The
lower the GI index the better...
The Glycemic Index is a tool that anyone looking to
increase energy, lose fat and just feel better needs to understand.
All
carbohydrates convert to blood sugar-some fast, some slow -and the
Glycemic Index measures the rate the conversion takes place.
Eating high-glycemic carbohydrates
(ones that turn to sugary quickly) will hinder the fat burning
process and will decrease energy levels.
Here's why:
When you eat
high-glycemic carbs, your blood sugar levels soar ; when this happens
your pancreas produces insulin. One of the roles of insulin is to keep
your blood sugar levels regulated -but its also a storage hormone. When
your sugars go up, your body produces the storage hormone to clear the
excess sugars. Those sugars end up in fatty tissue. Ultimately, your
gaining fat, because internally, your telling your body to store.
Here's how it relates to energy levels:
-
When you overproduce insulin,
you clear the sugars out of your blood-the end result is that you are
now hypoglycemic.
-
What does that mean?
-
Blood sugar levels are lower than
they should be,
-
"you crash" or get lethargic, and now your body craves
sugars.
-
So what next? You end up overeating , and the cycle continues
By
switching to low-glycemic carbs, the energy release is gradual and
long lasting which is ideal for athletes, you do not tax your
pancreas, you do not over-produce a storage hormone, you feel better and
you're in a better position to lose weight or more accurately, burn body
fat.
The
Glycemic index is readily available, and tracks virtually every brand of
every food. Some of the more common entries are listed below. Each entry
is compared to glucose, if the rate that glucose converts to
blood sugar equals 100. Numbers lower than 100 mean that food converts
to blood sugar slower than glucose-and in terms of your mission to
increase energy levels for athletes and burn body fat,
the lower the GI index the better
