All about GI food (Part 2)

Despite the obvious benefits of low GI foods discussed in part one of this article, the change in eating habits has to a measured one. There are other factors to be kept in mind while dealing with GI levels of various foods.

A look at these examples will make the above statement clear. Carrots almost have as high a GI as sugar. Mashed potatoes have higher GI than table sugar Watermelon has an alarmingly high GI.

Does it mean that Carrots, Watermelons  & Potatoes are high risk food products ? Certainly no! Knowing the GI is only half the story.GI only tells about the effect of carbohydrate on blood sugar. GI does not indicate the amount the carbohydrate. Carrots & watermelons have a extremely low amount of carbs . We get to know the quality of food by measuring  Glycemic Load (GL). Glycemic load tells us, both the quality and the quantity of carbohydrates. Let me illustrate the point with example of apple. An apple has a GI of 40 but since it is low in carbohydrates (only about 15 grams), the GL of apple is considerably low i.e (40/100) X 15 (grams per serving) = leads to a GL count of 6.

Here are three more factors that affect GI levels in food:

• Cooking. (Higher degree of cooking increases the GI count)
• Food processing ( Foods that are highly processed require less digestion & hence have higher GI)
• Amount of soluble fiber ( Soluble fibers delay the enzymatic activity on starch & thus tend to have lower GI)

A second look at the above three points make our healthy food choices simpler. So here are three simple friendly tips for low GL foods based on the 3 points:

1. Avoid processed / convenience food, especially sugar.
2. Eat food high in fiber. Some food items that contain high amounts of soluble fiber are beans, oats & strawberries.
3. Eat lots of raw fruits & vegetable & whole grains

At last, low GL foods seem to make sense to me. These calculations in fact do not contradict older healthy eating theories; on the contrary, it complements them.

Click on the link below to read part 1 of the article:

http://www.friendly-tips.com/2010/01/12/eating-healthy-tip-18/

Protect Yourself from Pesticides

In their greed to produce more, many farmers use much more than the prescribed levels of pesticides. The effect of these pesticides can vary among individuals. Some Individuals can tolerate much higher levels of carcinogens than others. It is the Children that are most susceptible to this.

Even the meat that we consume is no longer safe. In earlier days, antibiotics were given to animals to keep them free from illness. Later it was found that these antibiotics can increase the size & weight of animals too. Today, many farm grown animals & birds are given antibiotics just to increase weight & thus to increase profits. Some of us might be eating these steady doses of antibiotics.

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How to preserve nutrients while cooking.      

Most of us eat only thrice a day & work for 24 hrs because our body works even when we are asleep.  This means that these three meals should give us all the nutrients required to run, nourish, repair & maintain our body.  Dietitians will tell you that 75% of our food should be raw.  Both you and I know that this prescription is difficult to follow & even more difficult to enforce on our family members.  Today, let’s take a middle path and see how to preserve maximum nutrients while cooking food.

The three enemies of food are heat, air & water.  If we have to choose the biggest stealer of nutrients, it has to be water.  Any cooking method that uses the least of the above three is preferred.

The first choice that comes to mind is microwave.  Even when you Google for best cooking methods, the top articles will point to microwave.  However, internet can be a great source of misinformation too.  Microwaving food destroys all most all antioxidants & thus does not get my recommendation as a preferred cooking method.  Microwave might still be an economical, fuel efficient & a convenient way to reheat food but is not advisable for preparing food.  The powerful convenience food lobby is responsible for gagging all negative studies of microwave from being published.

Let’s look at tips to preserve nutrients while cooking.

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How to eat fruits:

Is there a right way to eat fruits?  Is there a right time to eat fruits?  Or is there a right combination of eating fruits? The answer to all the above is YES .

We all know the immense health benefits of eating fruits.  However, most of us fail to get the maximum out of a fruit because we are blinded by our preset notions about eating fruits.  Through this article I intend to break some of these myths.

• Myth 1: Fruits & all other desserts should be had after a meal.

  Nothing can be further from the truth.  From a dental hygiene point of view, it make sense to have food containing sugar at the end of a meal.  The sugar present in the fruits is in its most digestible form and do not harm our teeth.  It is best to have fruits on empty stomach as this will permit our body to absorb the maximum nutrients from it.  Fruits are digested much faster than any other food substance.  Thus, when we have fruits after a meal, the sugar in the fruits is not absorbed immediately by our body and thus turns to acid due to fermentation.

• Myth 2: Dry Fruits are better than Fresh Fruits.

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How to start eating healthy

Its confession time ! Haven’t we all experimented with low carb food, naturo food  or controlled diet & found it an extremely unsatisfying experience? Experts say that this failure is because of  of a sense of deprivation. As soon as we go on a diet we crave for those goodies , because we feel that we are depriving ourselves of those wonderful tastes. Here are a few tips to make your healthy eating habit, a permanent one.

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Ever wondered which one eating habit can make a world of difference to your health?

Wait! I am not going to repeat the benefits of fresh fruits & vegetables. Nor will I be going through the virtues of antioxidants. The tip of the day deals with how to end your meal. Yes! you read it right. The last thing you eat in every meal can have a lasting effect on your health. The good news here is, you will not be buying expensive supplements from the drug store or hunting around for some elusive oriental Herb. The magic superfood recommended to you is the good old “Yogurt” or the homemade “Curd”. In fact homemade yogurt/curd is even better than the flavoured version.

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