10) GLYCEMIC INDEX
h) Glycemic Load
This concept can be summarized as hypothesizing that you can eat high glycemic index foods (i.e. white bread, potatoes, rice, etc.) in small amounts and successfully diet. In our opinion (and, once again, in the opinion of Oprah's very highly paid dieticians and in Doctor Bernstein's expert opinion) this is a flawed concept. You will need a weighing scale and a computer for every meal to determine whether the total "glycemic load" of the meal is acceptable. And the "acceptable" high glycemic load becomes unmanageable as the quantities will be really small (1/3 slice of white bread, 1/8 cup of rice). You will also have all those high glycemic index left-overs in your refrigerator, just tempting you to "cheat". And reheating them increases their glycemic index. So the glycemic load concept just doesn't seem to be very useful, especially for a person with type 2 diabetes.
The concept also makes it difficult for many people to lose weight. A high glycemic index food such as white bread, even in small amounts, will be digested immediately and all the resulting sugar will enter your blood stream within two hours. As Doctor Bernstein has pointed out, it can be much much faster. At the end of two hours as much insulin as your body can produce will have been produced, the blood sugar will drop and you will get hungry (assuming you are on medication to relieve insulin insensitivity). On the other hand 100% whole grain bread will be digested more slowly and enter your blood stream over a span of four hours. The peak blood sugar level will be much lower with the 100% whole grain bread, you won't get a large insulin response and you won't get hungry for three to five hours with the 100% whole grain bread. You probably will get hungry with the smaller amount of high glycemic index white bread. If you get hungry, you'll eat more. If you eat more, you don't lose as much weight.
Next Chapter: 11) EXERCISE
a) Introduction
b) Exercise and low Blood Sugar
c) Exercise and Weight Lose
d) Aerobic Exercise and Heart Disease
e) Exercise and Peripheral Arterial Disease
f) Proper Resistance Training
g) Exercise Myths
h) Exercise, Stress and Diabetes
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