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GI Diet Foods |
Carbs in Food |
GI Diet FoodsHealthy More Traditional Way of EatingTo follow a healthy GI diet, you may need to change your eating habits and get used to eating new foods. Unlike the average "modern" diet, with its emphasis on highly refined, quick-cook, instant foods, GI diets advocate a return to a healthier more traditional way of eating which includes foods which are less refined (eg. whole grains), with fewer added flavorings or flavor-enhancers (eg. sodium, fats, sugars) and fewer animal fats (eg. red meat, full-fat cheese). GI Diets Emphasise Quality of FoodsThe typical modern diet delivers convenience (ready-to-eat foods), good value (jumbo size food packs) and great taste (by adding artificial flavorings). Unfortunately, our diet is also responsible for sky high levels of obesity and type 2 diabetes, never mind the number of Americans who suffer from symptoms of pre-diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance. In short, our present eating habits are making us ill. So maybe it's time to adopt a new diet method - not one based on limiting carbs, or fats, or protein, but a healthy way of eating based on the QUALITY of the food we eat. In essence, this is what GI diets are all about: they advocate a return to healthy food. Do GI Foods Cost More?No. Compared with ready-to-eat meals or pre-processed foods, typical GI foods are cheaper, healthier and more easily digested. However, in some categories, certain foods may look more expensive even if they prove cheaper in the long run. According to clinical trials from around the world, healthy GI diet foods can help us to reduce the risk of many different diseases and give us a valuable energy boost in the process. Which means reduced doctor's bills, reduced obesity, fewer food cravings, and a better quality of life. For example, some dieters still prefer to buy ground beef rather than ground steak, or a whole chicken rather than chicken breasts, because it's cheaper. But the only reason it's cheaper is because it contains more fat, including saturated fat. Why eat food which makes a heart attack more likely? Another example is cooking oil. Cheaper brands of vegetable oil may cost less money than unrefined oils like extra virgin olive oil or unrefined canola oil, but they don't deliver the same health benefits. Similarly, fast-food can appear cheaper and more convenient than home-cooked food, but the high-fat, high-sodium, less nutritious content of the average fast-food meal far outweighs it's apparent advantages. Enjoy All Food Groups on a GI DietThe nice thing about GI diets is that they include all types of food, unlike low-carb eating plans that banned all sorts of foods because they contained too much carbohydrate! Point is, eating a wide variety of foods is the best way to ensure you get adequate nutrition, and a great way of ensuring maxiumum diet-compliance. Many Atkins dieters became so fed up with eating high-protein foods that they quit and started bingeing on high-GI carbs. By comparison, a healthy GI diet allows you to eat widely from all food groups, which makes it tasty and easy to follow. Healthy Carbs and Healthy Fats on a GI DietGI foods include the healthiest fats and the healthiest carbohydrates. For example, they recommend ultra-lean meats, oily fish, unrefined cooking oils for optimum intake of essential fatty acids and a reduced intake of trans-fats and saturates. At the same time, they place great emphasis on unrefined whole grains, and an avoidance of fluffy white flour foods to ensure stable blood sugar levels and prevent high levels of glucose (hyperglycemia) and insulin (hyperinsulimia) in the bloodstream. High Fiber Foods on a GI DietFiber is indigestible and contributes no calories, yet it plays a vital role in assisting digestion and reducing disease in the digestive tract. It also reduces glycemic response for better blood glucose levels. Soluble fiber is also believed to reduce the risk of heart disease and some cancers. GI diets include a wide range of high-fiber foods, including: bran cereals, beans/legumes and fresh fruits and vegetables. |
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Carbs-Information.com provides general information about the glycemic index (GI), glycemic load (GL), low GI diets, GI value for all food groups, health problems of high blood glucose including metabolic disorders such as pre-diabetes, impaired glucose tolerance, insulin resistance, hyperinsulinism as well as type 1 and type 2 diabetes. But no information is intended as a substitute for medical advice. Copyright 2003-2006. |