A Healthy Heart Diet...
Is
The Glycemic Index
The Best Solution?
New research
reveals the key ingredients
in a healthy heart diet.
We've had it
drummed into us for more than 20 years. "Eat a low fat diet for a healthy heart."
The old USDA food
guide pyramid also warned us to use oils 'sparingly'. But we have learned that most of us don't get nearly enough omega 3 oils
and eat too many of the wrong kind of carbohydrates.
Dr. Dun
Gifford, a renowned cardiologist at the Oldways Preservation &
Exchange Trust, explains why his opinion
has changed on the subject of carbohydrates and why he supports the low
carb approach for a healthy heart diet.
"I've
done a complete 180 on the subject of carbohydrates. Like many
cardiologists, I used to recommend that my patients follow the American
Heart Association's guidelines for a low-fat, high-carbohydrate
diet.
This
strategy made sense at first because we in the medical establishment
believed that less fat down the hatch directly correlated with less fat
in the heart and body.
What we
found instead was that, by encouraging people to eat very little fat
while indulging in carbohydrates, their bodies were secreting excess
amounts of the hormone insulin, causing them to store surplus carbs as
fat.
When chronically high levels of insulin are
circulating throughout your body, the cells eventually become insulin
resistant, which can lead to diabetes. Once a person is insulin
resistant, they also become prone to high cholesterol, high blood
pressure, weight gain, and even premature heart disease."
What are carbohydrates?
Carbs, are the building blocks of
all
plant life. A healthy heart diet includes fruits, vegetables, grains and starches—plus some
dairy products.
Nearly all of the carbohydrates we consume are converted into glucose with the notable exceptions of fiber and glycerin. Glucose, commonly referred to as blood sugar, is the primary source of energy for our body.
Energy is good, right?
Here’s the rub. Too much of a good thing ends up causing some real serious problems.
Some carbs are high in sugar and digest quickly flooding your blood with glucose. Others digest slowly and provide a controlled, steady source of energy.
The chief troublemakers are refined sugars, high fructose corn syrup and other high-glycemic carbs such as white flour, potatoes, rice and pasta.
These foods should be used
with discretion in a healthy heart diet.
When the sugar from these high
carb foods hits your blood stream your body quickly perceives this danger and reacts by mounting an insulin counter attack.
Insulin carries a small amount of the glucose to the cells for immediate energy and some is converted into glycogen and stored in the muscles and liver for later use.
But the trouble starts when the glycogen storerooms
become full. The over flow is stuffed into fat storage tanks on your belly, thighs, buttocks and other unwanted places.
An increase in body fat is only one of the side effects of these recurring glucose excesses.
Over time the insulin receptors on the surface of the cells no longer function properly and this leads to insulin resistance, which is the road to fatigue, malaise, diabetes and of course obesity.
If this isn’t enough to get you on a healthy heart diet consider the words of researcher, Nicholas Perricone M.D., and author of the Perricone Prescription.
“Sugar and foods that are rapidly converted to sugar are potent inflammatory agents. They cause a sharp spike in insulin levels, resulting in a rapid acceleration of the aging process, increasing the risk of heart disease, every form of cancer, memory loss, and mental deterioration.”
Low Glycemic Foods
Slow digesting carbs are not only good
for us...they are essential. Eat plenty of these "slow carbs" such as whole grains, vegetables and legumes, which are lower in sugar, high in fiber and digest more slowly. They provide an even stream of glucose thereby avoiding insulin spikes. Beans are a super food and play a key role in my healthy heart diet.
Tip: You can also slow down the rate at which carbohydrates enter your blood stream by combining them with fats and oils.
For example I put a tablespoon of
coconut oil on my oatmeal topped
by blue berries and a little
Splenda. Umm good.
Researchers have also discovered that low glycemic
foods
enhance memory and learning.
Some
surprises in the Glycemic
Index
The foods that tend to
have the highest index are breads and grains.
But here’s where it gets interesting.
Bread, rolls and bagels made from white flour digest
quickly; sourdough, pumpernickel, and whole grain
breads move through our digestive tract more slowly.
The fermentation process used in making sourdough is
the factor that slows digestion.
Other things that improve the Glycemic Index are
acids, such as lemon juice and vinegar. Protein,
fiber and fat also slow down the digestive process.
There is no
calorie
counting in
the
Glycemic
Index Diet
and we can
enjoy many
of the foods
that are
“taboo” on
low fat,
calorie
restriction
diets.
Just include
a low GI
food to
balance out
your high GI
“treat.”
A low GI
breakfast of
old
fashioned
oat meal
will keep
your blood
sugar stable
for up to
eight hours.
Gene
Click on
this link to
download the
Free Glycemic
Index Diet Chart
This color
coded
healthy heart diet chart
shows which
foods are
low,
medium
or
high
on the
Glycemic
Index. It
also shows
serving
amounts and
the Glycemic
Load of each
food by
category.
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A survivor unlocks the
mystery of a healthy heart diet
