Low-Glycemic Diet and Diabetes
Low-glycemic foods - beans, peas, lentils, pasta, rice boiled briefly and breads like pumpernickel and flaxseed - do a better job of managing glycemic control for Type-2 diabetes and risk factors for coronary heart disease than diets based around the "traditional" high-fiber foods such as whole grain breads, crackers and breakfast cereals.
That's the finding of a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. And it doesn't surprise me one bit.
Although the god-awful American Dietetic Association continues to mindlessly parrot the "conventional" wisdom about whole grain breads and cereals, truth is that most of these whole grain products are fiber lightweights. (Read the label- typically 1-2 grams of fiber at best compared to say, 11-17 in a cup of beans.) And if you check the glycemic index/ glycemic load tables, you find that the difference between a processed grain like white rice and its whole grain counterpart (brown rice) is- from a blood sugar point of view- almost negligible.
Obviously whole grains are better than white junk, but only because they contain slightly more vitamins and other nutrients. From a blood sugar point of view- and from a food sensitivity or allergy point of view- they're not that much of an improvement. If you've got gluten sensitivity- which is way more common than you might think- whole grains are just as much a problem for you as the processed kind.
In the JAMA study, researchers found that hemoglobin A1C- a very important marker for diabetes- decreased significantly more in subjects on the low-glycemic diet than it did for people eating the "traditional high-fiber" choices with cereal fiber. The low-glycemic group also saw a significant increase in HDL (the so-called "good" cholesterol) as well as a significant reduction in LDL (the so-called "bad" cholesterol).
The low-glycemic diet group did eat some breads- like pumpernickel, rye pita and quinoa bread with flaxseed- and some cereals- like real oatmeal- but they were all low-glycemic.
Bottom line: just because a cereal or bread product says "made with whole grains" doesn't mean it's the best food for you. Many of these products raise your blood sugar way too high, and manufacturers are notorious at trading on the "whole grain" buzz to create ridiculous products like "whole grain Cocoa Captain Sugar Krispies" (I made that one up, but you know what I'm talking about).
Glycemic impact is very important and should be paid attention to by anyone interested in his or her health. And you don't have to walk around with a bunch of scientific formulas to figure out whether a food has high or low glycemic impact. Just look for foods that have minimum processing, maximum color (exception is oatmeal and cauliflower) and as much fiber as possible.
That's the finding of a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. And it doesn't surprise me one bit.
Although the god-awful American Dietetic Association continues to mindlessly parrot the "conventional" wisdom about whole grain breads and cereals, truth is that most of these whole grain products are fiber lightweights. (Read the label- typically 1-2 grams of fiber at best compared to say, 11-17 in a cup of beans.) And if you check the glycemic index/ glycemic load tables, you find that the difference between a processed grain like white rice and its whole grain counterpart (brown rice) is- from a blood sugar point of view- almost negligible.
Obviously whole grains are better than white junk, but only because they contain slightly more vitamins and other nutrients. From a blood sugar point of view- and from a food sensitivity or allergy point of view- they're not that much of an improvement. If you've got gluten sensitivity- which is way more common than you might think- whole grains are just as much a problem for you as the processed kind.
In the JAMA study, researchers found that hemoglobin A1C- a very important marker for diabetes- decreased significantly more in subjects on the low-glycemic diet than it did for people eating the "traditional high-fiber" choices with cereal fiber. The low-glycemic group also saw a significant increase in HDL (the so-called "good" cholesterol) as well as a significant reduction in LDL (the so-called "bad" cholesterol).
The low-glycemic diet group did eat some breads- like pumpernickel, rye pita and quinoa bread with flaxseed- and some cereals- like real oatmeal- but they were all low-glycemic.
Bottom line: just because a cereal or bread product says "made with whole grains" doesn't mean it's the best food for you. Many of these products raise your blood sugar way too high, and manufacturers are notorious at trading on the "whole grain" buzz to create ridiculous products like "whole grain Cocoa Captain Sugar Krispies" (I made that one up, but you know what I'm talking about).
Glycemic impact is very important and should be paid attention to by anyone interested in his or her health. And you don't have to walk around with a bunch of scientific formulas to figure out whether a food has high or low glycemic impact. Just look for foods that have minimum processing, maximum color (exception is oatmeal and cauliflower) and as much fiber as possible.
Labels: blood sugar, diabetes, fiber, low-glycemic food, study
Jonny Bowden, PhD, C.N.S. is a nationally known expert on weight loss, nutrition and health and is the author of several best-selling books.
Definitely a low-glycemic index diet is better for diabetics than the Standard American Diet, but did you see this new research study from Dr. Eric Westman at Duke released last week that found a low-carb ketogenic diet (20g daily) outperformed the low-GI diet for improvements in HgA1c levels, the number of study participants who came off their diabetes medications, increases in HDL cholesterol, and higher weight loss despite eating more calories? It's further evidence that for people with Type 2 diabetes it may be better to have them on an Atkins-styled low-carb nutritional approach to adequately control their disease much better than paying attention to the glycemic index values of the foods they are eating.
So, the ideal foods would be both high in fiber and low glycemic. I find that Miracle Muffins http://www.miraclemuffins.com contain 7-9 grams of fiber packed into a 100 calorie muffin. All the ingredients are low glycemic. So, the impact on blood glucose is minimal while enjoying a "taboo" food like a muffin.
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