Keeping Fit is A Daily Battle

I read that the glycemic index is overrated and that what we should really be paying attention to is glycemic load. What’s the difference?

The glycemic index is overrated. You should be paying attention to glycemic load. There’s a big difference. Here’s the scoop:

Glycemic index is a way of measuring the impact a given amount of carbohydrate has on your blood sugar, something you definitely want to know. But to do a fair comparison, they have to use a fixed amount. In the case of the glycemic index, it’s a standard 50 grams of carbohydrate.

Problem is, very few carbohydrate foods in real life are 50-gram portions.

See, if you go to a store to buy spices and there’s a spice that’s $500 a pound, that sure sounds like a lot of money. But if you’re only buying a half-teaspoon of the stuff, it’s pretty irrelevant. You want to know what you’re going to pay at the register, not necessarily what you’d pay if you bought a pound.

Similarly, you really don’t care what the impact of 50 grams is on your blood sugar; you care what the impact of the amount you’re actually eating is.

Glycemic load is a more sophisticated formula that takes into account the actual grams of carbs you’re eating — the portion size. The glycemic index of carrots is high, leading a lot of people to think you should never eat carrots, which is a dumb conclusion. Fact is, the average carrot has 3 grams of carbs. You’d have to eat like a giant rabbit to have a significant impact on your blood sugar.
The glycemic load of a carrot, on the other hand, is only 3, making it an extremely low-glycemic food — unless you’re drinking pure carrot juice or eating 13 carrots at a sitting.

Pasta, on the other hand, has a moderate glycemic index, but is almost never eaten in 50-gram portions. Factor in the portion size at a typical Olive Garden and your blood sugar will be on the roof, and stay there for a week. Not surprisingly, the glycemic load of pasta is very high.

The technical formula for glycemic load is GI (glycemic index), multiplied by the number of grams of carbohydrates in the portion, then divided by 100. Low glycemic load is between 1 and 10, medium is between 10 and 20, and anything over 20 is very high.

That said, remember that both glycemic index and glycemic load only refer to the food eaten alone. Add some fat or protein and the total impact goes down. And plenty of high-glycemic foods are good for you (say, carrot juice) while plenty of low-glycemic foods (fried donut holes) are not.

So take glycemic load into account, but don’t be a slave to it. It’s just one measurement to consider when planning a diet.

Incidentally, athletes in training actually can benefit from high-glycemic foods, especially when they’re training twice a day. Mrs. Smith with Metabolic Syndrome… not so much!

Metabolism

Metabolism is the amount of energy (calories) our body burns to maintain itself. It is essentially the speed at which our body’s motor is running. The speed at which our body burns calories is called the metabolic rate.

The metabolism is based on the number of calories we burn throughout the day. Our body constantly burns calories to keep us going whether we are eating, sleeping, cleaning etc.
Once the daily business of breathing, eating, moving and other activities are met, any unused or surplus calories get stored, mostly in the form of fat. This means that if you take in more calories than you use, you will gain weight.

People with a lower percentage of body fat (i.e. muscular) have a higher metabolism than others that are less muscular because muscle uses more calories to maintain itself than fat.
Some people have a slower metabolic rate and have a harder time staying slim. A slow metabolism actually causes to store fat. The slower the metabolic rate, the greater the weight gains.

Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)

Your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is what your body needs at rest to maintain normal bodily functions like beating of our heart, respiration, and the maintenance of body temperature at a thermostatic setting just under 100 deg, etc. All these mechanical and thermometric functions require a base level of energy. About 60-75% of energy is expended by the body at rest in such activities.

You use another 10% of calories to digest and metabolize food. 1-3 hours after meal, the nutrients in your bloodstream and the food your stomach and intestines produce heat in a process called the thermic effect of food. The amount of calories you burn varies with the type of food you eat. You burn more calories to breakdown a steak than a banana and very few calories are expanded in breaking down simple sugars.

The resting metabolism depends on age, physical condition, the amount of fat and muscle in your body. You had a very high metabolism at your birth. At mid thirties, metabolism slows by 3 to 5 % per decade. By age 55, you require 150 fewer calories per day than in your mid thirties. For that reason, you should cut back on calories or increase your activity level to burn more calories, otherwise you will store additional fat in your body resulting in increased weight.

The metabolic rate depends on sex, age, and amount of muscle. Younger persons have higher (faster) metabolism because of the increased activity of cells. Men generally have a 10-15% faster BMR than women because male body has greater percentage of lean muscle tissues.

Exercise can increase your BMR

Basal Metabolic Rate can be calculated by the following formula of the World Health Organization. BMR for Female = [ 655+(9.6 x Weight in kilogram) + (1.7 x Height in centimeter) – (4.7 x Age) ] Male = [ 66+(13.7 x Weight in kilogram) + (5 x Height in centimeter) – (6.8 x Age) ]

Causes for Low Metabolism

· Fasting
· A low calorie diet
· Snacking throughout the day on high sugared foods (candy, colas, cakes, gum).
· Eating or drinking too much sugar containing foods.
· Lack of physical activity.
· Under active thyroid.

How to Increase (speed up) Metabolism

· To boost metabolism, do not skip any meals. Eat 5-6 small meals during the day. Starving will slow down your metabolism.
· Exercise daily
· Build your muscles. Do you Know: 1 pound of fat burns only 2 calories a day while 1 pound of muscle burns 50 calories a day !!! The more muscle you build, the faster your metabolism will be, and the more calories you will burn while at rest. When muscle mass decreases, the metabolic rate also drops.
· Avoid alcohol, sugar, and fastings
· Drink 8-10 glasses of water daily.
· Eat foods with high nutrition values
Take apple cider vinegar+honey+garlic. It is good for increasing metabolism.

Metabolism Boosters

Some of the tips for increasing or speeding boosters are given below:
Natural metabolism boosters: Chilli (chili), Mustard, Green Tea, Water, dietary fibers, foods that are complex carbohydrates and proteins.
Note that foods can increase your metabolism only marginally. Only the lifestyle changes can make a dramatic effect on metabolism.
Some over the counter pills for speeding up the metabolism are available that contain animal thyroid. You should not take these products as these may have side effects as diarrhea, increased heart rate, excessive sweating, nervousness, tremors, bulging eyes, etc
Be physically active. In an activity like walking, bowling, dancing or playing golf, the energy you expand is greater if you have more weight to move around. A 140 pound man who walks 3 miles in an hour burns 220 calories as compared to a person of 110 pound, who burns only 180 cal going the same pace.