"Dangers of high-glycemic foods. Glycemic index & glycemic load.

The way to decrease your hunger and cravings for food is to eliminate wide fluctuations in blood sugar and insulin levels. And the way to accomplish this is to eat small frequent meals and eliminate foods that have high glycemic loads, and replace them with foods that have low glycemic loads.

Fifteen out of sixteen studies published on this subject found that the consumption of low glycemic-index foods delayed the return of hunger, decreased subsequent food intake, and increased satiety (the feeling of being full) when compared to high glycemic-index foods. (1)

Low glycemic-load diets result in significantly more weight or fat loss than high glycemic-load diets. (2) (3)

CANCER:

Women with high glycemic-load diets were found to have a risk of breast cancer about 30% higher than women with low glycemic-load diets. (4)

An analysis of the data gathered in the famous Nurses' Health Study, which is funded by the National Institutes of Health, revealed that high glycemic-load diets were associated with increased risk of pancreatic cancer in sedentary and overweight women. (5)

Several other case-control studies have found high glycemic-load diets to be associated with increased risk of ovarian, endometrial, and colorectal cancer. (6) (7) (8)

HEART DISEASE & STROKE:

High glycemic-load diets are associated with increased serum triglyceride levels and decreased HDL cholesterol levels, both are risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. (9) (10)

High glycemic-load diets have also been associated with increased serum levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of systemic inflammation and the many diseases that stem from systemic inflammation. It is a sensitive predictor of cardiovascular disease. (11)

In the Nurses' Health Study, women whose diets provided the highest glycemic loads had a risk of coronary heart disease that was almost twice as high as those whose diets provided the lowest glycemic loads. (12)

DIABETES:

In the Nurses' Health Study, women whose diets provided the highest glycemic loads were 37% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes over the next six years than women whose diets provided the lowest glycemic loads. (13)

Women with high glycemic-load diets that were low in cereal fiber were more than twice as likely to develop type 2 diabetes than women with low glycemic-load diets that were high in cereal fiber. The results of another large prospective study that followed male health professionals over six years were similar. (14)

The foods that were most consistently associated with increased risk of diabetes in these two studies were potatoes (cooked or French-fried), white rice, white bread, and carbonated beverages. (15)

This does not mean you should shun fruits and vegetables because fruits and vegetables are composed largely of carbohydrates. On the contrary, all of the evidence points to the conclusion that you should increase your consumption of most fruits and vegetables.

In a recent study, Dr. Dean Ornish's vegetarian diet was shown to result in more weight loss and more insulin reduction than the Atkins, Zone, or Weight-watchers diets. And the Atkins diet, which includes the fewest vegetables, scored the lowest insulin reduction, 7.7% after 12 months compared to Dean Ornish's 19.9% insulin reduction. (16)

Until you obtain a glycemic index to refer to, here are a few very basic rules for lowering your glycemic load:

1- Increase your consumption of fresh fruits, vegetables, legumes (peas and beans), nuts, and whole grains.

2- Decrease your consumption of starchy high-glycemic-load foods such as white potatoes, white rice, and white bread.

3- Decrease your consumption of sugary foods such as cookies, cakes, candy, and soft drinks.

A lot of important new information such as the above, which could be of interest to smokers, former smokers, and anyone interested in weight loss, good health, appearance, and emotional well-being is published every month in scientific journals. Much of this information never makes it to the general news media.

As a follow-up to our weight-loss programs and smoking-cessation programs, we try to pass along to you from time to time some of the more interesting and important new findings from these publications in a short little email newsletter like this one.

If you have any questions, send them in, and I'll be happy to try to find the answers.

The fact that I believe certain diets are better than others does not in any way effect our own hypnosis programs for weight-loss. In our program you can follow any diet approach or aim at changing your appetite and eating, drinking, and exercise habits in any way you want. The changes that occur will be whatever changes you choose to see occur.

REFERENCES:

(1)Ludwig DS. Dietary glycemic index and the regulation of body weight. Lipids.
2003;38(2):117-121.

(2) Slabber M, Barnard HC, Kuyl JM, Dannhauser A, Schall R. Effects of a low-insulin-response, energy-restricted diet on weight loss plasma insulin concentrations in hyperinsulinemic obese females. Am J Clin Nutr. 1994;60(1):48-53.

(3) Spieth LE, Harnish JD, Lenders CM, et al. A low-glycemic index diet in the treatment of pediatric obesity. Arch Pediatric Adolescent Med.2000;154(9):947-951.)

(4) Augustin LS, Dal Maso L, La Vecchia C, et al. Dietary glycemic index and glycemic load, and breast cancer risk: a case-control study. Ann Oncol. 2001;12(11):1533-1538.

(5) Michaud DS, Liu S, Giovannucci E, Willett WC, Colditz GA, Fuchs CS. Dietary sugar, glycemic load, and pancreatic cancer risk in a prospective study. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2002;94(17):1293-1300.

(6) Augustin LS, Polesel J, Bosetti C, et al. Dietary glycemic index, glycemic load and ovarian cancer risk: a case-control study in Italy. Ann Oncol. 2003;14(1):78-84.

(7) Augustin LS, Gallus S, Bosetti C, et al. Glycemic index and glycemic load in endometrial cancer. Int J Cancer. 2003;105(3):404-407.

(8) Franceschi S, Dal Maso L, Augustin L, et al. Dietary glycemic load and colorectal cancer risk. Ann Oncol. 2001;12(2):173-178.

(9) Ford ES, Liu S. Glycemic index and serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration among us adults. Arch Intern Med. 2001;161(4):572-576.

(10) Liu S, Manson JE, Stampfer MJ, et al. Dietary glycemic load assessed by food-frequency questionnaire in relation to plasma high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and fasting plasma triacylglycerols in postmenopausal women. Am J Clin Nutr. 2001;73(3):560-566.

(11) Liu S, Manson JE, Buring JE, Stampfer MJ, Willett WC, Ridker PM. Relation between a diet with a high glycemic load and plasma concentrations of high sensitivity C-reactive protein in middle-aged women. Am J Clin Nutr. 2002;75(3):492-498.)

(12) Liu S, Willett WC, Stampfer MJ, et al. A prospective study of dietary glycemic load, carbohydrate intake, and risk of coronary heart disease in US women. Am J Clin Nutr. 2000;71(6):1455-1461.

(13) Salmeron J, Manson JE, Stampfer MJ, Colditz GA, Wing AL, Willett WC. Dietary fiber, glycemic load, and risk of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus in women. JAMA. 1997;277(6):472-477.

(14) Salmeron J, Ascherio A, Rimm EB, et al. Dietary fiber, glycemic load, and risk of NIDDM in men. Diabetes Care. 1997;20(4):545-550.

(15) Willett W, Manson J, Liu S. Glycemic index, glycemic load, and risk of type 2 diabetes. Am J Clin Nutr. 2002;76(1):274S-280S.

(16) Study presented Nov. '03 to the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions in Orlando, Florida by Dr. Michael Dansinger, MD, Assistant professor of medicine at Tufts University.

GLYCEMIC INDEX & GLYCEMIC LOAD
What are they? Click for full explanation.