Contents
In line with its mission, the Editorial Board of MedTvoiLokony makes every effort to provide reliable medical content supported by the latest scientific knowledge. The additional flag “Checked Content” indicates that the article has been reviewed by or written directly by a physician. This two-step verification: a medical journalist and a doctor allows us to provide the highest quality content in line with current medical knowledge.
Our commitment in this area has been appreciated, among others, by by the Association of Journalists for Health, which awarded the Editorial Board of MedTvoiLokony with the honorary title of the Great Educator.
We want to eat healthily and not be overweight. How can this be done? Monodiet is a straightforward path to nutrient deficiencies. Drastic calorie restriction causes constant hunger and the common yo-yo effect. An option may be diets based on the glycemic index.
The simplest, most common and worst way to satisfy your hunger is to eat easily digestible carbohydrates. So, simply put, sugars in highly processed foods, e.g. in sweets, white bread. However, it is even more dangerous to your health to eat foods that are a combination of saturated fatty acids and the aforementioned carbohydrates. The consequence of such nutrition is obesity and serious diseases related to it, such as diabetes, arterial hypertension, and polymetabolic syndrome.
What is the glycemic index?
However, the matter of sugars is not simple. After a study in 1981, it was found that some carbohydrate-containing foods raise blood glucose levels more than other foods in the same group. On this basis, a system was created that characterizes the effect of food on postprandial glycemia, which is called the glycemic index (GI). Broadly speaking, this is a list of foods ranked according to the level of glucose present in the blood after eating them. For the curious: GI is calculated by dividing the blood glucose level after a food test with 50 grams of carbohydrates by the glucose level obtained after consuming the product. In order to designate it, the product should be given to a specific person. The tests are carried out on a group of people, and then for two hours, every 15 minutes, their blood is taken and their sugar level is tested. In this way, an average IG value is obtained.
What does the index have to be overweight?
The higher the GI value of a product, the higher the blood sugar level after consumption. So: eating a product with a high GI leads to a sharp jump in sugar levels causing an equally strong insulin burst. However, because the body does not like extremes, the blood sugar level drops quickly, but it does not drop to the starting value, but a lower value, which is not well tolerated by the body, known as hypoglycemia, i.e. hypoglycemia. Apart from various unpleasant sensations (nausea, dizziness), hunger is a symptom of hypoglycaemia. And when we are hungry: we eat. If we reach for a product with a high GI again – the situation will repeat itself: the sugar level will increase and there will be a rapid insulin surge.
Insulin regulates the level of sugar, but also activates the processes of absorption and storage, known as anabolism, which in practice translates into weight gain. In addition, it activates the processes of creating fats supplied mainly from carbohydrates. It is also stored in this form. In addition, it facilitates the deposition of fats circulating in the blood serum to fat cells. As high insulin levels promote weight gain, we should not eat products with a GI higher than 70.
There are few diets emphasizing the importance of the glycemic index – the most famous are the Montignac method and the South Beach diet.
Montignac – the guru of French women who are slimming
The main principle of the Montignac method is to consume low GI products. It is not a temporary diet, but a permanent one, changing eating habits forever. It allows not only to lose weight, but also to improve overall health. There is no quantitative limitation of consumed food, and thus calories, and the emphasis is on the quality of consumed products, starting from the degree of their processing, and ending with pre-treatment and thermal processing.
The Montignac method consists of two phases. The first one lasts from one to several months and involves giving up products that are the source of high GI. You can eat as much as you need to satisfy your hunger. There should be three meals a day, with no snacks in between. The premise of the first phase is to gradually wean the body from its sweet taste. Fruit, with the exception of bananas, can be a salvation for lovers of sweets. It is also forbidden to consume alcohol in any form during this phase. It is enough to pay attention to the high glycemic index of e.g. beer (110!). Compliance with all recommendations in the first week may result in weight loss by up to 2 kg.
The second phase is called weight stabilization. The eating habits of the first phase should take root permanently. By supplying the body with less carbohydrates, we force it to produce glucose from its fat reserves. The result is weight loss. The second phase is, in a way, an extension of the previous one, with the difference that there are some deviations from the original rules – you can afford a glass of dry white wine or champagne. Also, “a little something” in the form of sweet temptation will not be a sin. It is worth remembering, however, that these exceptions should occur sporadically and in small numbers. If it is difficult to control your cravings at the sight of a sweet snack, it is better to satisfy your appetite with much more fruit – fresh or dried. When you feel like eating forbidden products that contain “bad carbohydrates”, you should learn how to skillfully incorporate them into meals with increased amounts of fiber.
South Beach, or moderation
The South Beach diet (southern beaches) was composed by an American cardiologist, Dr. Arthur Agaton. As with Montignac, it is difficult to talk about a diet in this case, because it is in fact a constant change in eating habits. This diet does not limit the quantitative consumption of food, it is based on the elimination of high GI products, saturated fatty acids and minimizing animal proteins from the menu. All these changes contribute to the improvement of health and permanent weight loss.
There are three phases in this diet. In the first one (about 2 weeks), the greatest discipline is required, but the effects can also be stunning. You can lose up to 6 kg. The basis of this phase are vegetables and lean meats, but no dairy products. For this reason, calcium supplementation is recommended. The second phase is less restrictive and includes products that have been banned so far, such as fruit. There is no strict time limit for the third phase, you enter it individually when you are ready for it. What does it mean? The ability to independently compose meals in accordance with the previous rules. In this last phase, you can consume “everything” under two conditions – firstly reasonableness, secondly – moderation.
For and against
By switching to diets based on the glycemic index, the body provides the body with a much greater amount of dietary fiber, which reduces appetite, lowers the level of cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood. The dose of vitamins and minerals is also automatically increased, especially B vitamins. This is due not only to the consumed products, but also to the heat treatment technique.
By following diets based on the glycemic index, you do not feel hungry because there are no quantitative food restrictions. Well-being improves not only because episodes of hypo- and hyperglycaemia are absent, but also by supplying the body with a full range of vitamins and minerals. Problems with the digestive tract (flatulence, heartburn, constipation, diarrhea) are also forgotten, because we absorb larger amounts of fiber.
And the disadvantages? First of all, it’s the difficulty of calculating the GI of each product, learning to skillfully select foods, and composing meal sets. However, it is enough to use the help of a dietitian, listen to his recommendations and follow the menu specified by him. Three meals a day can be considered a minus, with no snacking in between. Those who cannot cope with it can modify their diet up to four meals a day.
Some people who love sweet taste may find it difficult to persevere, and even if they do, after a period of abstinence they will even start sweets. Effect? Stress, remorse and worst of all – going back to the beginning of the diet. In order to persevere in weaning off sweet snacks, it is worth looking for healthy substitutes, limiting them, of course, to a minimum.
| 10000115 | Type of products | 0000114 | We can eat it often (low GI) | 0000114 | This we can eat from time to time (average GI) | 0000114 | Don’t eat it (high GI) |
| 10000115 | Granular products | wholemeal bread, pumpernickel bread, groats, pasta: wholemeal flour, soybean, traditional “al dente”, brown, brown rice | bread with grains, oatmeal, semolina, buckwheat, couscous | French bread, white wheat bread, white flour rolls, confectionery bread, corn flakes | |||
| 10000115 | Milk products | 0,5% milk, low-fat yogurt, lean white cheese | blue cheese | ||||
| 10000115 | Fruits | apples, oranges, grapefruits, strawberries, cherries, peaches, pears, plums, apricots and prunes | pineapples, ripe bananas, fruit in syrup, apricots, kiwi, grapes, melons | watermelon, dates, bananas | |||
| 10000115 | Juices | pineapple, grapefruit, tomato (no sugar) | all sweetened | ||||
| 10000115 | Vegetables | boiled peas, raw carrot, cooked white beans, boiled lentils, soybeans, tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, kohlrabi, chicory, lettuce | boiled beets, sweet corn, boiled potatoes, boiled carrots, canned green peas | broad beans, baked potatoes, fries, potatoes cooked in a microwave oven, potatoes cooked in “T-shirts” | |||
| 10000115 | Sweets and snacks | unsalted nuts and peanuts, pumpkin and sunflower seeds | biscuits, shortbread cookies, muesli bar with dried fruit, corn crisps, wafers, ice cream, raisins, sugar, cakes, cookies, crackers, sticks | raisins, chips, milk chocolate coated wafers |
Low IG
AND BREAKFAST
Fresh fruit juice, wholemeal bread with grains, wholemeal, butter, seasonal vegetables (tomato, cucumber, pepper, radish), hard-boiled egg.
II BREAKFAST
Natural yoghurt with nuts, almonds, dried fruit, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, bran, seasonal fruit, wholemeal bread, wholemeal or crisp bread, minimal amount of butter, lean sausage (preferably home-baked) or its dry, seasonal varieties vegetables.
LUNCH
Fish baked in foil, natural rice, olive oil, sauerkraut, carrot and apple salad, green peas and raw vegetables cream.
TEA
Seasonal fruit.
DINNER
Salad based on fresh vegetables and sprouts, with the addition of olive oil, green tea without sugar.
High IG
AND BREAKFAST
Sweetened juice or nectar, white bread, sweet rolls, hard margarine, scrambled eggs with bacon or a hard-boiled egg with mayonnaise.
II BREAKFAST
Fruit yoghurts or fruit cheeses, white bread, sweet rolls, hard margarine, fatty types of meats (pork or mixed meat, such as pâtés and sausages).
LUNCH
Fried fried fish, rice cleaned in foil, refined oils, cooked carrots with peas, seasoned with flour, soup made of fatty meat, with cream and thickened with flour, with the addition of white flour bread.
TEA
Sweet snacks.
DINNER
Sandwiches with white bread spread with margarine, with cold cuts and cheese, black or other tea with sugar.
Text: Izabela Wołodkiewicz, dietitian, Center for Medical Diagnostics and Hematology “BIOS” in Warsaw
Source: Let’s live longer