RECOMMENDED READING - Books, Articles & Links to Websites

[Debelli]

This board is dedicated to RECOMMENDED READING

If you have a book, article or a link to an article on a website that you feel would help others on SB and be beneficial to keeping in the forefront, please post it onto this website.

Most recommended readings that are posted would fall under FRIDAY FACTSso if you have something interesting to share, please post if first on the REGULAR WEEKLY SUPPORT BOARDthen CC it onto this board. If it's a link to an article on a website, please post the link that will take us to that site. Please try to give a little background on where you found the article, or what the link to the site provides.


If you have a book you'd like recommend, please try to give a little information about it, Title, Author, and why you recommend it.


Also, be sure to visit another important board, our TOOLS & TIPS BOARD at the link located below:

http://www.3fatchicks.com/ubb//Forum55/HTML/000054.html

I hope this board will provide useful information to everyone who visits it now and in the future!

[Debelli]

One cookbook I'd really recommend on having is the NIKKI & DAVID GOLDBECK'S AMERICAN WHOLEFOODS CUISINE. Over 1300 meatless wholesome recipes from short order to gourmet. Low fat, high fiber, norefined ingredients, naturally sweetened and seasoned.

It's an older book,copyright 1983, but there have been updates. I found mine at a garage sale, but you can find it on Ebay from time to time, as well as other places. See if your library has it. It's really more of a vegetarian book, but of the 1300 recipes there are tons that are SB legal, and wonderful baking recipes that with one alteration can be SB legal (honey to agave nectar or another sugar substitute). Book has over 500 pages. All the recipes I've made from this book so far, I've been happy with the way they came out.

Debbie
Debelli

[THE BIG ORANGE BABE]

I have two suggestions and they follow below:

For some really good tips and modifications,
pick up a copy of THIN FOR GOOD by Fred Pescatore,M.D.
He will show you how to master the 11 emotional levels of eating. You can personalize your needs for eating our way.
He also provides more than 130 delicious, satisfying low-carb recipes.
I have found this to be very self gratifying
and recently, it gave me THE BIG CLICK with what I need to do for myself in this time of my life. Check it out, you won't be sorry!

Also, a great cook book to try is SUGARFREE
QUICK & EASY! A cookbook based on the glycemic index by Deanie Comeaux Bahan.
It's recipes were expecially created for the SUGAR BUSTER'S diet plan. It includes recipes for appetizers, salads, soups, meats, seafood, poultry, vegetables, desserts and more. Also included is a revised glycemic index.
These recipes are great and I haven't yet found one that I don't like. They are very tasty and down to earth. I got mine at BOOKSAMILLION for $15.95, but I'm sure you can find it at your local bookstore.

[Debelli]

Here's a very good websites that will explain more about STEVIA a sweetner many people use:

STEVIA FAQS:

http://www.fastlane.net/%7Ekirkland/stevia/faq.htm

I personally like the STEVIA PLUS in powder form.




[This message has been edited by Debelli (edited 11-04-2000).]

[Debelli]

This site has a very interesting, and long, article about metabolism:


http://www.jmu.edu/athletics/strength/JMU%20Summer%202000%20Web%20Page/JMU%20Summer%202000%20Sections/4_Summer_Nutrition.htm

[Debelli]

This site has an article titled:

Confused About Carbohydrates?


http://www.healthwell.com/delicious-online/D_backs/May_97/carbos.cfm


Confused About Carbohydrates?


Do you eat carbohydrate-rich snack foods when you're hungry? Do you think you can eat all the carbohydrates you want because they're low-fat? If so, you may be surprised to learn that carbohydrate consumption in this country has skyrocketed (and dietary fat intake has dropped), yet more Americans than ever are overweight.

If you're confused because you think all carbohydrates are good for you, it's time to gain a more thorough understanding of them. Once you learn overlooked basics, you'll see why too many of certain kinds of carbs can be hazardous to your health.

Beans and grains are sources of carbohydrates; however, few people realize carbs are also in vegetables, fruit, sugar, nuts, seeds and milk. Carbohydrates are known as energy foods because when they're metabolized, they supply glucose, a sugar that circulates in our blood and provides energy where the body needs it. Our muscles use glucose for quick energy during exercise, but the brain needs glucose the most. When we're at rest, the brain uses two-thirds of our glucose. If blood glucose levels fall too low, brain function suffers and mental fatigue or dizziness result.

To prevent this from happening, the body works to maintain a steady stream of glucose. When blood sugar drops below normal levels, the pancreas responds by releasing glucagon. This hormone stimulates the breakdown of fat and glycogen (a storage form of glucose) to provide energy for all body cells, especially brain cells. Glycogen reserves are limited though, and once they're depleted, the body must break down protein from muscles to provide the glucose the brain needs. Therefore, to meet our glucose needs and to spare body protein, we need a certain amount of carbs in our diet at frequent intervals.

However, carbohydrates aren't "free foods," as many believe. It's true that carbohydrates contain fewer calories than fat, but they can easily be stored as fat if they're overconsumed. Here's why: When carbohydrates are eaten, blood sugar levels rise, and the pancreas responds by secreting a hormone called insulin. Insulin -- designed to restore blood sugar equilibrium -- works in the opposite way of glucagon: It removes excess glucose from the blood and stores it first as glycogen and then as fat. When we eat large amounts of carbs, especially high levels of refined grain products such as bread, more insulin will be produced and fat will more likely be stored. High insulin levels promote fat storage and block the release of fat-burning glucagon. This means that even if carbohydrates are fat free, if you eat too many, they'll be stored as fat and prevent your body from burning fat.

How Many To Eat?

If too many and too few carbohydrates cause problems, what's a healthy amount to consume? Recommendations from nutrition experts vary widely, ranging from 30 to 80 percent carbohydrates in the diet. Government organizations generally advocate you eat more than half your daily calories from carbs.

Julian Whitaker, M.D., director of the Whitaker Wellness Institute in Newport Beach, Calif., recently modified his dietary recommendations from a higher carb diet to one that contains 60 percent carbohydrates (from mostly vegetables, legumes and fruits), 20 percent protein and 20 percent fat. The reason is people seem to overdose on carbohydrates, he says. Common problems Whitaker cites include abdominal obesity, difficulty losing weight, high triglycerides, high cholesterol, low HDL cholesterol, adult-onset diabetes and an increased risk of heart attack. All these conditions are associated with high insulin levels, says Whitaker, author of Reversing Heart Disease (Warner).

Barry Sears, Ph.D., author of The Zone (ReganBooks), advocates a more moderate carbohydrate intake -- 40 percent of calories as carbohydrates (mostly from vegetables and fruits) with 30 percent protein and 30 percent fat. He says a 40/30/30 ratio is best because it keeps insulin at optimal levels. "Insulin makes you fat and keeps you fat," Sears says. "A high level of insulin is the number one factor that predicts heart disease."

Although blanket recommendations serve as public guidelines, both experts believe carbohydrate intake must be individualized because insulin responses vary. Sears cites research showing 75 percent of the population has an excessive insulin response to high levels of carbohydrates. Most Americans need a moderate carbohydrate intake, and only 25 percent of the population does well on a high-carb diet, Sears says. Whitaker believes individual tolerance for carbohydrates ranges from 40 to 70 percent of calories.

The Hazards of Processed Carbs

Researchers link increased white flour and white sugar consumption to the degenerative diseases that plague modern people. Weston A. Price, D.D.S., noticed this connection as early as the 1930s. After studying the diets and health of more than a dozen nonindustrialized societies around the world, he found all these cultures had different whole-food diets and all were healthy. However, once white flour and white sugar were introduced to these cultures, physical degeneration set in over a period of a single generation, according to Price's Nutrition and Physical Degeneration (Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation).

In The Saccharine Disease (Keats), researcher T.L. Cleave, M.D., traced the development of diabetes, hypertension, ulcers, gallbladder disease, colitis and heart disease to the intake of refined carbohydrates. When people from non-Westernized societies, who normally didn't eat white flour or white sugar, began to eat these foods, they didn't develop immediate health problems. However, two decades later Cleave notes that these people displayed health problems associated with the newly introduced sugar and flour.

Excessive sugar and processed carbohydrate consumption contributes to the development of other health problems including cancer, osteoporosis, hypoglycemia, adrenal exhaustion, and parasitic and yeast infections, according to Get the Sugar Out (Crown) by Ann Louise Gittleman, M.S., C.N.S.

Eating refined carbs sets the stage for disease because they raise insulin levels and cause nutrient deficiencies, Whitaker says. Nutrients are stripped during the refining process. Since we need minerals and B vitamins to assimilate carbohydrates, the body uses its nutrient reserves to digest refined carbohydrates and convert them to energy. This causes nutrient deficiencies that lead to a variety of ailments. In the 1930s, doctors noticed many white bread eaters suffered from health problems caused by iron, thiamin, riboflavin and niacin deficiencies. This led to the development of "enriched" flour, which is fortified with four nutrients but is still missing 20 others in whole wheat.

What Type Is Right for You?

To understand which carbohydrates are good for you and which aren't, it's important to know how carbohydrates are classified.

Chemical Structure. Carbohydrates are separated into two types: simple and complex. Simple carbs are found in sweeteners such as refined sugar, honey, maple syrup and fruit juice concentrates. These sugars have simple chemical structures that are quickly broken down in the digestive system. Simple sugars should be avoided because they supply calories but few nutrients and encourage tooth decay and yeast overgrowth. They also weaken immunity (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1973, vol. 26).

Complex carbohydrates found in vegetables, legumes and whole grains consist of long chains of sugars that take longer to digest. They should make up most of our carbohydrate intake.

Glycemic Index. Another system of classifying carbohydrates is the glycemic index (see "Glycemic Index of Common Foods" on page 69). It refers to the rate of glucose entry into the bloodstream after a carbohydrate is eaten. Since complex carbohydrates are digested more slowly than simple sugars, it had been assumed they release glucose into the bloodstream more slowly. However, research conducted in the early 1980s found this isn't always true. Some of the foods with the highest glycemic rating (foods that cause the highest rise in blood sugar and insulin levels) are so-called "complex" carbohydrates such as breakfast cereals, potatoes, bread (both whole wheat and white) and grains. Carbohydrates with low and moderate glycemic ratings (foods that release glucose more slowly and produce more moderate insulin responses) are nonstarchy vegetables such as lettuce, celery, broccoli and most fruits. According to Sears and Whitaker, you should emphasize low- and moderate-glycemic fruits and vegetables and limit your intake of high-glycemic grains.

Americans are doing the opposite. Statistics show most of us still consume low levels of green and yellow vegetables, but we eat more grains than ever. Since 1977, intake of ready-to-eat cereals has increased by 60 percent, and grain mixtures (such as pizza, pasta and nachos) has increased 115 percent. Consumption of snack foods such as crackers and pretzels has risen even higher -- 200 percent!

During the same time period that grain consumption has escalated, 36 percent more women and 72 percent more men have become overweight, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. "The increase in obesity is just the first step toward an increase in a wide variety of other chronic disease states," Sears says.

Sears believes people need to keep adjusting the amounts and kinds of carbohydrates, protein and fat in their meals until they find "winning combinations" -- meals that satisfy hunger and carbohydrate cravings and provide mental focus and steady energy four hours later. In his new book Mastering the Zone (ReganBooks), Sears explains that people who are mentally focused but hungry four hours after a meal have eaten too little carbohydrate in that meal. Those who are hungry and mentally fatigued four hours after a meal have consumed too much carbohydrate.

If a lower carbohydrate intake is needed, it's not necessary to cut out servings of carbohydrates altogether. "The best way to control your intake of carbohydrates is to eat fruits and vegetables in place of grain products," Sears explains. Vegetables and fruits are so much lower in carbohydrates that six cups of steamed broccoli have the same carbohydrate content as one cup of pasta! That means you can eat a lot more fruits and vegetables without consuming too many carbohydrates.

Ultimately, being savvy about carbohydrates is a bit more complicated than believing all carbohydrates are good for you. However, in the final analysis, a simple guideline to remember is long-standing advice: Always eat your fruits and vegetables.

[Debelli]

This site has an article that RICK MENDOSA published that explains THE GLYCEMIC INDEX

http://www.medicinecabinet.net/learning/v1i3_giindex.shtml


Definitely, a must read, esp. for someone just starting out on SB.

[Debelli]

This site has a very good article by
Dr. Ann de Wees Allen, Doctor of Naturopathy, on THE GLYCEMIC INDEX


http://www.afpafitness.com/GLYCEMIC.HTM

[Debelli]

This website has an article titled: PROTEIN: ARE YOU EATING ENOUGH?

Just click on the link below and it will take you right to the article:


http://www.healthwell.com/delicious-online/D_backs/Jul_97/protein.cfm?searched=yes

[Debelli]

Here's some other reading you may find interesting (especially the 3rd & 4th paragraphs) in regards to PROTEIN called PROTEIN POWER:


PROTEIN POWER

One of the most important roles of protein is to stimulate the pancreas to produce the hormone glucagon. Glucagon's primary function is to unlock your stored fat cells for use as energy. With too much insulin in the body, glucagon is literally blocked from unlocking stores of fat, and the body is unable to burn its own fat.


In this scenario, protein acts in the reverse of insulin. When a person eats adequate quantities of protein (esp. in combination with healthy fats and low sugar), the pancreas produces the right amount of glucagon to mobilize stored body fat so the body can begin burning excess fat for energy.

When you aren't consuming enough protein, you battle intense cravings, often for foods high in simple sugars. When it seems like a candy bar is all you really need, your body actually may be starving for protein. Protein, like healthy fat, has a stabilizing effect on blood sugar and provides the body with the long-lasting steady energy it demands. Sugar cravings are merely the body's way of looking for foods that will provide it with quick, easily metabolized energy. Unfortunately, giving in to the sugar craving will result in a sugar rush followed by a crash in energy level and a continuous craving for more sugar.

If your protein intake is low and you find yourself craving sweets, try increasing your daily protein intake. Increasing protein intake will eliminate sugar cravings and boost energy levels significantly.

Critical in the development of tissue growth and healing, protein also plays a crucial role in the formation of neurotransmitters in the brain. It helps the body create new cells to replace those that die off every day. Without enough protein, healthy new cells will not be formed-the skin will be thin and dry, the hair fragile with a tendency to fall out, and the nails brittle, fatigue, confusion and irritability are conditions too. If you currently recognize any of these symptoms yourself, check your protein intake (unfortunately, I can relate to some of these!)

A lesser known function of protein is its role in maintaining fluid balance in the body. Proteins in blood attract molecules of water, controlling the water levels between cells, within cells, and within your arteries and veins. When the body is deficient in protein, the fluid int he cells cannot be drawn in by the blood and will not be efficiently eliminated by the kidneys. Thus, a diet low in protein will actually result in water retention, water weight gain, and uncomfortable bloating.

Protein can boost metabolic rate by helping the body build lean muscle mass. It also acts as a wonderful source of ongoing, steady energy throughout the day. If you feel tired and sluggish on a regular basis, check your protein levels. Chances are you're not getting enough protein in your diet. Adding lean meats and poultry will leave you with more energy and few energy swings throughout your day.

[Debelli]

Here's some interesting facts about SUGAR from the book GET THE SUGAR OUT by Anne Louise Gittleman, which I highly recommend reading!


Label Reading 101

If you're going to buy packaged foods, you have to pay attention to what's in them. Three-quarters of the sugars are "hidden" in processed foods, so you have to become skeptical about every food you're thinking of buying. Read those labels, educate yourself, and don't let the "hidden" sugars pass you by.

Read the number of sugar grams listed on the nutrition-facts label of the food your considering buying. As a general guideline, look for foods that contain three grams of sugars or less per serving.

Compare the number of sugar grams to the number of total carbohydrate grams. Avoid foods that have more than one-third of their total carbs coming from sugars. The majority of the carbs you consume each day should be of the complex variety, not from simple sugars. To help you eat this way, shop for foods with the lowest number of sugar grams in relation to their carb grams.

Peruse the ingredients list and look for sugar in all its various forms. It can be listed as any of the following: barley malt, beet sugar, brown sugar, buttered syrup, cane-juice crystals, cane sugar, caramel, carob syrup, corn syrup, corn syrup solids, date sugar, dextran, dextrose, diastase, diastatic malt, ethyl maltol, fructose, fruit juice and fruit juice concentrate, glucose, glucose solids, golden sugar, golden syrup, grape sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, honey, invert sugar, lactose, malt syrup, maltodextrin, maltose, mannitol, molasses, raw sugar, refiner's syrup, sorbitol, sorghum syrup, sucrose, sugar, turbinado sugar, xylitol and yellow sugar. A quick way to discern sugars on the label is simply to look for the word sugar in any form and the words ending in -ose.

Added tip: While your reading the label for sugar content, pay attention to the other ingredients in the food as well. If there are ingredients that you can't pronounce or spell, much less recognize, the chances are that the product belongs more in a laboratory experiment than in your body. Skip the fake foods and instead buy products that have identifiable whole foods as ingredients.

[Debelli]

ARE YOU GETTING ENOUGH WATER???

Are You Drinking Enough Water?

Most people have no idea how much water they should be drinking, and most Americans live from day to day in a dehydrated state. They don't drink enough water.

Without water, we would be poisoned to death by our own waste products and toxins resulting from metabolism.

Water is vital to digestion and metabolism, acting as a medium for various enzymatic and chemical reactions in the body. It carries nutrients and oxygen to the cells through the blood, regulates body temperature and lubricates our joints (which is particularly important if you're arthritic, have chronic muscular-skeletal problems or are athletically active).

We need water to breathe; we lose approximately one pint of liquid every day just by exhaling.

If you are not in "fluid balance" you can impair every aspect of your body's physiological functioning.

Dr. Howard Flaks, Beverly Hills:
"As a result of not drinking enough water, many people encounter such problems as excess body fat, poor muscle tone and size, decreased digestive efficiency and organ function, increased toxicity in the body, joint and muscle soreness (particularly after exercise) and water retention."

Proper water intake is the key to weight loss," says Dr. Donald Robertson, Scottsdale, Arizona. "If people who are trying to lose weight don't drink enough water, the body can't metabolize the fat, they retain fluid, which keeps their weight up, and the whole procedure we're trying to set up falls apart."

"I'd say the minimum amount of water a healthy person should drink is 10 eight-ounce glasses a day," he continues, "and you need to drink more if you are overweight, exercise a lot, or live in a hot climate. Overweight people should drink an extra eight ounces of water for each 25 pounds that exceeds their ideal weight."

Your water intake should be spread judiciously throughout the day, including the evening. Dr. Flaks cautions against drinking more than four glasses in any given hour. Always check with your physician before embarking on a water intake increase program.

You may ask, "If I drink this much water, won't I constantly be running to the bathroom?" Initially, yes, because of the hypersensitivity of the bladder to increased fluids. But after a few weeks, your bladder calms down, and you urinate less frequently, but in larger amounts.

There is a difference between pure water and other beverages that contain water.

Water is water. Obviously you can get it by consuming fruit juice, soft drinks, beer, coffee or tea. Unfortunately, while such drinks contain water, they also may contain substances that are not healthy and actually contradict some of the positive effects of the added water.

Dr. Jerzy Meduski, Los Angeles, California: "Beer contains water, but it also contains alcohol, which is a toxic substance. Beverages that contain caffeine, such as coffee, stimulate the adrenal glands; fruit juices contain a lot of sugar and stimulate the pancreas. Such drinks may tax the body more than cleanse it."

Another problem with these beverages is that you lose your taste for water.

The way to interpret all of this, therefore, is that the recommended daily water intake means just that--WATER!

[Debelli]

Found this site with a VERY INTERESTING ARTICLE on PMS (was actually looking to see why I get sick during that TOM)


Just click on the link below and it will take you directly to the article:

http://www.ahcd.net/samples/ailments/premenstrual_syndrome.html

[Debelli]

Here's an interesting article on REFINED SUGARS. Just click on the link and it will take you to the article.

http://www.nexusmagazine.com/SugarBlues.html

[Debelli]

Here's a great article!


Why The Scale Lies

by Renee Cloe,
ACE Certified Personal Trainer

We’ve been told over an over again that daily weighing is unnecessary, yet many of us can’t resist peeking at that number every morning. If you just can’t bring yourself to toss the scale in the trash, you should definitely familiarize yourself with the factors that influence it’s readings. From water retention to glycogen storage and changes in lean body mass, daily weight fluctuations are normal. They are not indicators of your success or failure. Once you understand how these mechanisms work, you can free yourself from the daily battle with the bathroom scale.

Water makes up about 60% of total body mass. Normal fluctuations in the body’s water content can send scale-watchers into a tailspin if they don’t understand what’s happening. Two factors influencing water retention are water consumption and salt intake. Strange as it sounds, the less water you drink, the more of it your body retains. If you are even slightly dehydrated your body will hang onto it’s water supplies with a vengeance, possibly causing the number on the scale to inch upward. The solution is to drink plenty of water.

Excess salt (sodium) can also play a big role in water retention. A single teaspoon of salt contains over 2,000 mg of sodium. Generally, we should only eat between 1,000 and 3,000 mg of sodium a day, so it’s easy to go overboard. Sodium is a sneaky substance. You would expect it to be most highly concentrated in salty chips, nuts, and crackers. However, a food doesn’t have to taste salty to be loaded with sodium. A half cup of instant pudding actually contains nearly four times as much sodium as an ounce of salted nuts, 460 mg in the pudding versus 123 mg in the nuts. The more highly processed a food is, the more likely it is to have a high sodium content. That’s why, when it comes to eating, it’s wise to stick mainly to the basics: fruits, vegetables, lean meat, beans, and whole grains. Be sure to read the labels on canned foods, boxed mixes, and frozen dinners.

Women may also retain several pounds of water prior to menstruation. This is very common and the weight will likely disappear as quickly as it arrives. Pre-menstrual water-weight gain can be minimized by drinking plenty of water, maintaining an exercise program, and keeping high-sodium processed foods to a minimum.

Another factor that can influence the scale is glycogen. Think of glycogen as a fuel tank full of stored carbohydrate. Some glycogen is stored in the liver and some is stored the muscles themselves. This energy reserve weighs more than a pound and it’s packaged with 3-4 pounds of water when it’s stored. Your glycogen supply will shrink during the day if you fail to take in enough carbohydrates. As the glycogen supply shrinks you will experience a small imperceptible increase in appetite and your body will restore this fuel reserve along with it’s associated water. It’s normal to experience glycogen and water weight shifts of up to 2 pounds per day even with no changes in your calorie intake or activity level. These fluctuations have nothing to do with fat loss, although they can make for some unnecessarily dramatic weigh-ins if you’re prone to obsessing over the number on the scale.

Otherwise rational people also tend to forget about the actual weight of the food they eat. For this reason, it’s wise to weigh yourself first thing in the morning before you’ve had anything to eat or drink. Swallowing a bunch of food before you step on the scale is no different than putting a bunch of rocks in your pocket. The 5 pounds that you gain right after a huge dinner is not fat. It’s the actual weight of everything you’ve had to eat and drink. The added weight of the meal will be gone several hours later when you’ve finished digesting it.

Exercise physiologists tell us that in order to store one pound of fat, you need to eat 3,500 calories more than your body is able to burn. In other words, to actually store the above dinner as 5 pounds of fat, it would have to contain a whopping 17,500 calories. This is not likely, in fact it’s not humanly possible. So when the scale goes up 3 or 4 pounds overnight, rest easy, it’s likely to be water, glycogen, and the weight of your dinner. Keep in mind that the 3,500 calorie rule works in reverse also. In order to lose one pound of fat you need to burn 3,500 calories more than you take in. Generally, it’s only possible to lose 1-2 pounds of fat per week. When you follow a very low calorie diet that causes your weight to drop 10 pounds in 7 days, it’s physically impossible for all of that to be fat. What you’re really losing is water, glycogen, and muscle.

This brings us to the scale’s sneakiest attribute. It doesn’t just weigh fat. It weighs muscle, bone, water, internal organs and all. When you lose "weight," that doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ve lost fat. In fact, the scale has no way of telling you what you’ve lost (or gained). Losing muscle is nothing to celebrate. Muscle is a metabolically active tissue. The more muscle you have the more calories your body burns, even when you’re just sitting around. That’s one reason why a fit, active person is able to eat considerably more food than the dieter who is unwittingly destroying muscle tissue.

Robin Landis, author of "Body Fueling," compares fat and muscles to feathers and gold. One pound of fat is like a big fluffy, lumpy bunch of feathers, and one pound of muscle is small and valuable like a piece of gold. Obviously, you want to lose the dumpy, bulky feathers and keep the sleek beautiful gold. The problem with the scale is that it doesn’t differentiate between the two. It can’t tell you how much of your total body weight is lean tissue and how much is fat. There are several other measuring techniques that can accomplish this, although they vary in convenience, accuracy, and cost. Skin-fold calipers pinch and measure fat folds at various locations on the body, hydrostatic (or underwater) weighing involves exhaling all of the air from your lungs before being lowered into a tank of water, and bioelectrical impedance measures the degree to which your body fat impedes a mild electrical current.

If the thought of being pinched, dunked, or gently zapped just doesn’t appeal to you, don’t worry. The best measurement tool of all turns out to be your very own eyes. How do you look? How do you feel? How do your clothes fit? Are your rings looser? Do your muscles feel firmer? These are the true measurements of success. If you are exercising and eating right, don’t be discouraged by a small gain on the scale. Fluctuations are perfectly normal. Expect them to happen and take them in stride. It’s a matter of mind over scale.

[Debelli]

Here's an article titled:

Plateaus and Pitfalls: Overcoming Weight Loss Obstacles

to read the article, just click on the link below and it will take you right to the site:

http://primusweb.com/fitnesspartner/library/weight/plateaus.htm





[This message has been edited by Debelli (edited 11-27-2000).]

[Debelli]

This article is worth reading! It's an Womans Fitness Interview that was done with Dr. Allen from the Glycemic Research Institute

Just click on the link below, and it will take you directly to the article:


http://www.glycemic.com/inter.html


If you don't want to read the entire article, here was one interesting part that certainly stood out for me!!!


LD I had heard that. But how can ice cream be low glycemic?

Dr. Allen Because of the protein in the ice cream. High protein foods are usually low glycemic. The protein in the ice cream over-rides the effect of the sugar in the ice cream and the overall effect is that LPL, the fat enzyme is not activated. That's why high protein, low carbohydrate diets or the 40/30/30 diets are effective in the beginning, because protein reduces the glycemic response of a meal.

[Debelli]

This possibly should be placed on the FOOD INFORMATION BOARD, but I decided to place it hear as I think it's definitely something I would consider RECOMMENDED READING!

This article is SCARY! Read what they say in regards to SUGAR esp. sugar derived from BEETS!:EEK:

Just click on the link below and it will take you to the website:


http://www.servantsofthesaviour.com/html/How-Sweet-It-Is.html

(my Son, who's vegetarian, will die if he sees this!!!)



[This message has been edited by Debelli (edited 12-05-2000).]

[Debelli]

Here's an interesting article titled:


The Glycemic Effect of Carbohydrate Food

To get to the article, just click on the link below:


http://www.cyberdiet.com/modules/diabetes/glycemic_effects.html

[This message has been edited by Debelli (edited 12-05-2000).]

[Debelli]

This site has a copy of the PREFACE to the SCHWARZBEIN PRINCIPAL

http://www.sboutdoors.com/health/preface.html

[Debelli]

Here's the website that summarizes the MICHAEL MONTIGNAC METHOD. It was he who first wrote the diet that was taken for the Sugar Busters diet.

Just click on the link below to get to the site:


http://www.montignac-intl.com/eng/met_en.htm

[Debelli]

The site below had some interesting information in it. Read through to the part EMOTIONAL STRESS that's where I stopped. There's a good part of the GI, but others as well. It's a bit long, but thought it was worth reading. Just click on the link below:


http://www.dynamichealthresources.com/append-b.htm




[This message has been edited by Debelli (edited 12-23-2000).]

[Debelli]

Two great books I recommend are:

GET THE SUGAR OUT and GET THE SALT OUT

Both are by Ann Louise Gittleman.

[THE BIG ORANGE BABE]

IT'S A NEW YEAR...WHY NOT START YOUR JOURNALING OFF RIGHT....

The best journal I've found is the THIN for LIFE Daybook by Anne M. Fletcher M.S., R.D.

It's a whole year's worth of pages and is spiral bound to make it easy. The pages aren't dated, so you start them off on the day you want to start....not when they print
it to be...

CHECK IT OUT....I got mine at Barnes and Noble, but I'm sure any book store will have them...

PRICE.....$16.00

[This message has been edited by THE BIG ORANGE BABE (edited 01-14-2001).]

[Debelli]

This was a FRIDAY FACT posted back in Sept.


PROTEIN POWER

One of the most important roles of protein is to stimulate the pancreas to produce the hormone glucagon. Glucagon's primary function is to unlock your stored fat cells for use as energy. With too much insulin in the body, glucagon is literally blocked from unlocking stores of fat, and the body is unable to burn its own fat.


In this scenario, protein acts in the reverse of insulin. When a person eats adequate quantities of protein (esp. in combination with healthy fats and low sugar), the pancreas produces the right amount of glucagon to mobilize stored body fat so the body can begin burning excess fat for energy.

When you aren't consuming enough protein, you battle intense cravings, often for foods high in simple sugars. When it seems like a candy bar is all you really need, your body actually may be starving for protein. Protein, like healthy fat, has a stabilizing effect on blood sugar and provides the body with the long-lasting steady energy it demands. Sugar cravings are merely the body's way of looking for foods that will provide it with quick, easily metabolized energy. Unfortunately, giving in to the sugar craving will result in a sugar rush followed by a crash in energy level and a continuous craving for more sugar.

If your protein intake is low and you find yourself craving sweets, try increasing your daily protein intake. Increasing protein intake will eliminate sugar cravings and boost energy levels significantly.

Critical in the development of tissue growth and healing, protein also plays a crucial role in the formation of neurotransmitters in the brain. It helps the body create new cells to replace those that die off every day. Without enough protein, healthy new cells will not be formed-the skin will be thin and dry, the hair fragile with a tendency to fall out, and the nails brittle, fatigue, confusion and irritability are conditions too. If you currently recognize any of these symptoms yourself, check your protein intake (unfortunately, I can relate to some of these!)

A lesser known function of protein is its role in maintaining fluid balance in the body. Proteins in blood attract molecules of water, controlling the water levels between cells, within cells, and within your arteries and veins. When the body is deficient in protein, the fluid int he cells cannot be drawn in by the blood and will not be efficiently eliminated by the kidneys. Thus, a diet low in protein will actually result in water retention, water weight gain, and uncomfortable bloating.

Protein can boost metabolic rate by helping the body build lean muscle mass. It also acts as a wonderful source of ongoing, steady energy throughout the day. If you feel tired and sluggish on a regular basis, check your protein levels. Chances are you're not getting enough protein in your diet. Adding lean meats and poultry will leave you with more energy and few energy swings throughout your day.

[Debelli]

This list is worth taking a look at:


http://www.rheumatic.org/sugar.htm

[karen3000]

This article came from http://thyroid.about.com/health/thy.../aa030701a.htm. There are many articles here about weight problems faced by people with thyroid problems. Even if you don't have a thyroid problem, there's a lot of info here for all of us.

Green Tea Extract Increases Metabolism, May Aid in Weight Loss

Green Tea May Safely Increase Daytime Metabolism as much as 30-40%

by Mary J. Shomon

There are two ways to lose weight -- either reduce energy intake, or increase energy expenditure. Because hypothyroidism -- even after treatment -- may reduce energy expenditure in some people, patients naturally are looking for options that can help safely help raise the metabolism.

In a study reported on in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, it was found that green tea extract resulted in a significant increase in energy expenditure (a measure of metabolism), plus also had a significant effect on fat oxidation.

While some of the effects were originally theorized to be due to the caffeine content of green tea, the researchers discovered that the tea actually has properties that go beyond those that would be explained by the caffeine. The same amount of caffeine as was in the green tea, administered alone, failed to change energy expenditure in other studies. This led reseachers to believe that there is some interaction going on with the active ingredients of green tea that promotes increased metabolism and fat oxidation.

The researchers indicated that their findings have substantial implications for weight control. A 4% overall increase in 24-hour energy expenditure was attributed to the green tea extract, however, the research found that the extra expenditure took place during the daytime. This led them to conclude that, since thermogenesis (the body's own rate of burning calories) contributes 8-10% of daily energy expenditure in a typical cubject, that this 4% overall increase in energy expenditure due to the green tea actually translated to a 35-43% increase in daytime thermogenesis.

Of critical importance to thyroid patients is the fact that none of the research subjects reported any side effects, and no significant differences in heart rates were noticed. In this respect, green tea extract is different from some of the prescription drugs for obesity, and herbal products like ephedra, which can raise heart rates and blood pressure, and are not recommended for many individuals, in particular, those with thyroid disease who may be particularly sensitive to stimulants.

Implications for You?

If you were to incorporate green tea into your weight loss efforts, how is the best way to go about it?

One way would be to choose a reputable brand of organic green tea at a health food store or natural grocery, and start by taking a cup of tea every day. You can also take a green tea extract, in the form of a supplement.

Either way, says dietitian Lynn Moss, M.S., R.D., a continuing education specialist for Pharmavite, makers of Nature Made and Nature's Resource supplements and herbs, you should definitely take the green tea with meals, to reproduce the study's conditions as much as possible.

Moss also feels that green tea may be a good choice for thyroid patients because, unlike caffeine, " green tea has the potential to accelerate metabolism -- which can help weight loss slightly -- without overstimulating your adrenal glands."

And even a small effect can go a long way, when you are dealing with a metabolism that may not rebound entirely, despite hypothyroidism treatment.

SPECIAL NOTE: Is Green Tea Dangerous to the Thyroid?

In response to my article, some readers expressed concerns regarding the high fluoride content in tea, and the negative relationship between ingestion of too much fluoride and thyroid problems, as well as other health concerns.

This is definitely something to be considered before deciding to take green tea.

While green tea has some definite benefits in the cancer-prevention and metabolism-boosting arena, the fluoride content may, according to some practitioners, be a concern for the public in general, but specifically for thyroid patients.

For more information on the green tea/thyroid/fluoride connection, please see Is Green Tea Dangerous to the Thyroid?.

[Debelli]

Here's a great article on FIBERthat I had posted last year. The link was changed, so here's the new link:


http://www.wegmans.com/kitchen/diet/fiber/fiber.asp


The Scoop on Dietary Fiber


The Bran Difference

It used to be that bran was bran and everyone knew what it was good for. Wheat bran was the only thing we thought of and it had a clear mission: to keep you "regular." But now oat bran is on the supermarket shelves with promises to lower cholesterol. Wheat bran, despite proven benefits to the intestinal tract, cannot claim to lower cholesterol.It is the amount and type of fiber that makes oat bran work differently from wheat bran. You will learn that fiber goes far beyond bran.

Bran (high fiber)
wheat bran
oat bran
corn bran
rice bran

Whole Grain (moderate fiber)
whole wheat flour, whole wheat pasta
oatmeal, rolled oats, steel cut oats, whole-oat flour
cornmeal
brown rice

Refined (low fiber)
white flour (bleached/unbleached), pasta, cream of wheat
oat flour
cornstarch
white rice

Focus on Dietary Fiber

Before you load your grocery cart with bran products, there are important things you need to learn about dietary fiber in general. Dietary Fiber is:
the part of food that resists digestion.
found only in plant foods such as grain products, vegetables, legumes, fruits, nuts and seeds.
not a source of calories or vitamins or minerals (but these are often found in foods that contain fiber).
not always high in foods that appear fibrous. Lettuce and cucumbers are low in fiber.
several different substances. These are gums, mucilages, pectins, lignin, cellulose and hemicelluloses.

Not All Fiber is Alike

Dietary fiber can be divided into two basic categories: insoluble and soluble. Both are important for health. Some foods are better sources of one form than the other. For example, soluble fiber accounts for half of the fiber in oat bran but only a fifth of the fiber in wheat bran.

Insoluble Fiber
Insoluble fiber is a coarse, chewy material that will not dissolve in water. It is what we think of as roughage. Insoluble fiber helps:
Bowel Regularity -- Insoluble fiber, when taken with enough water, swells and softens the stool. This stimulates the intestinal muscles, thus helping to pass the stool and relieve constipation.
Prevent Intestinal Disorders -- By speeding up the movement of food through the intestine, insoluble fiber reduces pressure in the intestine. This may help prevent hemorrhoids, spastic colon, and diverticulitis.
Prevent Intestinal Cancer -- Increasing both the bulk and speed of food moving through the intestinal tract leaves less time for harmful substances to build.The shortened transit time of certain body toxins may help prevent cancer of the colon. Many researchers want to see more evidence before promising that fiber prevents cancer.

Soluble Fiber
Soluble fiber dissolves in water. This kind of fiber is made up of sticky substances like gums and gels. Soluble fiber may help:
Control Diabetes -- Extra fiber along with complex carbohydrates (starches) can make the hormone insulin work better. This allows patients to take less diabetes medication while keeping their blood sugar normal. Persons with diabetes often have sharp rises of blood sugar following meals. Increased soluble fiber in meals slows down the release of food into the intestine and keeps the blood sugar from rising rapidly.
Lower Blood Cholesterol -- Foods high in soluble fiber can further lower the blood cholesterol of people who are already following a lowfat, low cholesterol diet. Soluble fiber probably works by increasing the passage of bile acids through the digestive tract. Cholesterol is taken out of the blood to form more bile acids. Some researchers think that smaller fragments of soluble fiber are absorbed into the bloodstream. These fragments may decrease the production of cholesterol.

Clinical studies show a lowering of blood pressure in response to increased amounts of fiber. This may be the result of other factors such as dietary fat, calories, or sodium.

Control Weight

You may be less likely to gain weight and find it easier to lose weight on a high fiber diet. These foods often require more chewing and take longer to eat. Extra time is needed for food to leave the stomach. That means more satisfaction with fewer calories. Fiber pills are advertised as promoting weight loss. They seem to produce a very modest loss (four pounds at best) over several months. This was with 36 Fiber Trim pills per day! For lifetime weight control include more fiber in everyday food choices.

Soluble Fiber: The Hot Topic

Best-selling books have touted several daily servings of oat bran as the answer to the high rate of coronary disease in this country. Legitimate scientific studies of oat bran, oatmeal and beans have shown significant reductions in blood cholesterol. Preliminary research indicates that corn bran, carrots and apples can reduce cholesterol. Although brown rice contains soluble fiber, no research to date has documented cholesterol lowering.

How Much Will Soluble Fiber Lower Cholesterol?

There are no hard and fast rules or guarantees when it comes to lowering blood cholesterol by eating foods high in soluble fiber. People with higher cholesterol levels appear to have greater cholesterol lowering than people with normal levels. For example, people with high blood cholesterol have been able to reduce their blood cholesterol by 20% (down from 260 to 208 milligrams per deciliters) with 5 ounces (about 1 2/3 cups) of oat bran. That would be like eating three large bowls of cooked oat bran each day! Other (perhaps more practical) studies used 1 cup of oatmeal or 2 muffins (oat bran as main ingredient) daily to lower normal cholesterol levels by 3% (from 196 to 190 mg/dl). Though one research group has found no difference between oatmeal and oat bran, most researchers agree that you have to eat twice as much oatmeal to get the same cholesterol-lowering benefits as oat bran.

Other possible sources of soluble fibers are laxatives based on psyllium (such as Metamucil and Fiber All). Men consuming their typical diet had a 15% cholesterol lowering with the addition of three daily doses. This won't appeal to everyone. The powder, made from the seeds of the psyllium plant, must be mixed into a beverage to be taken. Although these laxatives have had a long track record for safety, they may not be completely harmless. One study indicated poor absorption of riboflavin, a B vitamin, with psyllium use. Be sure to check with your physician or Wegmans pharmacist before considering the use of any supplement.

Trim The Fat As Well

This does not mean that you can have all the saturated fat and cholesterol you want as long as you eat oat bran and beans. Cutting back on fat will further help control blood cholesterol and weight and may also help prevent some types of cancer.

How Much Fiber?

Most Americans eat 10 to 15 grams of total dietary fiber each day. Health organizations such as the National Cancer Institute, the American Diabetes Association and the American Dietetic Association encourage 20 to 30 grams each day.

What Does 20 to 30 Grams of Fiber Mean?

It means having every day:
3 to 5 servings of whole-grain breads and cereals
3 servings of vegetables
2 to 3 servings of fruit

A serving is:
2 slices of bread, 1 bagel, 1 cup rice or pasta
1 medium piece of fruit
1/2 to 2/3 cup vegetables

Fiber Analysis Confusion

Years ago, fiber could only be measured as "crude fiber." The crude fiber measurement of food could be as little as 20% of the actual fiber content. Today scientists are still having difficulty finding a reliable way to measure total dietary fiber. Measurements of soluble versus insoluble fiber will vary depending on the laboratory technique used.

Be Wise To Size

Look for grams of fiber. A gram is about the weight of 2 paper clips. Fiber pills are often measured in milligrams (1 gram = 1000 milligrams). Using milligrams for daily fiber is like counting out your paycheck in pennies. A pill containing 275 milligrams of fiber has .275 grams. It would take 100 pills to get the amount of fiber recommended in one day.

Bakery-size bran muffins, at about 5 grams of fiber, seem to be great fiber food. They average 350 calories each -- as much or more than any desserts. It's not that they are bad foods, it is just that they are BIG. Other foods would also be "rich" in fiber if large-size servings were used.

Too Much Of A Good Thing

Adding too much fiber too quickly (especially wheat bran) can cause intestinal gas and other digestive discomforts. These side effects are not serious and usually go away after bacterial levels in the intestinal tract adjust, but why go through it to begin with?

Another concern is that too much fiber may bind important minerals. Fortunately, most high fiber foods are good sources of minerals and the fiber levels being recommended do not cause problems.

What's In A Name?

Some products with oat bran in the name (muffins, crackers, breads, cereals) contain only small amounts of oat bran.

Remember that ingredient labels list those ingredients found in greatest amounts by weight down to those found in least amounts. For example, if sugar is listed before wheat bran, the cereal may be sweeter and not as high in fiber as another wheat bran cereal. Many products have coconut oil, palm oil, animal fat or eggs listed as ingredients. These could cancel the cholesterol-lowering benefit of an oat product.

General Tips For Good Fiber Nutrition


Purchase whole grain breads and cereals rather than refined ones.
Buy fresh produce and eat it raw and unpeeled whenever possible. Don't drink juice for the fiber; it is not a good source.
Instead of refined flour, roll chicken in whole grain flour, wheat bran or oat bran before baking.
Use oatmeal or oat bran in place of bread crumbs in meatloaf or meatballs.
Substitute cooked dried beans for part or all of the meat in casserole recipes. Use in soups, salads and sandwich spreads.
Drink more fluids. Water is what helps fiber work. Without it, insoluble fiber can block the digestive system.
Spread fiber throughout the day. As a general rule, try two servings of fiber-containing foods at each meal.
Exercise regularly. All the benefits of fiber will not outweigh the problems that come with too little physical activity.

[Rosalie]

I found an article on the INSULIN INDEX while surfing Aussie web sites which I would like to share with you. This is my contribution to Friday Facts. Some of it will be familiar to most of you but this is the first time I have read anything about an Insulin Index.

Glycaemic Index & Insulin Index

By Dr. Antigone Kouris-Blazos

New research is suggesting that just as all fats aren't necessarily bad, all carbohydrates are not necessarily good. And it seems the way we have thought about carbohydrates in the past, as simple and complex carbohydrates, is not very useful. The glycaemic index is a useful concept because it measures how rapidly the carbohydrates are absorbed and result in blood glucose and insulin elevations . The GI is not related to whether the carbohydrate is simple or complex. The GI measures the rise in blood sugar levels caused by a measured quantity of a particular food. High GI foods are rapidly absorbed and cause a large rise in blood sugar levels.

The Insulin Index (ID) is a relatively new concept which measures the amount of insulin the body produces in response to a set carbohydrate load in a particular food. This index is not necessarily proportional to the GI and consumption of large volumes of food with a high insulin index may play a role in the development of insulin resistance, although the link has yet to be conclusively established. High protein and high fat foods stimulate greater insulin responses than predicted by the level of glycaemia and in a study of insulin responses to 1000kJ portions of common foods, ordinary bread showed amongst the highest scores of any of the foods tested. More exaggerated insulin responses are seen when people with underlying insulin resistance consume high GI foods. Hyperinsulinaemia has recently been shown to be an independent risk factor for coronary heart disease (Depres et al. NEJM 1996; 334:952-7). Thus an insulin index of foods may eventually be needed to supplement tables of GI (Holt et al. AJCN 1997; 66: 1264-76). Both indices compare the body’s response to a food on a scale where the response to the glucose control is set at 100. Choosing foods with a low GI and low ID can improve diabetic management and may possibly reduce the incidence of diabetes complications e.g. heart disease, renal disease.

People with diabetes are used to thinking about glycaemic index, they use it to help control their blood sugar levels, but until now we have not really been aware of its significance for people without diabetes. Even though sugar per se has not been linked with any diseases of affluence, diets with a high glycaemic load have been associated with an increased risk of diabetes, obesity (especially abdominal/visceral obesity) and heart disease (Brand-Miller “The Glycaemic Index: Implications for Food-Based Dietary Guidelines” In: NH&MRC Dietary Guidelines for Older Australians, 1999).

There have been two important studies, both looking at whether different carbohydrates have different effects on risk of disease. A study on 6500 nurses in the US showed that those who consumed diets high in carbohydrate from white bread, potatoes and low amylose varieties of rice had 2-5 times the risk of developing diabetes than those who ate a diet rich in high fibre less processed cereals - even after controlling for known risk factors such as age and BMI (Salmeron et al., JAMA 1997; 277: 472-77). For the risk of diabetes, the type of carbohydrate (low versus high GI) was more important than the total amount of fat and carbohydrate in the diet. Furthermore, the total amount of refined sugar in the diet was not a risk factor for diabetes. A similar picture has emerged with acute coronary heart disease in the nurse's study (Liu et al., Fed Am Soc for Exp Bio J 1999; 12: 260). The male health professional study has also demonstrated a link between GI load of the diet and risk of developing diabetes in men (Salmeron et al. Diabetes Care 1997; 20: 545-550). In another study on 1400 British adults (Frost, The Lancet 1999; 353: 1045-48) blood lipids were more favourable with diets which consisted of foods with a low GI i.e. "good carbohydrates and good cholesterol". Such foods included pasta, legumes, oats, whole grain bread/cereals, whole fruit, minimally processed/cooked foods.

Since potatoes have a high GI and can constitute 15-20% of the total starch intake in a typical Western diet; they could be a significant factor in the total glycaemic load. Current advice to increase the intake of starchy foods such as potatoes may lead to a greater risk of diabetes (Eu J Clin Nutr 1999; 53: 249-54), abdominal obesity, elevated blood lipids, hypertension and heart disease.

Some of the so-called complex carbohydrates advocated, like potatoes and white bread and low amylose rice, are absorbed very quickly and give an undesirable metabolic response. The body tries to bring those blood glucose levels back down by secreting insulin. The high GI foods generate a demand for insulin. Since hyperinsulinaemia is linked with all facets of the ‘metabolic syndrome’ (insulin resistance, hyperlipidemia, hypertension and visceral obesity) the GI of foods may eventually be linked with all so-called diseases of affluence e.g. heart disease, obesity, diabetes. Even small physiological increases in insulinaemia for as little as 3-5 days can induce severe insulin resistance in healthy young subjects with normal glucose tolerance and no family history of NIDDM (Del Prato et al., Diabetologia 1994; 37: 1025-35). Higher day-long insulin levels are believed to promote carbohydrate oxidation at the expense of fatty acid oxidation, thereby promoting fat storage in adipose tissue and triglyceride synthesis in the liver (Friedman, Ma J Clin Nutr 1998; 67:513S-8S). Thus low GI diets may promote weight control by both enhancing satiety and promoting fat oxidation. A lower insulin level means the body stores less fat and can access existing fat stores more easily than when insulin levels are higher. An important finding of GI research is that foods containing refined sugars often have less glycaemic impact than starchy staples like bread. Moderate intake of refined sugars (10-12% energy) found in foods (e.g. cakes) or added to foods (e.g. coffee) is not associated with obesity, micronutrient deficiency or undesirable effects on blood lipids or insulin sensitivity (Anderson Nutr Res 1997; 17: 1485-8). This finding has helped to liberate the diabetic diet. However, many foods containing refined sugars also contain undesirable saturated fats and some undesirable high fat foods (e.g. potato crisps) can also have a low GI . Therefore, when selecting a low GI food one should also consider the total amount of carbohydrate, fat, fibre and salt and whether it is a nutrient or phytochemically dense food.

In summary, the lower the GI, the better the carbohydrate food is for everyone, especially people with diabetes. The exception is if blood glucose falls below normal in people with diabetes. This is more likely if you are an insulin-dependent diabetic. A high GI food or drink will restore blood glucose levels more quickly. Follow up with a low GI food to maintain blood glucose levels.

Foods with a low GI are generally more filling, more sustaining, help control hunger and appetite as well as blood glucose levels and may help with weight loss.

Athletic performance and GI

Research with sports people has shown that foods with a low GI eaten 2-4 hours before a sports event provides a slower release of energy and an improved ability to last longer in endurance activities. Pre-event low GI foods are now added to high carbohydrate loading practices which are used up to 4-5 days before an endurance event. The GI index in foods is unlikely to influence performance during an event, as most athletes these days take quick acting glucose through glucose polymer drinks to replenish energy supplies while they are competing. ‘Re-loading’ however, after an athletic event to ensure maintenance of high energy levels for ongoing training, is still seen as important in sports and high GI foods are recommended for post event replenishment. Bread, potatoes and other high GI foods then, may have more value after the event than before, when fruit sugars and legumes are more likely to be useful.

[Debelli]

Moving up!

[Debelli]

That Stupid Bathroom Scale!

"For a man is slave to that which has mastered him!"

Imagine. You wake up one morning after getting the best night's sleep you've had in too long of a time. You feel well rested and your face shows it. In fact, you are pretty sure that you have never looked better (at least not as far back as you can rummage to mind at these wee hours). You got a raise the day before, and a promotion to go along with it. As far as you are concerned, if the Grinche stole Christmas this year, you probably wouldn't even blink twice. Your bills are paid - a month in advance, your entire family adores you, and your friends are fighting over your free days, (o.k., I may be pushing it slightly!). You walk into the bathroom to brush your teeth, when your eyes catch a glimpse of the bathroom scale. Everything is going so great; you can not help but wonder if your luck will continue straight down into the depth of those tiny numbers. What the heck! You pounce onto the scale, this in itself being a major step. Usually your one-toe, followed by the next-toe, followed by the whole foot process takes a good ten minutes! You look down. Wait! Screech! Another screech! This cannot, this mustn't! After all, you hardly ate a thing yesterday. You step off the scale and run over to the toilet, empty your bladder, take off all clothing, even your rings and bracelet. You try it again. You hold your breath this time, thinking that the lack of oxygen will tip the scale in your favor, hopefully before you tip yourself onto the floor! But, it is the same! You step off of the scale, look in the mirror and suddenly your heart sinks, straight into the depths of your stomach. Where did those five extra pounds come from? And as you stand gazing at your naked body in the mirror, you wonder why your stomach looks flatter even though the scale says that you are heavier. That just can't be right! There has got to be something wrong with that stupid scale. After showering you begin trying on clothes for the promotional ceremony being held in your honor. You go through about half of the clothes in your closet, feeling certain that nothing fits right, before setting on something that won't draw too much attention to your body. Gone is the feeling that "you've never looked better;" it has been replaced by a feeling of "life can not get any worse than this!' You consider the option of a sick call, but you somehow muster the strength together and head for the car. You skip breakfast, telling yourself you'll starve your body into submission. By the time you get to work, your head hurts (the effects of a painstaking hunger), and you r mood has been set for the forthcoming day. You are bummed out, so to speak, and low and behold, the first person you see is the skinny little receptionist who smiles ever so sweetly to you from behind the desk, and asks, "Did you do something different to your hair?" You smile smugly, and tell her, "No," but you are certain of what she really meant to ask: "Did you gain weight?" Can you relate to this situation? Although it may not be identical in detail, the feelings described in the opening paragraphs are most likely ones that you have experienced. Why? Because they are commonly felt emotions and feelings! It is important to note that there are millions of people addicted to their scales. They can not let a single day pass without finding out what the little flat box has to tell them. You know you are addicted if you are unable to let a day pass without weighing yourself. Or, when visiting a doctor's office, you ask if you may remove your shoes before weighing in. Chances are, after weighing yourself, this little infamous device determines for you not only what you will or will not be eating for the continuation of the day, but also, how you will feel about yourself. Let me ask you a question. After weighing yourself, has the scale altered your mood, diminished your confidence, or affected your self-esteem? If it has, then GET RID OF IT! Would you stay around a person who made you feel this way about yourself? Hopefully, not for a long period of time. If you can not bring yourself to get rid of the scale, maybe you need to re-think its power over you. "For a man (woman) is slave to that which has mastered him." The scale is similar to a hungry piranha in that it is never satisfied. If it shows a "loss," then it is never a big enough loss. "Just one more pound, or ten more pounds!" On the same hand, if it shows a "gain," then it eats away at your self-esteem and confidence. My friend, how will you ever learn to be happy and content with who you are, if someone or something is always shoving you back down, never allowing you the satisfaction of being, well, satisfied! I've got good news! You do not have to be a slave to your scale any longer! If you feel the need to lose weight, or to get in shape, then great, good for you! Those are positive factors in one's life. And in addition, you have come to the right place, because we want to help you reach those goals. But you must first learn one thing. You must use your clothing, not scale, to gauge your losses. It is up to you to make the decision not to permit the scale to sit crowned as the reigning master over your life.


GET RID OF IT! AND GET FREE!
- You, Too, Shall Overcome

[Debelli]

This article was published in FDA Consumer magazine several years ago. It is no longer being maintained and may contain information that is out of date. You may find more current information on this topic in more recent issues of FDA Consumer or elsewhere on the FDA Website, by checking the site index or home page, or by searching the site.

Not Only Sugar Is Sweet
by Alexandra Greeley

Plain table sugar and its numerous taste-alikes may be one of our most popular food commodities. People come by their love for sweetness naturally. According to the experts, humans are born generally preferring sweet over bitter or sour tastes.

Sweeteners make many foods taste better. And natural sugars have a host of other valuable culinary?and practical?uses, including adding bulk to baked goods, helping foods to brown, and facilitating fermentation. But despite their immense popularity, sweeteners, particularly table sugar, have generated their share of sour publicity because of health concerns.

What Is Sugar?

Traditionally for most consumers the generic term ?sugar? means simply the white sugar crystals, or table sugar, that are stirred into or sprinkled on foods.

These familiar crystals are technically known as sucrose. Sucrose is a disaccharide--that is, it's composed of two simple sugar units, in this case, glucose and fructose. White sugar comes from sugar cane or sugar beets that have undergone a rigorous refining process. White sugar crystals can be used as is, compressed into cubes, or further pulverized to superfine, then to confectioner?s, or powdered, sugar. Brown sugar results from mixing white sugar crystals with molasses. Other forms of sucrose are beet sugar, maple sugar, turbinado sugar, and raw sugar.

Sucrose, however, is only one of a subgroup of sugars (see accompanying chart), and all sugars are carbohydrates. Monosaccharides, or single sugar units, include glucose, fructose and galactose. Monosaccharides also are the digestive end product of polysaccharides, the complex carbohydrates (starches) in fruits, grains and vegetables. Other disaccharides besides sucrose include lactose (glucose and galactose), also called milk sugar, and maltose (two units of glucose), also called malt sugar.

For labeling use and for making comparative claims, the Food and Drug Administration defines sugars as all mono-, di-, tri-, and tetrasaccharides and their derivatives, such as sugar alcohol, says Youngme Park, Ph.D., a nutritionist with FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. He says this includes all carbohydrate sweeteners with the same functional and physiological effect that can be used interchangeably in the food supply.

After complex carbohydrates are broken down to simple sugars (most sugars and carbohydrates are eventually broken down to glucose), the sugars are absorbed into the bloodstream and go to the liver. There they may be stored as glycogen or used immediately as glucose for energy by the body or brain.

"The body uses glucose as its simplest form of energy," says Judith Wurtman, Ph.D., research scientist in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "So for people who need calories, that is, those who are recovering from an operation or who are shipwrecked, sugar can keep them alive."

Thomas Jukes, Ph.D., professor of biophysics at the University of California at Berkeley, tells of his experiments feeding laboratory rats protein, vitamins, minerals, and sugar as the sole source of carbohydrates. The rats thrived, he says. "Fish is not a brain food," concludes Jukes. "Glucose is."

Sucrose occurs naturally in most green plants, says Sarah Setton, vice president for public affairs, The Sugar Association, Washington, D.C. It is produced by photosynthesis, which is the use of the sun's energy in the formation of food by plants. People would have to stop eating fruits and vegetables and any products incorporating them to cut sugar out of their diet. People seem to think that there is a difference between sugar in an apple and sugar in the sugar bowl," she adds. "But the way the body uses sugar is all the same. The body can?t tell where the sugar is from."

A Taste for Sweets

Americans have become conspicuous consumers of sugar and sweet-tasting foods and beverages. We have developed a relentless sweet tooth, "a severe addiction to sweetness," says Joan Gussow, Ed.D., professor of nutrition and education at Columbia Teachers College, Columbia University in New York City.

According to U.S. Department of Agriculture data on the amount of caloric sweeteners used in food, there has been an increase of more than 16 percent on a per person basis over the past two decades, and more than half of the increase has occurred in the past five years. Caloric sweeteners include sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, pure honey, and edible syrups.

Paul Lachance, chairman of the department of food science at Rutgers University in New Jersey states it another way. He estimates that, based on a 2,000-calorie-a-day diet, the average American consumes about 300 calories from sugars added to food. That comes to nearly 14 teaspoons of table sugar a day.

Gussow has her own theory about why sugar is so prominent in the American diet. It's for taste, she says. "I grow my own vegetables and fruit. And when I pick, cook and eat my parsnips, for example, they are as sweet as sugar," she says. "But food is shipped all over the place, and when food gets too old, much of the sugar turns to starch. The natural sweetness is gone, and people sugar food to give it flavor."

As yet, no scientist has established any limits for sugar consumption. In the typical American diet today (composed of about 45 percent carbohydrates, 20 percent protein, and 30 to 35 percent fat) all added and naturally occurring sugars account for about 21 percent of the total daily caloric intake. A 1986 FDA report estimated that sugars added to food accounted for 11 percent of calories consumed.

Yet if people eat increasingly larger quantities of caloric (nutritive)
sweeteners in general, these could compete with and crowd out other nutrients, warns Jane Hurley, associate nutritionist at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, Washington, D.C. People may consume many of their calories each day from a sugary soft drink or candy bar. "Those foods have few important nutrients we need," she says. "People are better off having an apple as a snack than a candy bar."

The Safety Issue

Over the last several decades, sugar has taken on the villain's role in the American diet. General sugar-bashing has led to "sugarphobia" as Jukes calls it and the unfounded fear that eating refined sugar causes many health problems, including heart disease, diabetes, anxiety, fatigue, depression, hyperactivity, and even criminal behavior.

But, in fact, added sugar at current levels is not detrimental to health. According to the landmark 1986 FDA Report of Sugars Task Force, sugar, when consumed normal or moderate quantities, cannot be linked to any disease, nor does it create a dependency.

Walter Glinsmann, M.D., FDA's associate director for clinical nutrition and senior author of the task force report, explains that members of the task force estimated the intake figures and trends of both added and naturally occurring sugars, based on USDA data. They also reviewed the scientific literature dealing with possible harmful effects of sugar consumption on numerous conditions, including tooth decay, glucose tolerance, diabetes mellitus, lipidemias (high blood fat), cardiovascular diseases, obesity, gallstones, and cancer. "Based on that work," says Glinsmann, "we decided that sugars are safe as they are now used in the food supply." If there is a significant change in the way Americans consume sugars, he adds, then scientists must reevaluate their role.

As Glinsmann observes, FDA does not say that eating unlimited amounts of sugars is safe. "There are not good or bad foods, only good or bad diets," he says. "If half your diet is pure sugar, that is not healthy. ... In a normal, varied diet, there are no adverse effects of sugar itself."

The task force did find that sugar can cause dental cavities, he says, but adds that so can other fermentable carbohydrates, such as dried fruit and honey, under the right conditions.

Despite the report, some consumers persist in linking sugar consumption with assorted ills, such as hyperactivity and aggressive behavior in children. This is often reported by parents who say that their children are uncontrollable after eating candy and other sugary sweets.

Glinsmann points out that sugar has not been shown to be a factor in hyperactivity. Studies of children and adolescents at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., and elsewhere have looked at groups of individuals served sugar or a placebo (an inactive substance given as a control when testing another substance). Glinsmann points out that no researcher has found that sugar has had any discernible negative effect on children's behavior. To the contrary, sugar often has a soothing effect.

It also calms adults, says Wurtman, who has studied the relationship between carbohydrate consumption and mood. When people report having a sugar high or jitters, Wurtman asks them what was happening before they took a mouthful of something sweet. "When people feel the need to eat," she says, "They usually are jittery. But 20 minutes after eating, they are no longer jittery." In fact, the opposite happens: After eating sugar, people become calm or even sleepy, she says, an effect caused by sugar raising the level of a calming rain chemical called serotonin. Sugar in its pure form is the best
nonprescription antidepressant, she says.

Sugar by Other Names

Numerous nutritive and nonnutritive substitutes for sucrose vie for its place as a sweetener. All nutritive substitutes - such as honey, concentrated fruit juices, dextrose (also known as glucose), maple and corn syrups, fructose (levulose or fruit sugar), sugar alcohols, and high-fructose corn syrup contain and contribute calories.

Perhaps the most commonly used nutritive sweetener is high-fructose corn syrup, a sweet product manufactured from cornstarch and containing a high level of fructose, explains Kyd Brenner, director of public affairs for the Corn Refiners Association in Washington, D.C. High-fructose corn syrup is very close to the composition and calorie content of cane sugar, he says, and the syrup can be used as a direct and inexpensive substitute for cane sugar when liquid sweeteners are called for. It is used extensively in soft drinks, condiments, jams, jellies, and wine and is not available for home use.

Of the sugar alcohols, sorbitol (60 percent as sweet as sucrose with about the same number of calories per gram) is used in such products as hard and soft candies and chewing gums. Xylitol, another sugar alcohol, has limited FDA approval for special dietary uses. A third sugar alcohol, mannitol, has been removed from the GRAS (generally recognized as safe) list, and is regulated as an 'interim' food additive. This means that its current use is considered safe, but some questions have been raised that must be resolved to fully determine what limitations, if any, should be imposed. Mannitol is still being used in some products.

Both mannitol and sorbitol, when taken in large amounts, can cause diarrhea. Products whose reasonably foreseeable consumption may result in a daily ingestion of 50 grams of sorbitol or 20 grams mannitol must bear the labeling statement: "Excess consumption may have a laxative effect."

The sugar polymer polydextrose, because of its bulking properties, is used to replace a number of the technical effects of sucrose in various baked goods, salad dressings, frozen desserts, and candies. Because of its structure, polydextrose is not readily digested, so it is a low-calorie sucrose substitute. But it does not provide sweetness, so it is likely to be used with a nonnutritive sweetener. FDA is presently considering petitions for its use in other products such as in fruit and peanut butter spreads, sweet sauces, toppings, and syrups, and as a formulation aid in film coatings in vitamin and mineral supplement tablets.

Nonnutritive Sweeteners

Nonnutritive, or high-intensity, sweeteners satisfy America's sweet tooth without adding calories. Presently, manufacturers are using three such sweeteners to replace sugar in a variety of food and nonfood items such as mouthwashes and pill coatings.

One of these is saccharin, 300 times sweeter than table sugar and with zero calories. It is sold in liquid, tablets, packets, and in bulk. Saccharin has had a stormy past, with studies in the United States and Canada implicating it in the development of certain cancers. In the late 1970s, FDA contracted with the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to study cancer-causing agents and toxic substances in foods, including saccharin. NAS reports showed that saccharin is a potential cancer-causing agent in humans. A congressional moratorium protecting saccharin's continued use has been renewed periodically
by Congress. The required label warning on saccharin states, "Use of this product may be hazardous to your health. This product contains saccharin which has been determined to cause cancer in laboratory animals."

Aspartame - about 200 times sweeter than table sugar and with the same number of calories per teaspoonful has been shown to be safe. However, some people have reported that they are sensitive to it, although such a sensitivity has not been confirmed by scientific studies. Certain individuals suffering from a rare genetic disease called phenylketonuria cannot tolerate the amino acid phenylalanine, one of the building blocks of aspartame as well as naturally occurring proteins. Therefore, products containing aspartame must bear on the label a statement that they contain phenylalanine. Aspartame is available in packets and is used in numerous foods, including cereals, beverage bases, and ready-to-drink iced tea, but because it is not generally heat stable, it is not used for cooking. Food technologists have been working on ways to overcome this instability.

Acesulfame K (K is the chemical symbol for potassium)-130 times sweeter than table sugar?was approved by FDA in July 1988 as a sugar substitute in packets or tablets and as an ingredient in such products as chewing gum, dry drink mixes, and gelatins. The body does not metabolize acesulfame K so itcontributes no calories. Soluble in water, it is stable at normal temperatures and does not break down during cooking.

FDA banned the use of the sweetener cyclamate in 1970 because of concerns over its safety, but cyclamate is again under consideration for use in specific products, such as tabletop sweeteners and nonalcoholic beverages.

Under Development

Scientists continue to develop new sugar substitutes. For example, among the nutritive sweeteners, petitions for the use of the sugar alcohols isomalt (in gelatins, hard and soft candies, and baked goods), maltitol (in candy and cough drops), lactitol (in candy, chewing gum, baked goods, and frozen dairy desserts), and hydrogenated starch hydrolisates (in candy, chewing gum, and confections) are under current FDA review, says Art Lipman, Ph.D., a supervisory consumer safety officer with FDA's direct additives branch.

FDA has also received numerous inquiries about the regulatory status of a naturally occurring high-intensity sweetener known as stevia (or stevioside), says Lipman. Extracted from a plant grown in South America, stevia is 300 times sweeter than table sugar and is used for sweetening in Japan and other countries. Lipman says no petition has been filed for its use in the United States.

Two nonnutritive sweeteners being studied, says George Pauli, Ph.D., chief of the novel ingredients and policy development branch. These are alitame (Pfizer), which is chemically similar to aspartame, and sucralose (McNeil Specialty Products Co.), a chlorinated sucrose that has been made indigestible. FDA is also considering petitions for additional uses of the sweetener acesulfame K in beverages and baked goods and of aspartame for bulk use and in breakfast cereals, malt beverages, candies, and cooked foods.

Eating foods sweetened with nonnutritive sweeteners rather than sugar is an individual choice, says Laura Tarantino, an FDA consumer safety officer. Our law says only that we [FDA] need to assess the safety of a new food additive and its technical effect," she says. "Nonnutritive sweeteners are safe to use. But we don't tell people to replace sugar with artificial sweeteners."

In the future, consumers wanting to know which sweeteners are present in their foods need only read the label. According to an FDA labeling proposal, all sweeteners will be listed together in the ingredient list, under the collective term 'sweetener,' when more than one sweetener is used in a product (following the collective term, each sweetener would be listed in parentheses in descending order of predominance by weight of the sweetener in the food). According to an FDA proposal published late in 1991, it would be mandatory for all complex carbohydrates and simple sugars to be listed on the nutrition label, says Lynn Larsen, Ph.D., director of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition's Executive Operations Staff.

People may have an inherent preference for sweetness, and that may have helped our ancestors survive, since bitter-tasting plants are generally not fit to eat. But beyond survival, people seem to have discovered that sweet flavors really help make eating pleasurable.

Alexandra Greeley is a freelance writer in Reston, Va.

Type of Sweetener Regulatory Status

Common Sugars
Monosaccharides
Glucose (also called dextrose) GRAS
Fructose (also called levulose) GRAS
fruit sugar
Galactose none; cannot be directly added
to food

Disaccharides
Sucrose (glucose + fructose) GRAS
white table sugar, beet sugar,
turbinado sugar, raw sugar
Lactose (glucose + galactose) GRAS petition under
consideration
milk sugar
Maltose (glucose + glucose) GRAS
malt sugar

Sugar Alcohols
sorbitol GRAS
xylitol limited FDA approval for
special uses,
mannitol removed from GRAS; regulated as
"interim food additive"

Nonnutritive and High-Intensity Sweeteners
Aspartame approved
Acesulfame K approved
Cyclamate banned
Saccharin remains on market through
congressional moratorium

[Debelli]

Moving Up!

[Debelli]

This was previously posted way, way back in Sept. 2000 and disappeared when they changed over the boards. Worth reading!

Facts on Water for Health

The life-saving element we usually take for granted has been found to possess many seemingly magical qualities.

Incredible as it may seem, water is quite possibly the single most important catalyst in losing weight and keeping it off. Although most of us take it for granted, water may be the only true "magic potion" for permanent weight loss.
Throw away your diuretics, toss out the laxatives, flush the appetite suppressants. Water does these jobs better, yet it's safe, natural, and healthy. Water works - if you learn how to use it. Here are some startling - yet scientific - facts about the benefits of water to weight loss:

Water can help your body metabolise fat.
Water can eliminate fluid retention.
Water can help you lose all the weight you want and keep it off for good.

The liquid of life

Life without water would last about seven days. Every form of life on earth depends on water. Adequate water is essential for the human body to perform at its peak. Like the earth, the human body is 70 per cent water. A loss of 10 per cent body water would be critical and any more than that might prove fatal.

Where does the body get the water it needs?

About half comes from beverages we drink - water, tea, coffee, soft drinks, milk, beer, wine and so on. A small portion is metabolic water - water we manufacture as we metabolise food. The rest comes from food. Meat, for instance, is 70 per cent water. Fruits can be up to 90 per cent water. Even bread is 20 per cent water.

How does the body use water?

All reactions in the body take place in water. It's the catalyst for enzymatic reactions. Blood plasma, which is 90 per cent water, can be called the body's main waterway. Food is transported to cells. Waste is carried away, passed through the kidneys and out in the urine. About half our fluid intake is expelled this way. Water makes breathing possible. It moistens the harsh, dry air. We exhale about 20 per cent of our water intake. The digestive system uses several litres of water daily to process food. Digestive enzymes are made almost entirely of water. The body uses water in its cooling system. When it gets to be 33 degrees Celsius outside, or when we exercise briskly, the body heats up. The heat must be dissipated, so in the process, the body pumps moisture through the muscles to the skin where it then evaporates and consequently, cools down the system.

Where does the body store water?

Water input must equal water output and water distribution throughout the body must be balanced. The body continually strives to maintain this balance. Half our water is stored in the cells (intracellular). The rest is stored outside the cells (extracellular), which includes fluid between cells and plasma inside blood vessels.

If body mass is 70 per cent water, what's the other 30 per cent?

Muscle, organ tissue, and fat. Only three per cent of this fat is essential. It is found in and around most vital organs such as the kidneys and gastrointestinal tract. The rest is excess weight. The bad news for women is - they store more fat than men do because of different hormone levels.

Water and weight loss

Water suppresses the appetite naturally and helps the body metabolise stored fat. Studies show that a decrease in water intake will cause fat deposits to increase, while an increase in water intake can actually reduce fat deposits. Here's why: The kidneys can't function properly without enough water. When they don't work to capacity, some of their load is dumped on to the liver. One of the liver's primary functions is to metabolise stored fat into useable energy for the body. But, if the liver has to do some of the kidney's work, it can't operate at full throttle. As a result, it metabolises less fat, more fat remains stored in the body and weight loss stops.

Water is the best treatment for fluid retention

Sounds crazy? It's the most sensible solution to water retention you'll ever find! When an otherwise healthy person has a problem with water retention, he usually does two things: he drinks less water and/or starts taking diuretics. These are the worst possible things to do. First, when the body gets less water, it perceives this as a threat to survival. To conserve what it has, it begins to hold on to every drop. Water is stored in extracellular spaces (outside the cells). This shows up as swollen feet, legs, hands, and so on. Diuretics are a temporary solution at best. They only mask the real problem. The diuretic forces out stored water along with some essential nutrients. Again, the body perceives a threat and will replace the lost water at the first opportunity. The best way to overcome the problem of water retention is to give your body what it needs - plenty of water. Only then will stored water be released. If you have a constant problem with water retention, excess salt may be to blame. Your body will tolerate sodium only in a certain concentration. The more salt you eat, the more water your system retains to dilute it. Salt intake makes you thirsty. This releases an antidiuretic hormone that causes water to be retained. The water is packed away in extracellular spaces that expand. This means swollen hands, feet, legs and so on. For your kidneys to expel the excess sodium, they need more water. If you don't drink enough, the water will automatically be siphoned from internal sources. It's the same old story - the body's way of coping with too little water is to store up what it already has.

How do you get rid of excess sodium?

Drink more water. It's that simple. Water is forced through the kidneys taking the excess sodium with it. In addition, the body has some natural checks and balances for dealing with sodium. Eat no salt, and the body secretes a hormone called aldosterone to hang on to the sodium it needs. Eat a little salt, and the aldosterone level drops. Eat too much salt, and extracellular spaces begin to expand with stored water. When this happens, another hormone is released to prompt the loss of both the excess sodium and the water. All these checks and balances work in concert to help maintain perfect water balance. But none of them will work without an ample supply of water.

How can one avoid eating too much sodium?

You don't have to go on a rigid salt-free diet. Instead, just be aware of the products that are high in salt; processed wheat and bran flakes, most canned foods, bacon, ham, salted fish, processed cheeses, most snack foods, and foods with additives such as monosodium glutamate. Read labels. Most manufacturers are required to list the amounts of sodium their products contain. Foods naturally low in salt are fruits, fruits juices, fresh vegetables, and anything you cook from scratch, because you can add little or none.

An overweight person needs more water than a thin person

The larger a person is, the larger his metabolic load. He needs more fuel to keep going. Since we know that water is the key to fat metabolism, it follows that the overweight person needs more water. This is why so many overweight people retain fluids. Their bodies get too little water, so their systems hang on to what they get. The only way to overcome this problem is to give the body what it needs to function - plenty of water. Only in this way will stored water be released.

Water helps to maintain proper muscle tone

It does this by giving muscles their natural ability to contract and by preventing dehydration. It also helps to prevent the sagging skin that usually follows weight loss - shrinking cells are buoyed by water, which plumps the skin and leaves it clear, healthy and resilient.

Water helps rid the body of waste

When the body gets too little water, it siphons water from internal sources. The colon is one primary source. Result? Constipation. The faeces become hard and dry. Constipation is too often treated with laxatives. Aside from leading to a dependency, this solution never addresses the root of the problem. The whole miserable cycle can be avoided. When a person drinks the correct amount of water, normal bowel function usually returns.

So far, we've discovered some remarkable truths about water and weight loss:

The body will not function properly without enough water and can't metabolise stored fat efficiently.
Retained water shows up as excess weight.
To get rid of excess water you must drink more water.
Drinking water is essential to weight loss.
How much water is enough? On the average, a person should drink eight 240ml glasses every day. That's about 2 litres. However, the overweight person needs one additional glass for every 11kg of excess weight. The amount you drink also should be increased if you exercise briskly or if the weather is hot and dry.

Water should preferably be cold - it's absorbed into the system more quickly than warm water. And some evidence suggests that drinking cold water can actually help burn kilojoules.

To utilise water most efficiently during weight loss, follow this schedule:

Morning: 1 litre consumed over a 30 minute period.
Noon: 1 litre consumed over a 30 minute period.
Evening: 1 litre consumed between five and six o'clock.
When the body gets the water it needs to function optimally, its fluids are perfectly balanced. When this happens, you have reached the "breakthrough point". What does this mean?

Endocrine-gland function improves.
Fluid retention is alleviated as stored water is lost.
More fat is used as fuel because the liver is free to metabolise stored fat.
Natural thirst returns.
There is a loss of hunger almost overnight.
If you stop drinking enough water, your body fluids will be thrown out of balance again, and you may experience fluid retention, unexplained weight gain and loss of thirst. To remedy the situation you'll have to go back and force another "breakthrough".

Is water the only liquid you can drink?

Coffee, tea, and diet soft drinks should be taken only in moderation. Have no more than two cups of coffee or tea a day. Limit soft drinks to two per day. These beverages have an adverse effect on weight loss. Eliminate them completely if you can, since caffeinated drinks (coffee, tea, diet colas) stimulate the appetite. However, if you now drink large amounts of caffeinated beverages, it might be wise to cut down slowly. Cold-turkey caffeine withdrawal can trigger severe headaches.

Are decaffeinated drinks all right?

In moderation. Most still contain a degree of caffeine. And decaffeinated soft drinks may also contain excessive amounts of sodium, so read the labels.

Diet drinks are not for dieters!

Most so-called diet drinks are loaded with sodium, which we know can cause fluid retention. The high levels of phosphates in diet drinks interfere with the body's absorption of calcium, which can be critical to the dieter.

What if tap water has an unpleasant taste? Buy bottled water. If that's not convenient, try chilling the tap water thoroughly, with a few thin slices of lemon added to the jug. One lemon slice to a glass of plain water gives it a nice fresh flavour.

[Rosalie]

This article was originally posted by DEBELLI on the Weekly Support Board on 5 October, 2001.

Glycemic Load, Diet, and Health

Until recently, there was little question that the best approach to healthy eating was to follow official guidelines — such as the USDA Food Guide Pyramid — which emphasize carbohydrates as a way to discourage fat consumption. But this view of carbohydrates and fats is too simplistic. It might even contribute to the very conditions that we hope to avoid by eating a good diet in the first place, such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

For one, not all fats are bad. In fact, certain fats are heart-healthy. In addition, not all carbohydrates act the same. Some are quickly broken down in the intestine, causing the blood sugar level to rise rapidly. Such carbohydrates have a high glycemic index (GI).

Because rapidly rising blood sugar levels have various adverse effects, we advise eating plenty of fruits and non-starchy vegetables and few high-GI carbohydrates, such as refined grains and starches. We also favor a food pyramid where fruits and nonstarchy vegetables, not refined grains, occupy the bottom tier. The purpose of this advice is to reduce overall glycemic load (GL). GL is a relatively new way to assess the impact of carbohydrate consumption that takes GI into account but gives a fuller picture than does GI alone.

GL Reflects Actual Carbohydrate Burden

A GI value tells you only how rapidly a particular carbohydrate turns into sugar. It doesn’t tell you how much of that carbohydrate is in a serving of a particular food. You would need to know both things to understand a food’s effect on blood sugar. That is where GL comes in. The carbohydrate in a carrot, for example, has a high GI. But there isn’t a lot of it, so a carrot’s glycemic load is relatively low. Calculating GL allows researchers to better relate carbohydrate intake to its health effects.

Researchers at Harvard, including Harvard Women’s Health Watch advisory board member JoAnn E. Manson, M.D., have closely examined the relationships among carbohydrates and heart disease and diabetes in women. The Nurses’ Health Study, for example, found that women with the highest dietary GL have double the risk for heart disease when compared to those with the lowest GL.

Why It’s Not As Simple as GI

The glycemic index originated as a research tool. It assigns a numerical value to a food indicating how much and how rapidly 50 grams of its carbohydrate content will raise blood-sugar levels, compared to 50 grams of a reference food (glucose or white bread). The reference food is given an arbitrary value of 100, and the GI value of a particular food is expressed as a percentage of that value. Many things contribute to the GI of a given food, including its fat and fiber content and how much it’s been processed.

But carbohydrates differ in quantity, as well as in GI ranking, from one kind of food to another. The shortcoming of GI values is evident when you compare foods of different carbohydrate densities. For example, the GI of a baked potato is 121% (assuming white bread is the standard reference food). This has earned the potato, which is largely carbohydrate, a place on the “avoid” list in publications and on Web sites promoting the GI approach to food choices.

The GI of carrots, as noted earlier, is also high: 131%. But this unfavorable GI rating is based on the blood-sugar effect of eating 50 grams of carbohydrate from carrots — the amount contained in a pound and a half of them — which few people would consume in one sitting. A serving of carrots, therefore, just doesn’t have much carbohydrate, so its impact on blood sugar is much less than that of a serving of potato.

Avoiding carrots because of their GI ranking would be a big mistake, particularly given all the vitamins and minerals they contain and the low GL of each serving (see “How to Calculate GL,” below). The GI of potatoes, on the other hand, is not a misleading measure because potatoes are carbohydrate-dense. Their GL is also fairly high.

How to Calculate GL

GL is the amount of carbohydrate in a serving of food multiplied by that food’s GI. Thus, a 12 cup serving of carrots (which has 8 grams of carbohydrate) has a glycemic load of about 10 (8 * 131%, or 1.31 = 10.48).

As reported recently in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (March 2001), Nurses’ Health Study researchers — aided by blood samples and a food-frequency questionnaire — used GL measures to assess the impact of carbohydrate consumption on 280 postmenopausal women. They found that high-GL diets (and, by extension, high GI foods and greater total carbohydrate intake), correlated with lower HDL concentrations and higher triglyceride levels, a marker for heart disease. The strongest association was in overweight women, i.e., those whose body mass index (BMI) was over 25. Increased risk started, on average, at a daily GL of 161.

Calculating overall dietary GL is difficult outside a research setting. But knowing a food’s GL can help you make comparisons that can improve the quality of your carbohydrate choices. In general, it’s a good idea to replace processed and refined-grain carbohydrates, such as those found in many snacks and desserts, with fruits and non-starchy vegetables. These foods, as well as whole grains and beans, are rich in nutrients and contain fiber, which slows digestion and moderates blood sugar levels. Also, try substituting, for example, whole grain bread for white bread; wild rice for white rice; and beans or lentils for potatoes.

Dietary GL may not become an everyday calculation, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see labels that exclaim “Low Glycemic Load!” — like “Low Cholesterol!” — beckoning from grocery shelves in the near future.

Glycemic Index

The glycemic index (GI) number is a relative not an absolute number. In effect, it is the blood sugar response to ingestion of a given food compared with the blood sugar response to another standardized food. Researchers have used both glucose and bread as this standardized, or reference, food.

Sometimes test results have yielded a range of values, which we show with a plus or minus sign, ±. So, for example, the GI value for a croissant using bread as the reference number is 96± 6 means test results ranged from 90 to 102.

One way to think about the glycemic index number is to picture it as fraction. The blood sugar blood response to a food is the numerator. The blood sugar response of the reference food is the denominator. Therefore, index number for same food will vary depending on whether you put glucose or bread in the denominator.

Because glucose quickly becomes blood sugar, the GI numbers based on glucose result in a lower number than do the GI numbers that use bread. Again, if you envision the GI number for a food as a fraction, or ratio, the glucose-based index has a larger denominator: you’re dividing by a bigger number. But the numerator doesn’t change, so the GI number gets smaller.

A word of warning about applying the GI to your diet. It is a carbohydrate-to-carbohydrate comparison. It doesn’t say anything about how much carbohydrate a food contains. So, for example, while the carbohydrates contained in carrots may have a relative high GI index, carrots contain relatively few carbohydrates compared with corn chips. Therefore, the net effect of carrots on blood sugar levels is considerably less than corn chips, even though their GI index numbers are similar.
*****************
You can view the entire article at the link below:

http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletters/giload.shtml

[Debelli]

Just moving this up!

[Debelli]

moving up

[Debelli]

Diets With A Low Glycemic Index: From Theory To Practice
by Janette Brand-Miller

The glycemic index (GI) of foods has important implications for the prevention and treatment of the major causes of morbidity and mortality in western countries, including non-insulin-dependent diabetes, coronary heart disease, and obesity. The recent United Nations FAO/WHO Consultation on Carbohydrates recommended that "the glycemic index of foods be used in conjunction with information about food composition, to guide food choices." Specifically, it recommended that "at least 55% of energy be derived from carbohydrate and that the bulk of carbohydrate foods be those rich in dietary fiber (non-starch polysaccharide and with a low glycemic index." Although these recommendations are designed for the general population, there is persuasive evidence that they are even more applicable to people with diabetes.

What exactly is the glycemic index (GI), and why has it become so important? In this article, we show how foods are classified according to their GI, summarize the health benefits and criticisms of the GI, and consider the practical aspects of putting GI into nutrition therapy for diabetes.

WHAT IS THE GI?

The GI is an established, physiologically based method used to classify foods according to their blood glucose-raising potential. It compares the level of glycemia after equal carbohydrate portions of foods and ranks them relative to a standard (usually glucose or white bread). Over the past two decades, the GI concept has been subjected to extensive research confirming its reproducibility, application to mixed meals, and clinical usefulness in the treatment of diabetes and hyperlipidemia. More than 600 individual foods have been tested for their GI. Concerns about using high-carbohydrate diets in diabetes (because of adverse effects on triglycerides [TG] and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol [HDL] levels) are overcome by recommending low-GI instead of high-GI carbohydrate foods.

The GI concept has been widely adopted in diabetes management in Australia,[6] New Zealand, Canada, the United Kingdom, and France. Dietitians at the International Diabetes Institute in Melbourne, Australia, headed by Professor Paul Zimmet, were among the first to take GI from theory to practice. The GI remains controversial in the United States, where it is perceived as too complex for health professionals as well as for ordinary people or simply not worth the trouble. Inexplicably, food exchanges and carbohydrate counting are regarded as less complicated. The average American diet has a high GI, and the adoption of a low-GI diet will entail some adjustments, but our experience suggests that this is not difficult and may be facilitated by simple "take home" messages.

Contrary to popular belief, low-GI foods are not the same as foods based on high complex carbohydrate and fiber, nor are high GI foods those based on simple sugars. The foods that produce the highest glycemic responses include many of the starchy foods consumed by people in industrialized countries, including bread, breakfast cereals, and potatoes, whether high or low in fiber. This is because the starch is fully gelatinized and can be rapidly digested and absorbed. The foods with the lowest GI values include pasta, relatively unprocessed cereal foods, baked beans, dairy products, and many types of fruit and vegetables. Sugary foods often cause lower levels of glycemia per gram of carbohydrate than the common starchy staples of western diets. This is because up to half of the weight of carbohydrate is fructose, a sugar that has little effect on glycemia. In fact, the overall GI of the diet has been shown to have an inverse correlation with total sugars (refined plus naturally occurring) expressed as a proportion of total carbohydrate.

The Glycemic Index (GI) of Foods That Make the Largest Contribution to Carbohydrate Intake(*)


High GI (>70) GI

Breads
White bread 70
Wholemeal bread 72
French bread 95

Breakfast cereals
Cornflakes 84
Rice Krispies 82
Cheerios 83

Potatoes 80-100

Confectionery
Jelly beans 80
Life Savers 70
Skittles 70

Fruits
Watermelon

Rices (low amylose, 70-90
white or brown)

Moderate GI (56-69) GI GI

Breads
Sourdough 57
Barley bread 65
Rye bread 65

Breakfast cereals
Cream of wheat 66
Bran Chex 58
Muesli 66

Dairy foods
Ice cream, full fat 61

Confectionery
Mars Bar 65
Kudos whole grain 62

Fruits
Banana 53
Pineapple 66 52
Pawpaw 58

Rices (high amylose 50-60
varieties,
eg Basmati)

Low GI (<55) GI

Breads
Pumpernickel 41
Heavy mixed grain 30-45

Breakfast cereals
All Bran 42
Toasted muesli 43
Psyllium-based processed
cereal 42

Dairy foods
Milk, full fat 27
Milk, skim 32
Yogurt, low fat, fruit 33

Confectionery
Chocolate (Dove) 45
M&Ms 33
Snickers Bar 41

Fruits
Apple 36
Orange 43
Peach 28

Legumes
Lentils 28
Soybeans 18
Baked beans (canned) 48


(*) Data from references 4 and 54. Reference food is as follows: glucose = 100.

THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF LOW-GI FOOD CHOICES

Many well-designed experimental and epidemiologic studies highlight the health benefits of slowly digested and absorbed carbohydrate. Short-term studies in lean healthy people, obese individuals, and people with diabetes show consistently higher day-long insulin levels with diets based on high-GI foods in comparison with low GI diets of similar nutrient composition. Because fasting hyperinsulinemia has been found to be an independent risk factor for coronary heart disease, differences in postprandial insulinemia caused by food can no longer be ignored. Even a small physiologic increase in insulinemia for as little as 3 to 5 days induces severe insulin resistance in healthy young subjects.


In people with diabetes, there are particularly important reasons to promote low-GI foods in dietary choices. One reason is that they show greater insulin resistance than nondiabetic individuals, and consumption of high-GI foods results in far more exaggerated glycemic and insulin responses, which may lead to worsening insulin resistance and eventually the need for drug or insulin therapy. Furthermore, higher day-long insulin levels promote carbohydrate oxidation at the expense of fatty acid oxidation, thereby encouraging synthesis of very-low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL) in the liver and fat storage in adipose tissue. A combination of high-GI carbohydrate and high fat (of any type) in a meal therefore may be synergistic in promoting weight gain.

Long-term studies in animal models show that high-GI starch increases fasting insulin levels and promotes insulin resistance, in comparison with identical diets based on low-GI starch. In rats, high-GI diets promote faster weight gain, higher body fat levels, higher adipocyte volume, and hypertriglyceridemia--that is, all of the components of the insulin resistance or "metabolic" syndrome.

In subjects with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, low-GI diets, in comparison with high-GI diets of similar nutrient composition, lead to improvements in glucose and lipid metabolism. In eight well-designed long-term studies using a cross-over design, the low-GI diet reduced glycosylated proteins by an average of almost 14% over periods ranging from 2 to 12 weeks. Although these results have been criticized as only modest, they are higher in magnitude than improvements induced by oral hypoglycemic drugs. The improvement in glycosylated proteins with low-GI diets contrasts with the lack of change seen with high-MUFA diets in diabetes.

Recent epidemiologic studies indicate that the GI of the diet may be the most important dietary factor in preventing type 2 diabetes. Two large-scale prospective studies, one in female nurses and one in male health professionals, showed that diets with a high glycemic load (GI x carbohydrate content) increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes after controlling for known risk factors such as age and body mass index. The only other dietary factor that increased risk was lack of cereal fiber. Importantly, the total carbohydrate and refined sugar content, and the amount and type of fat, were not found to be independent risk factors in these studies. A similar picture has emerged with acute coronary heart disease in the Nurses' study. The underlying mechanism postulated by these authors is the demand for insulin generated by high-GI foods. Because hyperinsulinemia is linked with all of the facets of the "metabolic syndrome" (insulin resistance, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and visceral obesity), the GI of foods eventually may be linked with all so-called diseases of affluence.

In healthy people as well as those with type 2 diabetes, high-carbohydrate diets ([is greater than] 50% energy) have been shown to worsen aspects of the blood lipid profile, including the TG, VLDL, HDL, and lipoprotein a. Individuals with insulin resistance are more susceptible to these adverse effects. However, this effect of high-carbohydrate diets is almost certainly linked to the rate of absorption of the carbohydrate, because strategies that slow down digestion and absorption (high soluble fiber, low GI, [Alpha]-glucosidase therapy) improve these parameters. The concerns with usual (ie, high-GI) high-carbohydrate diets have led some experts to recommend high intake of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated oils in place of carbohydrate, but high-fat, energy-dense diets of any sort are prone to overconsumption. High-carbohydrate foods (even energy-dense versions) can only ever have half the energy density of high-fat foods.

The GI has implications for weight control in people with diabetes because slowly digested carbohydrate is associated with higher satiety. The prolonged presence of food in the gut may stimulate chemical and pressure receptors that signal satiety. Low-insulinemic diets have been shown to increase the rate of weight loss on energy-restricted diets through the mechanism of lower insulin levels. Thus, low-GI diets may promote weight control by both enhancing satiety and reducing insulinemia.

CRITICISMS OF THE GI

The GI approach has been dismissed by some in the mistaken belief that it does not work in "mixed meal" situations or when there is added fat or protein. In fact, at least a dozen studies show that the GI of single foods predicts the response to mixed meals. In our own study, the correlation coefficient (r) for the observed glycemic response versus the predicted response was 0.88. One of the studies showing lack of effect in mixed meals can be faulted on methodologic grounds.

Unfortunately, some foods have been rated as "good" or "bad" simply on the basis of their GI. It is certainly not appropriate to substitute boiled potatoes (high GI) with potato crisps (lower GI). Large amounts of fat in a food reduce glycemia by slowing down gastric emptying, but glucose tolerance to the subsequent meal is impaired. Thus, high-fat foods may be seen in a "falsely favorable" light if the GI is the only criterion for selection. The total amount of carbohydrate, the amount and type of fat, and the fiber, micronutrient, and salt contents of a food are also important considerations. The proper use of the GI is to compare foods within categories of similar nutrient profile.

The use of 50-g carbohydrate portion sizes in GI testing has been criticized because it does not reflect a normal serving size. However, it has been shown that the glucose response to 1000-kJ portions (a reasonable serving size) of a range of foods is highly correlated with the published G144. Other criticisms of GI, including "too complex," "too many variables," a "burden" on people with diabetes, "restriction of food variety," and "too many foods with unknown GI values," stem from inexperience with this relatively new concept. In Australia, where the approach has now been used for over a decade, dietitians have produced simplified educational material that is useful for the layperson and professional alike.

Another concern about the GI is that the insulin response to a food may be more relevant than the glycemic response. Our laboratory is one of the few that has measured both glucose and insulin levels concurrently in all GI testing. In general, insulin responses in healthy people have followed the rank order of the glycemic responses. High-protein and high-fat foods, however, stimulate greater insulin responses than predicted by the level of glycemia. More exaggerated insulin responses are seen when people with underlying insulin resistance consume high-GI foods. In our study of insulin responses to 1000-kJ portions of common foods, ordinary soft breads (white or wholemeal) showed scores that were among the highest of any of the foods tested. An insulin index of foods may eventually be needed to supplement tables of GI.

THE GI IN PRACTI