Saul Katz: Low Glycemic for Life!

LOW GI MAY REDUCE RISK FOR CHILDREN DEVELOPING TYPE 2 DIABETES AND COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT

Parents take heed!  A new study from Sweden offers more compelling reasons why it is important to engage your children in a low GI diet and lifestyle to stabilize blood sugar levels.

Controlling blood sugar early on may help cognitive function and prevent type 2 diabetes according to a Swedish study reported in the medical journal Diabetes Care.

Researchers in Sweden found that impaired cognitive function at age 11 may be associated with an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life. Scientists already knew that type 2 diabetes is associated with decreased cognitive function in adults, particularly among elderly people. But what comes first, diabetes or impaired cognitive ability and what is the cause?

A team of scientists led by Dr. Gunilla M. Olsson, of Uppsala University, Sweden, analyzed the general ability and reading comprehension at age 11 years of some 9000 members of a 1958 UK birth cohort in relation to a subsequent diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. The subjects who developed diabetes by age 42 had significantly lower assessment scores at age 11, the investigators found.

The results of this study give rise to several explanations. "It is possible that cognitive deficits present in childhood influence lifestyle factors that increase the risk of type 2 diabetes," according to Olsson.  Another possibility is that poorly controlled blood glucose levels "may influence both cognitive development and the risk of type 2 diabetes."

These finding reinforce what we already know as responsible parents - it is important to keep your child’s blood sugar in the normal range. This does not mean cutting out all foods that are high in sugar, carbohydrates or high GI fruit and vegetables.  A good rule of thumb is to offer your children, nutrient-dense foods that help to keep blood sugar levels stable and avoid carb-containing foods that are digested too quickly, spike blood sugar and deliver empty calories.

Low Glycemic Index (GI) and Low Glycemic Load (GL) foods have been proven in studies to be beneficial: dieting; weight loss; obesity; diabetes; balancing blood sugar; sustained energy; sport nutrition; mental performance; acne; eye health; macular degeneration; heart disease and forms of cancer. See also Low GI Diet, Low GI Recipes, Low GI Food, Low GI Eating.

Copyright 2008, Saul Katz

HIGH-GI DIETS LINKED TO DIABETES, HEART DISEASE AND CANCER

A major international study has conclusively established that eating high GI foods such as white bread and breakfast cereals (foods that are quickly converted by the body into blood sugar) leads to a higher risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, gall stones and some cancers.

In the world’s first study of its kind, researchers at the University of Sydney analyzed the diets of nearly two million healthy individuals worldwide in a comprehensive analysis of 37 key studies.

Alan Barclay PhD, dietitian and study author stated that because GI ranks carbohydrates according to their effect on blood glucose levels, he was not surprised to a find a link between a high GI diet and diabetes. But he was surprised by the strong relationship between high GI and other diseases.

"If you have constantly high blood glucose and insulin levels due to a high-GI diet, you may literally wear out your pancreas over time," he said. "Eventually it may lead to type 2 diabetes.” Barclay also observed that there is good evidence from studies that high-GI diets are linked to cancer as well, because constant spikes in blood glucose, that cause the body to release more insulin, also increase a related substance called insulin-like growth factor one, or IGF-1.  He said, "Both these hormones increase cell growth and decrease cell death, and have been shown to increase the risk of developing cancer."

Mr. Barclay said other research suggested that a high-GI diet tended to reduce HDL or "good" cholesterol, while raising triglycerides which were bad for cardiovascular health. People with low HDL and high triglycerides were more prone to gall stones.  According to Barclay, “The key message from this study is that the GI of your diet is a powerful predictor of disease risk.”

Until now, detractors of GI have pointed to a lack of long term and broad based low GI population studies which created confusion and controversy over the use of GI for disease risk reduction. This pivotal study now arms health professionals with the broad based statistical evidence they require to confidently recommend GI-based dietary modifications for individuals with a familial predisposition to these disease states. The study, reported in the latest edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, adds to the growing body of condition-specific studies which evidence that a low GI diet is also beneficial for insulin resistance, macular degeneration, acne, mental acuity, sustained energy and weight management.

Low Glycemic Index (GI) and Low Glycemic Load (GL) foods have been proven in studies to be beneficial: dieting; weight loss; obesity; diabetes; balancing blood sugar; sustained energy; sport nutrition; mental performance; acne; eye health; macular degeneration; heart disease and forms of cancer. See also Low GI Diet, Low GI Recipes, Low GI Food, Low GI Eating.

Copyright 2008, Saul Katz

NUTS TO DIABETES – NEW STUDY SHOWS

I bet you didn’t know that the peanut (GI 14) is a legume not a nut, or that eating legumes can reduce your risk of developing diabetes by half. Whether you eat legumes as snacks or add them to meals, you reduce the overall GI of your diet because your body digests them slowly. This is primarily because their starch breaks down relatively slowly (or incompletely) during cooking and they contain tannins and enzyme inhibitors that also slow digestion.

In a recent study, researchers found that Chinese women who ate legumes reduced their risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Women with a high intake of legumes reduced their risk by 38%, while those with a high intake specifically of soybeans (GI 14) nearly halved their risk - reducing it by 47%. The study was conducted by researchers from Vanderbilt University Medical Centre and the Shanghai Cancer Institute (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition January 2008).

Evaluating dietary intakes, researchers followed 64,227 middle-aged Chinese women with no history of type 2 diabetes, cancer or cardiovascular disease at the beginning of the study. Other than soy milk, there was no relationship between diabetes risk and eating soy foods and soy protein such as tofu and tempeh.

Legumes, also known as pulses, are the edible seeds found inside the mature pods of leguminous plants such as beans, chickpeas, lentils and peanuts. Whether you buy legumes dried, or opt for canned convenience, you are choosing one of nature’s lowest GI foods. They are high in fibre and packed with nutrients, providing protein, carbohydrate, B vitamins, folate and minerals.

Our bodies are designed to optimally consume slow-release (low GI) sources of carbohydrate such as legumes which our ancestors gathered for their energy needs.  Adding or substituting legumes into your diet is an easy and simple way to manage your energy needs and reduce your risk of developing diabetes and heart disease.

Low Glycemic Index (GI) and Low Glycemic Load (GL) foods have been proven in studies to be beneficial: dieting; weight loss; obesity; diabetes; balancing blood sugar; sustained energy; sport nutrition; mental performance; acne; eye health; macular degeneration; heart disease and forms of cancer. See also Low GI Diet, Low GI Recipes, Low GI Food, Low GI Eating.

Copyright 2008, Saul Katz

SURVIVAL OF THE FATTEST!

Why are we getting fatter and fatter, as a society?  In Nature’s infinite wisdom, survival of the fittest may have been in fact survival of the fattest. No wonder we are in the midst of a growing obesity epidemic.

We are the product of our genetic inheritance.  The obesity epidemic is in large part driven by similar mechanisms that ensured the survival of our Paleolithic hunter-gatherer ancestors some 40,000 years ago. Those of us who are predisposed to fat storage and weight gain may possess a special gene that promotes cravings and fat storage. Selective breeding over the millennia ensured the survival of those individuals (2/3's of Americans) which carry that special frugal gene which helped our ancestors make it through periods of drought and food scarcity.

Today however, this same mechanism is compromising our health as food is in abundance year round - and we don’t burn many calories driving to the grocery store.  I remember my wife Genoa attending a speaking engagement I had in Seattle for Mannatech (a leading nutracetical company). She wasn’t feeling well until we go to the Mall, when she proclaimed “I FEEL ALIVE!” No wonder; what a great place to hunt and gather.    

This theory is supported by a new study that suggests genetic and heritability may account for 77% of obesity, while environmental factors make up less than 25% according. Researchers at the University College London (UCL) reported after studying 5,092 twin pairs of children, that although contemporary environments have made today’s children fatter than 20 years ago, the primary explanation for variations within the population, then and now, is genetic differences between individual children (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, February 2008, Volume 87, No2).

Coomenting on the study, Dr. David Ludwig* of Harvard Medical School stated: “The bottom line is we can’t change our genes, but we can change our environment where we and our kids spend much of our time. ‘Protecting the home environment’ is in fact the primary parenting practice we recommend in our 9-week family weight loss program here at the Children’s Hospital Boston.”

Clearing your home of high GI snacks and replacing them with fresh fruit and vegetables is a good start on changing your home environment. If on-the-go garb and give your kids a nutritionally balanced Low GI nutrition bar.  Dr. Ludwig is lead investigator of a new study that uses SoLo Gi® Nutrition Bars in a Low GI diet to prevent maternal gestational diabetes and a disposition to infant obesity and diabetes early in life.

*David Ludwig, M.D., Ph.D. Endocrinologist at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Optimal Weight for Life Program, Children’s Hospital Boston. Author of Ending the Food Fight, Guide Your Child to a Healthy Weight in a Fast Food / Fake Food World (2007) “Dr. Ludwig pioneered the use of a Low Glycemic Diet in Combating Obesity.”

Low Glycemic Index (GI) and Low Glycemic Load (GL) foods have been proven in studies to be beneficial: dieting; weight loss; obesity; diabetes; balancing blood sugar; sustained energy; sport nutrition; mental performance; acne; eye health; macular degeneration; heart disease and forms of cancer. See also Low GI Diet, Low GI Recipes, Low GI Food, Low GI Eating.

Copyright 2008, Saul Katz