Over two thirds of Americans are over weight, and half of them are considered obese. Most of the remaining third of Americans are concerned about becoming overweight! While we are obsessed with avoiding food that is high in fat, America has the dubious distinction of its population having the highest percentage of overweight people of any nation in the world! England is number two!
One of the most common and harmful misunderstandings is the misinformation (lie) that we are fat because we eat too much fat. Though eating excess fat can contribute, the primary culprit for excess body fat and many degenerative diseases such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes is NOT eating foods high in fat, but eating too much carbohydrates and sugar, and especially in combination with fat, such as French Fries and corn or potato chips. People on a high carbohydrate and low fat diet tend to be more unhealthy, carry more excess body fat and don't live as long.
Putting the Brakes to Your Metabolism!
What creates excess body fat, more than anything else, is a high RATIO of the carbohydrates to protein and fat, and especially certain types of carbohydrates that have a high conversion rate to fat. When the percentage of a meal (not just for the day) is higher in sugar or carbohydrates (a long chain of sugar molecules), much more of that food will be converted to fat instead of being burned as energy (calories). The effect of this is putting the brakes on your metabolism, which results in lower energy and greater storage of fat. Obviously, this is NOT what you want!
Plus this sets up a vicious cycle of over eating. Once the carbohydrates are converted to fat, you get a blood sugar drop, which makes you hungry for more carbohydrates. So you eat more to raise your blood sugar, and the whole vicious cycle repeats! Soon, you've gained weight, and feel even more like a failure.
According to the Glycemic Research Institute, many of the "fat-free" foods are much more fattening than they were before the fat was removed, because sugar has been added (and often disguised) to compensate for the low fat!
This is because carbohydrates and sugar, and especially certain carbohydrates, stimulate insulin production. Insulin directs your body to convert the food to fat and store it as fat instead of just burning it as energy. To measure this fat conversion and storage effect, foods are rated by what is called the glycemic index. The higher the index, the higher percentage of that food and the other foods eaten with it, will be converted to fat, regardless of the fat content of the food.
So for an example, eating high glycemic foods like baked potato, rice cakes, corn flakes or cooked oatmeal which are low in fat, is more fattening than eating a juicy beef steak or a bowl of ice cream!
High Fat Conversion Foods
These are some common foods with their glycemic index numbers, that are especially high on this index, and thus stimulate fat storage:
Common sugar (sucrose)-92 Macaroni and cheese-92 Potatoes (mashed-100; French fries-107; baked-121; potato chips-high) Corn-78; pop corn-79; corn chips-105; corn flakes-119 Pizza-86 White rice-83; brown rice-79 White and wheat bread-101 Cold cereals (most). E.g. Life-94; Grapenuts-96; Cheerios-106; Total-109 Cooked cereals (e.g. Cream of Wheat-100, oatmeal-87 (steel cut is less) Bananas-77 Most juices and all drink mixes and soft drinks (97) Desserts (ice cream-87); donuts-108 Fat-free bottled "lite" dressings (due to added corn syrup and maltodextrins). High fructose corn syrup-89 Maltodextrins-150 (added to many foods, but deceptively not counted as sugar!)
Did you notice that some of these foods are worse than pure sugar? It is wise to eat these foods sparingly. And when you do eat these foods, balance the glycemic index for the whole meal by eating low index foods with them.
Fat Burning Foods
Here are some of the foods that are rated as having a low glycemic index:
Fructose-32 Trutina Dulcem (a fruit sugar fifteen times sweeter than regular sugar) "Super sugars" (glyconutrients) Stevia-though not "approved" by the FDA as a sweetener, it is often used as such High protein foods (e.g. fish, meat and eggs) Most vegetables including sweet potatoes and yams Beans-40 Salads-low Avocado-low Stone ground bread and sprouted grain-low Barley-36 Rye-48 Most pastas-varies; spaghetti-59 (but very low nutritional value) Berries-low Cherries-32 Apples-54 Oranges-63 Peaches-60 Pears-53 Dairy products; whole milk-39 (there are other concerns mentioned previously) Soy milk-43 Seeds and nuts-as low as 21 (peanuts) Butter (in moderation-far superior to margarine) Olive oil Soy beans-25 Celery-very very low
There is one other huge advantage to using low glycemic foods besides weight control: longevity! According a study by T. Par entitled "Insulin Exposure and Aging Theory" in the Journal of Gerontology - 1997; 43:182-200, high insulin levels, which result from consuming high glycemic foods, promotes accelerated aging. Both calorie restriction and a low glycemic index diet appear to be important for longevity, BUT a diet of low glycemic foods is even more effective than calorie restriction for longevity.
This article is posted by Lori Wilton and Ray Gebauer. Lori and Ray are business partners. Ray has written numerous books, articles, and pamphlets on health concerns, personal development, and success. Lori Wilton is an independent wellness consultant who specializes in glyconutrient education and has overcome her own health challenges through the understanding and practice of good nutritional principles. She and her husband Bill are in church ministry in Oregon. Lori is a graduate of the University of Michigan.
To get your FREE report entitled, "The Ten Deadly Health Myths of the 21st Century" click here: http://www.living.well.myglycostore.com.
Have you ever decided to take a trip somewhere relatively... Read More
America loves fast food. Last year, consumers spent billions of... Read More
Maybe you losing weight comes down to the simple question,... Read More
A 'diet' is always seen as a temporary measure. An... Read More
Have a conversation about gastric bypass surgery with just about... Read More
IntroductionThe history of The Atkins Diet goes back to the... Read More
As a Master swimmer I am made painfully aware, each... Read More
Dieting will continue to fail most dieters, unless personalized weight... Read More
In our quest to get that "perfect" body, we actually... Read More
Surprisingly, hair loss is one of the reasons female pre-operative... Read More
Taming the See Food Eat Food ResponseWhat happens when you're... Read More
If you are trying to lose weight, the holidays literally... Read More
Lose Weight - Grab A GlassIn childhood, we heard it:... Read More
Yes, you must be aware of the following 7 points... Read More
Every weight loss surgery patient I've met said they at... Read More
Imagine this ... What if you could ?Increase the rate... Read More
A healthy pregnancy almost always involves weight gain. But now... Read More
--ONE--Learn how to reduce the fat, sugar and salt content... Read More
Many gastric bypass patients report melon to be one of... Read More
If you want any weight loss program to work you... Read More
A question from one of our readers:Dr. Mericle,With respect to... Read More
Low carb (carbohydrate), high protein diets are the latest ... Read More
A healthy pregnancy almost always involves weight gain. But now... Read More
If you're like me, you probably wish that there was... Read More
There is no doubt about it; Americans are eating in... Read More
What is low carb?We've all heard about the Atkins diet... Read More
The best way you can get rid of your pop... Read More
From driving up your blood pressure and cholesterol, to increasing... Read More
In a culture of blame-shifting we often look for someone... Read More
If You are sick of losing the same weight over... Read More
I made myself a sandwich today and thought I'd be... Read More
New studies suggested once again that citric fruits including oranges,... Read More
Foods that are high in fiber and protein are the... Read More
I have had some e-mails come in and everyone is... Read More
America is a nation of self-disclosers, amiably acceptant of our... Read More
If you've been working out with weights for any length... Read More
When women talk about their biggest obstacles to successful weight... Read More
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor; nor do I play... Read More
Food is not simply fuel to keep you going. Nor... Read More
If you have been dieting, there is a good chance... Read More
More than any other time in history, people are all... Read More
Who really wants to lose weight? None of us, right?... Read More
It can be intimidating to follow a weight loss plan,... Read More
Losing weight doesn't have to be boring when you focus... Read More
Trash Your TV! is pleased to announce the easiest weight... Read More
"Life is like a box of chocolates," drawled Forrest Gump.Metaphors... Read More
Do you know that while you work out the muscles... Read More
The revolution is here. Weight Loss as we know it... Read More
Cellulite is a recent addition to the English language. In... Read More
It would not be surprising to hear your answer is... Read More
A common claim from gastric bypass detractors is that after... Read More
Ever notice how your best friend can lose weight on... Read More
Low carb diets can be classified as food plans that... Read More
NLP Setting an Anchor Process to Get Back Motivation for... Read More
In the medical community, "obesity" is generally said to be... Read More
Debunking The Ab MythAb training has been done to death... Read More
You've heard the popular advice on weight loss diets. Cut... Read More
According to Veronica Atkins, the widow of Dr. Robert Atkins,... Read More
When you hear a doctor or a personal trainer say,... Read More
I've worked with hundreds of people who were interested in... Read More
We all know that losing weight and improving your overall... Read More
Yesterday evening my computer hard drive crashed. Resulting in the... Read More
There are certain eating habits that can make you gain... Read More
A diet may be a fad diet or a healthy... Read More
If anyone knows anything about fitness, it's that a low... Read More
A fill is nothing to be worried about. The actual... Read More
Weight Loss |