda
72
orange juice
46
pumpernickel
49
grapefruit
25
Wheat Thins
67
pineapple juice
46
sourdough
54
grapes
46
Cereal Grains
Milk Products
rye
64
kiwi
52
barley
25
chocolate milk
35
white
70
mango
55
basmati white rice
58
custard
43
wheat
68
orange
43
bulgar
48
ice cream, van
60
Root Crops
papaya
58
couscous
65
ice milk, van
50
french fries
75
peach
42
cornmeal
68
skim milk
32
pot, new, boiled
59
pear
58
millet
71
soy milk
31
pot, red, baked
93
pineapple
66
Sugars
tofu frozen dessert
115
pot, sweet
52
plums
39
fructose
22
whole milk
30
pot, white, boiled
63
prunes
15
honey
62
yogurt, fruit
36
pot, white, mash
70
raisins
64
maltose
105
yogurt, plain
14
yam
54
watermelon
72
table sugar
64
If you are confused about how the Glycemic Index affects weight loss, please ask Atlanta NutritionistIlana Katz.
An Atlanta Nutritionist likes Fast Food? http://bit.ly/rq0gkK Fact: Fast foods can be part of a healthy weight-loss program with a little bit of know-how.
Tip: Avoid supersize combo meals, or split one with a friend. Sip on water or nonfat milk instead of soda. Choose salads and grilled foods, like a grilled chicken breast sandwich or small hamburger. Try a "fresco" taco (with salsa instead of cheese or sauce) at taco stands. Fried foods, like French fries and fried chicken, are high in fat and calories, so order them only once in a while, order a small portion, or split an order with a friend. Also, use only small amounts of high-fat, high-calorie toppings, like regular mayonnaise, salad dressings, bacon, and cheese.
Questions to ask
How many times a week do you east out? Fast Food? Combo Meals?
Fast food chains target business lunches with their convenience, fast time, and low prices. They even offer special deals, such as five dollars for a Dominoes pizza to share at the office. As tempting as a four-dollar Burger King value meal may be, it contains at least half of the average person's daily caloric intake. Pizza for breakfast and lunch, Burger King for dinner, and more fattening goodies in between (which is the diet for many people on the go) are bad eating habits. Reviewing the menu and asking questions about how a desired entrée is cooked can improve the grizzly side effects of eating fast food. There is almost always a healthier choice. It may not be the cheapest or the fastest route, but I think that overall nutrition is more important than the thickness of my wallet. I usually wait until I can get back on campus and eat a salad or a bagel. If fast food eating is unavoidable, I recommend Subway. Cost, convenience, and lack of time all contribute to the bad eating habits college students have. Basic knowledge of a good diet and learning to read nutritional guides are important steps in avoiding bad eating habits. Planning what to eat can eliminate impulse and over eating, which, as stated earlier, are major problems for college students. Inevitable snacking and fast food eating can be bettered. I have stated just a few ways bad eating habits can be changed.
When it comes to making lifestyle changes to improve health, focus on skill-power rather than willpower. Many people start down the road to better health with good intentions of eating healthier and moving more. Within a matter of weeks, good intentions fall by the wayside. It is easier to be successful at lifestyle changes when you set small, attainable goals and learn new skills that will help you succeed at adopting new health habits permanently.
People often believe they fail at losing weight or exercising more because they don’t have enough willpower to succeed. However, for permanent lifestyle changes, it is important to learn skills that will help you overcome obstacles that block your way to better health. Learning to set smaller, doable goals rather than relying on willpower leads to improved health habits. atlanta nutritionist
Tip: Avoid supersize combo meals, or split one with a friend. Sip on water or nonfat milk instead of soda. Choose salads and grilled foods, like a grilled chicken breast sandwich or small hamburger. Try a "fresco" taco (with salsa instead of cheese or sauce) at taco stands. Fried foods, like French fries and fried chicken, are high in fat and calories, so order them only once in a while, order a small portion, or split an order with a friend. Also, use only small amounts of high-fat, high-calorie toppings, like regular mayonnaise, salad dressings, bacon, and cheese.
Questions to ask
How many times a week do you east out? Fast Food? Combo Meals?
Fast food chains target business lunches with their convenience, fast time, and low prices. They even offer special deals, such as five dollars for a Dominoes pizza to share at the office. As tempting as a four-dollar Burger King value meal may be, it contains at least half of the average person's daily caloric intake. Pizza for breakfast and lunch, Burger King for dinner, and more fattening goodies in between (which is the diet for many people on the go) are bad eating habits. Reviewing the menu and asking questions about how a desired entrée is cooked can improve the grizzly side effects of eating fast food. There is almost always a healthier choice. It may not be the cheapest or the fastest route, but I think that overall nutrition is more important than the thickness of my wallet. I usually wait until I can get back on campus and eat a salad or a bagel. If fast food eating is unavoidable, I recommend Subway. Cost, convenience, and lack of time all contribute to the bad eating habits college students have. Basic knowledge of a good diet and learning to read nutritional guides are important steps in avoiding bad eating habits. Planning what to eat can eliminate impulse and over eating, which, as stated earlier, are major problems for college students. Inevitable snacking and fast food eating can be bettered. I have stated just a few ways bad eating habits can be changed.
When it comes to making lifestyle changes to improve health, focus on skill-power rather than willpower. Many people start down the road to better health with good intentions of eating healthier and moving more. Within a matter of weeks, good intentions fall by the wayside. It is easier to be successful at lifestyle changes when you set small, attainable goals and learn new skills that will help you succeed at adopting new health habits permanently.
People often believe they fail at losing weight or exercising more because they don’t have enough willpower to succeed. However, for permanent lifestyle changes, it is important to learn skills that will help you overcome obstacles that block your way to better health. Learning to set smaller, doable goals rather than relying on willpower leads to improved health habits. atlanta nutritionist
The Glycemic Index - Easy to Read Tables http://bit.ly/pxJLwK The glycemic index is a list of foods. It rates carbohydrate foods by comparing how much they raise blood sugar after eating a measured portion of the food compared to a reference food set to equal 100. The reference can be either glucose or white bread, depending on the researcher. All the foods in the glycemic index are high in carbohydrates. Foods low in carbohydrates and high in fat or protein don't cause a significant rise in blood sugar, so researchers don't bother to measure them.
How fast a food raises blood sugar is important, because it determines how much insulin is produced to keep the blood sugar from going too high. For some people, this isn't an issue. However, some people will produce an excess of insulin in response to high glycemic index foods, and that's where the trouble starts.
Insulin reduces blood sugar by sending it out of the blood and into the cells to be stored as fat. If there's too much insulin, then after the blood sugar goes up, the excess insulin causes it to fall too low, which can create the rollercoaster effect of a temporary lift, then fatigue and carbohydrate cravings.
In Summary: The Glycemic index measures how fast the carbohydrate of a particular food is converted to glucose and enters the bloodstream. The lower the number, the slower the conversion and therefore, the more stable the blood sugar.
The numbers are percentages with respect to a reference food. The scale here is with respect to white bread, with it being set at 100. I have listed a few foods which you would use quite frequently.
Overconsumption of high glycemic index foods appears to contribute to insulin resistance and diabetes, as well as an impressive list of common health problems, all of which result from the long-term effects of too much insulin in the body.
A simple tool for making better choices
Using white bread as the standard, sucrose (table sugar) has a glycemic index of 92. So white bread, with a glycemic index of 100, raises blood glucose slightly faster than table sugar. Baked potatoes may be the biggest surprise, with a glycemic index of 121, which is 29 points higher than table sugar!
Proponents claim that using the glycemic index in making food choices can help you lose weight, reduce your risk of heart disease, improve your energy level and athletic performance, stabilize your blood sugar and enjoy greater overall wellness.
For high glycemic baked potatoes (121), you can substitute pasta, prepared slightly al dente (typically 50 to 60), beans and legumes (typically 40 to 60) or sweet potatoes (77), all of which have less of a glycemic effect. Instead of regular rice (126), you can substitute basmati (83) or Uncle Ben's Converted Rice (63), or for part of the rice, substitute the much lower glycemic pearled barley (36). Instead of highly processed breakfast cereals, cookies, crackers, cakes and muffins, look for those made from unrefined cereals or those that add dried fruits, which have a lower glycemic index than refined flour. Instead of tropical fruits such as bananas (77) switch to temperate climate fruits such as apples (54) or peaches (60).
Glycemic Index
Cereals
Snacks
Pasta
Beans
All Bran
51
chocolate bar
49
cheese tortellini
50
baked
44
Bran Buds + psyll
45
corn chips
72
fettucini
32
black beans, boiled
30
Bran Flakes
74
croissant
67
linguini
50
butter, boiled
33
Cheerios
74
doughnut
76
macaroni
46
cannellini beans
31
Corn Chex
83
graham crakers
74
spagh, 5 min boiled
33
garbanzo, boiled
34
Cornflakes
83
jelly beans
80
spagh, 15 min boiled
44
kidney, boiled
29
Cream of Wheat
66
Life Savers
70
spagh, prot enrich
28
kidney, canned
52
Frosted Flakes
55
oatmeal cookie
57
vermicelli
35
lentils, green, brown
30
Grapenuts
67
pizza, cheese & tom
60
Soups/Vegetables
lima, boiled
32
Life
66
Pizza Hut, supreme
33
beets, canned
64
navy beans
38
muesli, natural
54
popcorn, light micro
55
black bean soup
64
pinto, boiled
39
Nutri-grain
66
potato chips
56
carrots, fresh, boil
49
red lentils, boiled
27
oatmeal, old fach
48
pound cake
54
corn, sweet
56
soy, boiled
16
Puffed Wheat
67
Power bars
58
green pea, soup
66
Breads
Raisin Bran
73
pretzels
83
green pea, frozen
47
bagel, plain
72
Rice Chex
89
saltine crakers
74
lima beans, frozen
32
baquette, Frnch
95
Shredded Wheat
67
shortbread cookies
64
parsnips
97
croissant
67
Special K
54
Snikers bar
41
peas, fresh, boil
48
dark rey
76
Total
76
strawberry jam
51
split pea soup w/ham
66
hamburger bun
61
Fruit
vanilla wafers
77
tomato soup
38
muffins
apple
38
Wheat Thins
67
Drinks
apple, cin
44
apricots
57
Crackers
apple juice
40
blueberry
59
banana
56
graham
74
colas
65
oat & raisin
54
cantalope
65
rice cakes
80
Gatorade
78
pita
57
cherries
22
rye
68
grapefruit juice
48
pizza, cheese
60
dates
103
soda
72
orange juice
46
pumpernickel
49
grapefruit
25
Wheat Thins
67
pineapple juice
46
sourdough
54
grapes
46
Cereal Grains
Milk Products
rye
64
kiwi
52
barley
25
chocolate milk
35
white
70
mango
55
basmati white rice
58
custard
43
wheat
68
orange
43
bulgar
48
ice cream, van
60
Root Crops
papaya
58
couscous
65
ice milk, van
50
french fries
75
peach
42
cornmeal
68
skim milk
32
pot, new, boiled
59
pear
58
millet
71
soy milk
31
pot, red, baked
93
pineapple
66
Sugars
tofu frozen dessert
115
pot, sweet
52
plums
39
fructose
22
whole milk
30
pot, white, boiled
63
prunes
15
honey
62
yogurt, fruit
36
pot, white, mash
70
raisins
64
maltose
105
yogurt, plain
14
yam
54
watermelon
72
table sugar
64
If you are confused about how the Glycemic Index affects weight loss, please ask Atlanta NutritionistIlana Katz.
atlanta nutritionist
How fast a food raises blood sugar is important, because it determines how much insulin is produced to keep the blood sugar from going too high. For some people, this isn't an issue. However, some people will produce an excess of insulin in response to high glycemic index foods, and that's where the trouble starts.
Insulin reduces blood sugar by sending it out of the blood and into the cells to be stored as fat. If there's too much insulin, then after the blood sugar goes up, the excess insulin causes it to fall too low, which can create the rollercoaster effect of a temporary lift, then fatigue and carbohydrate cravings.
In Summary: The Glycemic index measures how fast the carbohydrate of a particular food is converted to glucose and enters the bloodstream. The lower the number, the slower the conversion and therefore, the more stable the blood sugar.
The numbers are percentages with respect to a reference food. The scale here is with respect to white bread, with it being set at 100. I have listed a few foods which you would use quite frequently.
Overconsumption of high glycemic index foods appears to contribute to insulin resistance and diabetes, as well as an impressive list of common health problems, all of which result from the long-term effects of too much insulin in the body.
A simple tool for making better choices
Using white bread as the standard, sucrose (table sugar) has a glycemic index of 92. So white bread, with a glycemic index of 100, raises blood glucose slightly faster than table sugar. Baked potatoes may be the biggest surprise, with a glycemic index of 121, which is 29 points higher than table sugar!
Proponents claim that using the glycemic index in making food choices can help you lose weight, reduce your risk of heart disease, improve your energy level and athletic performance, stabilize your blood sugar and enjoy greater overall wellness.
For high glycemic baked potatoes (121), you can substitute pasta, prepared slightly al dente (typically 50 to 60), beans and legumes (typically 40 to 60) or sweet potatoes (77), all of which have less of a glycemic effect. Instead of regular rice (126), you can substitute basmati (83) or Uncle Ben's Converted Rice (63), or for part of the rice, substitute the much lower glycemic pearled barley (36). Instead of highly processed breakfast cereals, cookies, crackers, cakes and muffins, look for those made from unrefined cereals or those that add dried fruits, which have a lower glycemic index than refined flour. Instead of tropical fruits such as bananas (77) switch to temperate climate fruits such as apples (54) or peaches (60).
Glycemic Index
Cereals
Snacks
Pasta
Beans
All Bran
51
chocolate bar
49
cheese tortellini
50
baked
44
Bran Buds + psyll
45
corn chips
72
fettucini
32
black beans, boiled
30
Bran Flakes
74
croissant
67
linguini
50
butter, boiled
33
Cheerios
74
doughnut
76
macaroni
46
cannellini beans
31
Corn Chex
83
graham crakers
74
spagh, 5 min boiled
33
garbanzo, boiled
34
Cornflakes
83
jelly beans
80
spagh, 15 min boiled
44
kidney, boiled
29
Cream of Wheat
66
Life Savers
70
spagh, prot enrich
28
kidney, canned
52
Frosted Flakes
55
oatmeal cookie
57
vermicelli
35
lentils, green, brown
30
Grapenuts
67
pizza, cheese & tom
60
Soups/Vegetables
lima, boiled
32
Life
66
Pizza Hut, supreme
33
beets, canned
64
navy beans
38
muesli, natural
54
popcorn, light micro
55
black bean soup
64
pinto, boiled
39
Nutri-grain
66
potato chips
56
carrots, fresh, boil
49
red lentils, boiled
27
oatmeal, old fach
48
pound cake
54
corn, sweet
56
soy, boiled
16
Puffed Wheat
67
Power bars
58
green pea, soup
66
Breads
Raisin Bran
73
pretzels
83
green pea, frozen
47
bagel, plain
72
Rice Chex
89
saltine crakers
74
lima beans, frozen
32
baquette, Frnch
95
Shredded Wheat
67
shortbread cookies
64
parsnips
97
croissant
67
Special K
54
Snikers bar
41
peas, fresh, boil
48
dark rey
76
Total
76
strawberry jam
51
split pea soup w/ham
66
hamburger bun
61
Fruit
vanilla wafers
77
tomato soup
38
muffins
apple
38
Wheat Thins
67
Drinks
apple, cin
44
apricots
57
Crackers
apple juice
40
blueberry
59
banana
56
graham
74
colas
65
oat & raisin
54
cantalope
65
rice cakes
80
Gatorade
78
pita
57
cherries
22
rye
68
grapefruit juice
48
pizza, cheese
60
dates
103
soda
72
orange juice
46
pumpernickel
49
grapefruit
25
Wheat Thins
67
pineapple juice
46
sourdough
54
grapes
46
Cereal Grains
Milk Products
rye
64
kiwi
52
barley
25
chocolate milk
35
white
70
mango
55
basmati white rice
58
custard
43
wheat
68
orange
43
bulgar
48
ice cream, van
60
Root Crops
papaya
58
couscous
65
ice milk, van
50
french fries
75
peach
42
cornmeal
68
skim milk
32
pot, new, boiled
59
pear
58
millet
71
soy milk
31
pot, red, baked
93
pineapple
66
Sugars
tofu frozen dessert
115
pot, sweet
52
plums
39
fructose
22
whole milk
30
pot, white, boiled
63
prunes
15
honey
62
yogurt, fruit
36
pot, white, mash
70
raisins
64
maltose
105
yogurt, plain
14
yam
54
watermelon
72
table sugar
64
If you are confused about how the Glycemic Index affects weight loss, please ask Atlanta NutritionistIlana Katz.
atlanta nutritionist
DISSOLVING SUGAR CRAVINGS http://bit.ly/nMydtq
One of my biggest challenges, not only with my own personal goals, but also with many clients, is to get to the bottom of the age old obscurity of sugar cravings. It’s not rocket science, right? Just don’t eat it ! Right? But oh we all know it, and live it day after day, it is just not that simple. Why? Because the physiological response to sugar is like an addiction. Sugar temporarily elevates the levels of various neurotransmitters and endorphins. The “feel good” chemicals, serotonin and dopamine are released when sugar is metabolized, giving a sense of pleasure. Sugar cravings therefore, are best explained as an addiction to endorphins which is a reaction similar to the high of a drug addict.
So is this addiction a serious or dangerous for that matter? The answer is both yes and no. Our bodies do need sugar. The required fuel for the brain, is in fact glucose. The metabolism can thus effectively metabolize what we eat and provide the energy source required thereof. The key phrase here is “amount required.” The danger takes effect when the amount of sugar that is consumed is way more than required for the optimal source of energy. Furthermore, sugar that is refined has no nutritional value resulting in empty calories. Calorie dense yet nutrient free foods if make up most of ones diet, will lead to an array of health problems from overweight and obesity to diabetes and cardiovascular disease, just to name a few.
As noted, sugar is used an energy fuel which is needed by the brain. The down side is that it causes blood sugar to rise, and as quickly as it rises, it plummets back down, resulting in the physiological need for more sugar to get it back up, and the vicious cycle of craving sugar begins. It is like a rollercoaster set in motion, swinging from hyper to hypoglycemic reactions (a pendulum of high to low blood sugar levels). This is the body’s homeostatic response to stable blood sugar, in other words, trying to keep the body in balance. Unfortunately the physiological overcompensation is what causes our uncontollable cravings.
This does not mean to say that you should be on a low carbohydrate plan to avoid cravings, in fact, it is quite the opposite. For one thing, it has already been stated that the required fuel for the brain is carbohydrates in the form of glycogen, so avoidance of carbs is unhealthy in itself. It is it the amount of carbs that is relevant, as well as the type of carbohydrates eaten, that will reduce sugar cravings.
Trying to cut calories by reducing carbohydrates tends to increase sugar cravings. Sugar substitutes like Splenda and sugar alcohols are use by manufacturers to enable them to market lower sugar or lower net carbs on the label seemingly offering a more attractive product for dieters. Be wary – firstly the jury is still out on the long term safety of these substitutes. And secondly, sugar alcohols have been found to actually have a negative effect on blood sugars. We are then back to square one; the pendulum swing in blood sugar in a day is what leads to the vicious cycle of cravings, trying to satisfy them with foods that trigger and result in more cravings. In other words, sweet things make you want to eat more sweet things, and although artificial sweeteners are calorie free, they are not helping with reduction in cravings whatsoever. Furthermore, sugar alcohols have a tendency to cause gastrointestinal distress in that they induce diarrhea and flatulence.
Net carbs is also a marketing “con” so to speak. Supposedly, net carbs, a term coined by Atkins Nutritionals, is defined as the net value of carbs once fiber has been removed. According to the Food and Drug Administration, there is no such value: carbohydrates are carbohydrates, whether they are made up of refined sugar, starch or fiber, and every gram of carb has four calories. So do not let low carbohydrates fool you in your endeavour to reduce cravings. Manufacturers have simply replaced regular carbs with sugar alcohols and sweeteners.
Craving sweets is often an indication of a deficiency in certain nutrients. Chromium, carbon, phosphorus, sulphur and tryptophan are often the culprits and eating a rainbow of color is a simple solution. Broccoli, grapes, legumes and chicken (chromium), Fresh fruit (carbon), fish, eggs, legumes and chicken (phosphorous), cranberries, cauliflower, kale and cabbage (sulphur) and turkey, liver, lamb, sweet potato and spinach (tryptophan).
One last point on preventing the energy swing which is the main culprit of sugar cravings has to do with timing of intake. Waiting too long to eat or grazing all day (not waiting long enough to eat) has a similar effect to that hyper and hypoglycemic response mentioned earlier. It is during the steep peaks and valleys in energy that one feels lethargic and emotional. At these times the physiological response is to eat sweet things. Furthermore, we justify allowing ourselves to eat the treats and sweets that stimulate a pleasurable response, with stress and emotions (as if we deserve the pleasure). This only leads to guilt and depression. Evening out the peaks and valleys is the solution to curb those debilitating cravings.
In summary, the details thus far reflect on the amount of carbs, sources of carbs and timing of meals in combination as a solution for erasing sugar cravings. Practically worded, eat fresh fruits to satisfy a sweet tooth, get the refined sugars out of the body to aid in stable blood sugars, avoid high sugar or processed products, like candy, soda, fruit drinks, pastries, etc., replace the “processed” products with foods that come from the earth (grains, legumes, potatoes) and avoid artificial sweeteners. Make sure you get a rainbow of color in your daily intake. All the colors found in fruits and vegetables represent the vital vitamins and minerals that if lacking, will stimulate cravings.
One of my biggest challenges, not only with my own personal goals, but also with many clients, is to get to the bottom of the age old obscurity of sugar cravings. It’s not rocket science, right? Just don’t eat it ! Right? But oh we all know it, and live it day after day, it is just not that simple. Why? Because the physiological response to sugar is like an addiction. Sugar temporarily elevates the levels of various neurotransmitters and endorphins. The “feel good” chemicals, serotonin and dopamine are released when sugar is metabolized, giving a sense of pleasure. Sugar cravings therefore, are best explained as an addiction to endorphins which is a reaction similar to the high of a drug addict.
So is this addiction a serious or dangerous for that matter? The answer is both yes and no. Our bodies do need sugar. The required fuel for the brain, is in fact glucose. The metabolism can thus effectively metabolize what we eat and provide the energy source required thereof. The key phrase here is “amount required.” The danger takes effect when the amount of sugar that is consumed is way more than required for the optimal source of energy. Furthermore, sugar that is refined has no nutritional value resulting in empty calories. Calorie dense yet nutrient free foods if make up most of ones diet, will lead to an array of health problems from overweight and obesity to diabetes and cardiovascular disease, just to name a few.
As noted, sugar is used an energy fuel which is needed by the brain. The down side is that it causes blood sugar to rise, and as quickly as it rises, it plummets back down, resulting in the physiological need for more sugar to get it back up, and the vicious cycle of craving sugar begins. It is like a rollercoaster set in motion, swinging from hyper to hypoglycemic reactions (a pendulum of high to low blood sugar levels). This is the body’s homeostatic response to stable blood sugar, in other words, trying to keep the body in balance. Unfortunately the physiological overcompensation is what causes our uncontollable cravings.
This does not mean to say that you should be on a low carbohydrate plan to avoid cravings, in fact, it is quite the opposite. For one thing, it has already been stated that the required fuel for the brain is carbohydrates in the form of glycogen, so avoidance of carbs is unhealthy in itself. It is it the amount of carbs that is relevant, as well as the type of carbohydrates eaten, that will reduce sugar cravings.
Trying to cut calories by reducing carbohydrates tends to increase sugar cravings. Sugar substitutes like Splenda and sugar alcohols are use by manufacturers to enable them to market lower sugar or lower net carbs on the label seemingly offering a more attractive product for dieters. Be wary – firstly the jury is still out on the long term safety of these substitutes. And secondly, sugar alcohols have been found to actually have a negative effect on blood sugars. We are then back to square one; the pendulum swing in blood sugar in a day is what leads to the vicious cycle of cravings, trying to satisfy them with foods that trigger and result in more cravings. In other words, sweet things make you want to eat more sweet things, and although artificial sweeteners are calorie free, they are not helping with reduction in cravings whatsoever. Furthermore, sugar alcohols have a tendency to cause gastrointestinal distress in that they induce diarrhea and flatulence.
Net carbs is also a marketing “con” so to speak. Supposedly, net carbs, a term coined by Atkins Nutritionals, is defined as the net value of carbs once fiber has been removed. According to the Food and Drug Administration, there is no such value: carbohydrates are carbohydrates, whether they are made up of refined sugar, starch or fiber, and every gram of carb has four calories. So do not let low carbohydrates fool you in your endeavour to reduce cravings. Manufacturers have simply replaced regular carbs with sugar alcohols and sweeteners.
Craving sweets is often an indication of a deficiency in certain nutrients. Chromium, carbon, phosphorus, sulphur and tryptophan are often the culprits and eating a rainbow of color is a simple solution. Broccoli, grapes, legumes and chicken (chromium), Fresh fruit (carbon), fish, eggs, legumes and chicken (phosphorous), cranberries, cauliflower, kale and cabbage (sulphur) and turkey, liver, lamb, sweet potato and spinach (tryptophan).
One last point on preventing the energy swing which is the main culprit of sugar cravings has to do with timing of intake. Waiting too long to eat or grazing all day (not waiting long enough to eat) has a similar effect to that hyper and hypoglycemic response mentioned earlier. It is during the steep peaks and valleys in energy that one feels lethargic and emotional. At these times the physiological response is to eat sweet things. Furthermore, we justify allowing ourselves to eat the treats and sweets that stimulate a pleasurable response, with stress and emotions (as if we deserve the pleasure). This only leads to guilt and depression. Evening out the peaks and valleys is the solution to curb those debilitating cravings.
In summary, the details thus far reflect on the amount of carbs, sources of carbs and timing of meals in combination as a solution for erasing sugar cravings. Practically worded, eat fresh fruits to satisfy a sweet tooth, get the refined sugars out of the body to aid in stable blood sugars, avoid high sugar or processed products, like candy, soda, fruit drinks, pastries, etc., replace the “processed” products with foods that come from the earth (grains, legumes, potatoes) and avoid artificial sweeteners. Make sure you get a rainbow of color in your daily intake. All the colors found in fruits and vegetables represent the vital vitamins and minerals that if lacking, will stimulate cravings.
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