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The Simpson Choice:
All carbohydrates are not alike! Sure they are easy to count, and
to try to keep them low, but they are not at all alike. Some carbohydrates
are processed quickly by the body, causing a rapid rise in blood
sugar -- and hence insulin -- these carbohydrates are associated
strongly with obesity, heart disease, and even cancer. These are
"High Glycemic Index" carbohydrates. Other carbohydrates
are processed more slowly-- they cause less of a rise in blood sugar,
and that slow rise is sustained. These are "Low Glycemic Index"
carbohydrates -- these low glycemic index carbohydrates tend to
keep you feeling full longer, so your chance of snacking for a second
helping are less.
The Glycemic Index is a numerical assignment of how blood sugar
reacts to carbohydrates. All carbohydrates are not a bad thing,
and to simply count carbohydrates is an effective and simple weight
loss tool, a better one is simply using those carbohydrates with
a low glycemic index.
The best example comes in what we call "The Simpson Choice."
Every morning I go to the operating room there are two choices available
for me: an apple and a donut. Now, both of them contain about 25
grams of carbohydrates, but the glycemic index is different. When
I eat the donut, the sugar level in my blood rapidly rises in the
first hour -- which stimulates my pancreas to produce insulin. When
the pancreas secretes insulin that excess sugar becomes stored as
fat (for me, as well as most men it is stored nicely in my belly
making my size 36 jeans impossible to wear). The sugar level then
falls, and I am hungry again. When I chose the apple the blood sugar
level doesn't rise nearly as much, and I am satisfied for longer
than an hour or two. Plus, the apple contains fiber, nutrients,
and a few other good things. But -- if you count carbohydrates,
they are equal -- but the glycemic index for the apple is around
36 and for the donut is over 70.
How can you tell a High Glycemic Index Carbohydrate from a Low
Glycemic Index Carbohydrate? You cannot. They must be tested. It
is not surprising that most breads, potatoes, rice, and pasta have
a high glycemic index, but who would imagine that sweet potatoes
have a lower glycemic index than regular potatoes? The body's complex
mechanism of breaking down carbohydrates and processing them determines
the glycemic index-- so it is not surprising that foods which are
heavily processed have higher glycemic index than those which are
not. Subtracting fiber content from a food does not yield a "net"
carbohydrate response -- the only way to determine it is to test
it. Hence, we have collected the glycemic index charts here to help
determine where you should be.
So how do you use these charts? There are two approaches to carbohydrates
-- one is to count them, but we prefer choices to counting. If your
BMI is greater than 35 then use only those carbohydrates that are
in the green area. If your BMI is between 25 and 35 then use those
in the green and yellow area, and if your BMI is below 25 then they
are all open to you.
Here is the great law of averages: mix and match the carbohydrates
and their glycemic index will average out. More about this in our
next book "The Road Kill Diet."
We have created these charts in two different versions.
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