Now here is the serious side of things...
This is an important cycle to break. It is things like this that can lead to depression, diabetes and obesity. In the UK alone it is now predicted that 1 in 10 of us is obese. Frequent blood sugar swings stress the mind and emotions, and chronic stress raises insulin levels – creating a vicious cycle. A helpful way to learn how to minimise blood sugar swings is to know which carbohydrates are the slowest time-release of sugar. The glycemic index (GI) measures how quickly blood sugar increases after eating a particular food. Please see the end of the post for a list of some foods and their GI rating.
Another thing to be aware of is those night time cravings. Have you ever craved something sweet at the end of a meal? Or just before you go to bed? This is because our brain needs sugar to function....Literally. Your brain cells need two times more energy than the other cells in your body. As the primary source of energy in the human brain, glucose can be rapidly used up during mental activity...therefore at the end of a long day, these levels can be lower than usual. YOU think you want something sweet, your BODY is telling you to go to SLEEP!! Your brain is tired, you are not hungry. So have a nice, long drink (water preferably) and hit the hay.
Everything we do in life is about balance. We want to create an energy balance where our intake matches our output. So have your cake and eat it too, BUT go out there and DO your exercise.
Remember:
Lou x
GI LIST
Fruits
apple 38
apricot, canned 64
apricot, dried 30
banana 62
banana, unripe 30
cantaloupe 65
cherries 22
dates, dried 103
fruit cocktail 55
grapefruit 25
grapes 43
kiwi 52
mango 55
orange 43
papaya 58
peach 42
pear 36
pineapple 66
plum 24
raisins 64
strawberries 32
watermelon 72
Vegetables
beets 64
carrots, cooked 39
carrot juice 45
French fries 75
parsnips 97
peas, dried 22
peas, green 48
potato, boiled 56
potato mashed 73
potato, microwaved 82
potato, instant 83
potato, baked 85
pumpkin 75
sweet corn 55
sweet potato 54
yam 51
Juices
apple 41
grapefruit 48
orange 55
pineapple 46
Pasta
brown rice pasta 92
gnocchi 68
linguine, durum 50
macaroni 46
macaroni & cheese 64
spaghetti 40
spag. prot. enrich. 28
vermicelli 35
vermicelli, rice 58
Sweets
honey 58
jelly beans 80
M&Ms Choc. Peanut 33
Skittles 70
Snickers 41
Cookies
oatmeal 55
shortbread 64
vanilla wafers 77
Beans
baby lima 32
baked 43
black 30
brown 38
butter 31
chickpeas 33
kidney 27
lentil 30
navy 38
pinto 42
red lentils 27
split peas 32
soy 18
Grains
barley 22
brown rice 59
buckwheat 54
bulgur 47
chickpeas 36
corn 55
corn chips 74
cornmeal 68
couscous 65
hominy 40
millet 75
popcorn 55
rice 47
rice, instant 91
rye 34
wheat, whole 41
white rice 88
Cereals
All Bran 44
Cheerios 74
Cornflakes 83
Frosted Flakes 55
Muesli 60
NutriGrain 66
Oatmeal 53
Oatmeal 1 min 66
Puffed Wheat 74
Puffed Rice 90
Rice Krispies 82
Shredded Wheat 69
Special K 54
Swiss Muesli 60
Breads
bagel 72
croissant 67
pita 57
rye 64
rye, dark 76
rye, whole 50
white 72
whole wheat 72
waffles 76
Desserts
angel food cake 67
banana bread 47
blueberry muffin 59
bran muffin 60
Danish 59
fruit bread 47
pound cake 54
sponge cake 46
chocolate milk 34
ice cream 61
ice cream, low fat 50
milk 34
pudding 43
soy "milk" 31
yogurt 36
Note: The numbers represented are in reference to glucose, which is valued at 100, and are meaningful only in relation to this base number. They do not correspond to calories or portion size. Cooked vegetables tend to release their sugar faster than when raw, and a food's degree of ripeness can affect its glycemic number.
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