High Glycemic Diets – What To Avoid

The high glycemic ‘modern-day’ diet is holding many of us back…I want to share some secrets to getting and staying leaner.

If you’re like most people in our modern day society, like millions of other people you have difficulty losing weight, you probably engage in two common behaviors. Your appetite is up and down,especially your cravings for sugary, starchy foods- and your energy is erratic.

The vicious cycle of cravings begins with high calorie sugary and starchy foods tend to be mostly ‘empty calories’ with little or no value. Instead of helping, they trigger a hormonal reaction that leads to uncontrollable cravings.

High glycemic/sugary foods elevate blood glucose, resulting in high pancreatic insulin levels, thus increasing the storage of body fat. The resulting ‘sugar- spike’ or high, and the feeling tired after eating sweets/high glycemic foods is caused by your body ‘crashing’. The result is that you want more to feel better!

The biggest problem with high glycemic foods is that they elevate blood glucose and insulin levels, thus leading to ‘famine’ and the vicious cycle of a hormonal ‘YoYo’ – reduced seratonin and increased Cortisol, ultimately more fat storage!!!

In order for your body to balance these hormone levels you crave more high glycemic foods-leading to weight gain! = Disease/Obesity! Any person 35lbs or more overweight is at extreme risk. This cycle repeats itself over and over. Read about speeding up your metabolism with a proper diet.

What is Glycemic Index(GI)?

The system of ranking foods into a Glycemic Index (GI), is a system that rates the effect certain carbohydrates have on your immediate blood glucose levels. Foods are compared to pure glucose, which has a Glycemic Index set at 100. The lower the (GI) levels the more slowly it converts to blood sugar and the less likely it is to stimulate more uncontrollable cravings for sugary , empty caloric foods.

Best foods and foods to avoid by ranking High/ Medium/Low Glycemic rankings:

High Glycemic Foods

  • Baguette 95
  • Cheerios( similar) 83
  • Wafer biscuits 77
  • White bread 71
  • Watermelon 72
  • Chips 75
  • Baked potato 70
  • Cornflakes 83
  • Waffles 76
  • Potato (Mashed) 70

Medium Glycemic Foods

  • Cantaloupe 65
  • Raisins 64
  • Rye 64
  • Pita bread 55
  • Brown rice 55
  • White rice 58

Low Glycemic Foods

  • Goji berries 29
  • Banana 25
  • Apple 38
  • Pumpernickel 41
  • Orange 42
  • Lentils 28
  • Cherries 22
  • Grapefruit juice 48
  • Orange juice 52
  • All bran 42
  • Yam 51
  • Most vegetables 15