Carbohydrates & Glycaemic Index

Carbohydrates are one of the three main types of foods, known as macronutrients, along with proteins and fats. Many carbohydrates are consumed daily in the western diet.  Many health professionals and weight loss "experts" say we should eat more carbohydrates and less protein and fat.

Unfortunately, it's not quite that simple. Not all carbohydrates are the same. You may already be familiar with the concept of simple carbohydrates, like fruits and vegetables and sucrose and the equally accepted concept of "complex" carbohydrates such as rice, pasta and potatoes.

Although this is one way to differentiate, we believe there is a much more important method, which has massive implications for health, weight-management and disease prevention.

Carbohydrates are generally simple compounds and contain only carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. They are all either a single sugar (or monosaccharide) or a chain of connected sugar molecules (or polysaccharides). Simple sugars include fructose, glucose and sucrose, whilst examples of polysaccharides include starch and gums. The difference between simple sugars is purely the position of the oxygen atom on the ring of carbons.

In the body, all carbohydrates are broken down (and/or chemically converted) to their simplest form - glucose, which is the "fuel" of preference in the body and is required day and night, awake or asleep for brain function. Sugar levels therefore have to be regulated so that, even when food is not present, the brain gets the glucose it needs. When the body loses control of blood sugar, major problems occur, which will quickly lead to death if not corrected. The inability of the body to control blood sugar levels is known as Diabetes.

Diabetes is increasing in the Australian, UK and America at an incredible rate and is already blamed for using over 10% of all health care resources. Recent estimates suggest that within the next 20 years or so, this will increase to 30% of all health care costs.

In fact, it's really quite simple, but requires a change in approach from the authorities and a recognition that fat intake isn't the only important thing in weight control (diabetes is closely associated with obesity).

Glycaemic index

Glycaemic index (GI) is the term used to determine the rate of how quickly carbohydrates release their sugar into the blood stream after eating. Some carbohydrates release their sugar very quickly and cause blood sugar to "spike" sharply this is called High GI, whilst others release their sugar much more slowly, elevating sugar to a lesser degree but for a longer time this is called Low GI.

This is important, because the body regulates the level of blood sugar through a complicated series of chemicals and hormones, the principle one of which is insulin. High blood sugar stimulates release of lots of insulin, which makes the liver convert sugar to fat. (And you thought it was fat intake that puts on the kilo�s....read on)

Diabetes is caused by the repeated release of increasing amounts of insulin and as the tissues get used to it and begin to respond to it less and less, creating insulin resistance. This is the initial step to having diabetes, in which the pancreas (where insulin is made) "gives up" and stops insulin production altogether resulting in a total loss of control of blood sugar - diabetes.

Not only can diabetes be caused by consumption of too much high GI foods but other disease�s such as obesity. It is eating large amounts of high GI foods and not over consumption of fats that is responsible for the increasing level of obesity seen in the Western world.
The good news is possible to minimise both your weight and your chances of developing diabetes by keeping a close eye on the GI of the foods you eat. People who eat a low GI diet stand a significantly reduced risk of disease.

Carbohydrates have come in for a bashing lately, mostly because of the Atkins diet. This radical diet proposes cutting out carbohydrates together and replacing them with protein. Whilst this can be effective in radically reducing weight, it can also be very dangerous to your health.

As a rule, diets are a bad idea anyway, they are hard to stick to and you feel like you are depriving yourself of food and usually after completing or giving up the diet , you return to your previous regimen which quickly leads to weight gain. The only way to consistently lost and keep off weight is to change what you eat - permanently.