Carbohydrates and the Low Carbohydrate Diet : Part 2
Part : 1
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For your low carbohydrate diet ("low carb diet")
to be a success, it’s absolutely critical that you understand carbohydrates
("carbs") and their roles, how to select the right kind of
carbohydrates and the carbs to avoid, and several low carbohydrate diet
techniques that can help you achieve excellent results. In addition
to this helpful article on low carbohydrate diets, be sure to take our
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on your very own customized low carbohydrate diet program. As a special
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There are all sorts of low carbohydrate diet plans out
there that can help you lose weight (not necessarily fat), but they
are so miserable that it's impossible to stay on them very long - even
more difficult is keeping the results you achieved before going off
the low carbohydrate diet program. We wanted to create a low carb plan
that was both VERY effective and a pleasure to implement all along the
way. The GHF Customized Diet Plan is just that! Click
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The GI was originally used as a low carbohydrate diet
tool to help diabetics keep their blood sugar under control. This is
important because people with diabetes who control their blood sugar
levels are considered less likely to develop complications related to
the disease.
The GI has recently attracted a lot of attention in the
bodybuilding, fitness, and low carbohydrate diet world. Many popular
low carbohydrate diets base their entire program on the index as their
primary criteria for choosing carbohydrates. According to advocates
of the GI system, foods that are high on the scale such as rice cakes,
carrots, potatoes, or grape juice are "unfavorable" and should
be avoided because they are absorbed so rapidly and are therefore more
likely to convert to fat. Instead, you are urged to consume carbohydrates
that are low on the GI such as black-eyed peas, oatmeal, peanuts, apples,
and beans.
Foods with a high GI increase insulin output more than
those with a lower GI. Because high levels of insulin are associated
with increased fat storage and suppressed fat burning on a low carbohydrate
diet, it is hypothesized that eating high GI foods can make you fatter
than eating low GI foods. Low GI foods are thought to reduce fat storage
because they cause slower release of sugar into the bloodstream and
therefore less insulin production.
While the GI should be given consideration in your carbohydrate
choices when on a low carbohydrate diet, it's not a good idea to make
it your only criteria for choosing carbs. The mistake in strictly adhering
to the GI to dictate all your carb choices is that the index is based
on carbohydrates being eaten by themselves in a fasting state.
An effective fat-burning, muscle-preserving/building low
carbohydrate diet is always based on combining carbs and protein together.
When carbs are eaten in mixed meals that contain protein and small amounts
of fat, the glycemic index loses its significance, because the protein
and fat slow the absorption of the carbohydrates. For example, mashed
potatoes have a GI that is near that of pure glucose, but if you combine
the potatoes with a chicken breast and vegetables, the GI of the entire
meal is much lower than the potato by itself. Rice cakes also have a
high GI. But if you spread a little peanut butter on them, the fat slows
the absorption of the carbs, thereby lowering the GI of the combination.
A fat-burning, muscle-preserving/building low carbohydrate
diet should be also based on eating small frequent meals that are spaced
out 2.5-3 hours apart. This also lowers the significance of the GI because
on such an eating schedule, you are never eating in a truly fasted state,
except for breakfast.
Probably the most important and relevant criteria for selecting
carbs when on a low carbohydrate diet are whether they are natural or
processed. To avoid natural foods like potatoes simply because they
are high on the GI is unwarranted. Potatoes, for example, are an outstanding
source of starchy complex carbs and contain protein as well.
Cooked exactly as it is found in nature, an 8-oz. potato
has only 170 calories and almost no fat; it is loaded with essential
nutrients and it is satisfying to eat. Compare that to 8-oz. of processed
carbs such as white pasta, which has 840 calories. Which do you think
is the better choice when you're on a low carbohydrate diet and you
want to control body fat? If you said the potato, you're right!
If a food is all natural, if it is starchy rather than
sugary, and if you are eating it as a part of a mixed meal (with a complete
protein and a little unsaturated fat) every 2-3 hours, then you shouldn't
worry if the food is high on the glycemic index.
When on a low carbohydrate diet, choose your carbs based
on whether they are natural or processed. As mentioned directly above,
the most important distinction you can make about carbohydrates is not
the GI; rather, it is the difference between natural and processed carbs.
The foundation of The GHF Customized Diet Plan, a VERY effective low
carbohydrate diet, is based upon choosing foods that are all natural
and
unrefined. The "acid-test" for whether a carbohydrate is natural
and unrefined is to ask, "Did this food come out of the ground
this way?" If the answer is yes, then it's a natural, unrefined
food. Broadly speaking, processed carbohydrates include all white sugar
and white flour products, such as bread and pasta.
In the processing of a whole grain into white flour, the
carbohydrates are converted from a complex carb to of a more simple
carbohydrate. The milling of the grains in essence causes them to lose
their complexity while at the same time increasing their caloric density.
In fact, one cup of regular flour contains 400 calories. One cup of
high-gluten flour, which is used to make bagels, contains more than
500 calories! White flour is a simple carbohydrate that is processed
in the body much like sugar. Most white-flour products are also lower
in nutritional value.
If you want the best results from your low carbohydrate
diet, you would be wise to avoid processed carbs including white sugar
and nearly all products made from white flour including baked goods,
bread, crackers, pretzels, pasta, bagels, and so on. Switch mostly to
natural, unprocessed carbs like vegetables, oatmeal, yams, brown rice,
potatoes, beans, lentils, etc.
You could probably consume small amounts of sugar
and refined carbs and still lose weight on your low carbohydrate diet
as long as you continued to burn more calories than you took in each
day. But the high calorie density isn't the only reason to avoid processed
carbs. Refined carbohydrates provide little or no nutritional value.
You shouldn't just be concerned with the number of calories you eat
each day; you should also be concerned with the quality and nutritional
value of those calories. Your goal, and the foundation of The GHF Customized
Diet Plan (an extremely effective personalized low carbohydrate diet),
is to get the most nutritional value out of every calorie you consume.
Click
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literally a low carbohydrate diet blueprint for achieving the very best
results in the shortest period of time by eating the perfect foods combined
at the right times in the right amounts - all customized specifically
for you. And don’t forget, click here to take our FREE
Fitness
Analysis
for a free sample low carbohydrate diet plan and for the book, Big Fat
lies!
This article was provided by GHF.
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