High Glycemic, Low Glycemic, It's All Bad
I discovered The Heart Scan Blog via Dr. Eades. The author is Dr. William Davis, a Milwaukee cardiologist.
Here's an excerpt from a post he had on the mistaken notion that certain carbs (low glycemic ones like oatmeal or whole wheat something-or-other) are good for you:
There are several fundamental flaws with the notion that low-glycemic index foods are good for you:1) Check your blood sugar after a low-glycemic index food like oatmeal. Most non-diabetic adults will show blood sugars in the 140 to 200 mg/dl range. The more central (visceral) fat you have, the higher the value will be. In other words, an apparently "healthy" whole grain food like oatmeal can generate extravagantly high blood sugars. Repeated high blood sugars of 125 mg/dl or greater after eating increase heart disease risk by 50%.
2) Foods like whole wheat pasta have a low glycemic index because the blood sugar effect over the usual 90 minutes is increased to a lesser degree. The problem is that it remains increased for an extended period of up to several hours. In other words, the blood sugar-increasing effect of pasta, even whole grain, is long and sustained.
3) Low-glycemic index foods trigger other abnormalities, such as small LDL particles, triglycerides, and c-reactive protein (a measure of inflammation). While they are not as bad as high-glycemic index foods, they are still quite potent triggers.
Low-glycemic index foods trigger the very same responses as high-glycemic index foods--they're just less bad. But less bad does not equate to good. Low-glycemic index foods cause weight gain, trigger appetite, increase blood pressure, and lead to the patterns that cause heart disease.
High-glycemic index foods are bad for you. This includes foods made with white flour (bagels, white bread, pretzels). Low-glycemic foods (whole grain bread, whole wheat crackers, whole wheat pasta) are less bad for you--but they are not necessarily good.
Don't be falsely reassured by foods because they are billed as "low-glycemic index." View low-glycemic index foods as indulgences, something you might have once in a while, since a slice of whole grain bread is really not that different from a icing-covered cupcake.
Me? I eat dessert about once every week and a half. If I'm going to have something carb'y, it'll be that cupcake. Well, truthfully, I actually try to avoid eating flour even for dessert, however, and will try to have a gelato or pot au creme or something dairy and not flour'y.
Otherwise (tragically!), I maintain my slim physique and the blood pressure of an elite athlete the tough way: Yes, it's just bacon, bacon, bacon, eggs, steak, hamburger, cheese, cheese, salami, hot dogs, and lots of green vegetables drowned in butter.
Low-fat diet? Nuh-uh. Tastes like crap, and it's likely to kill you.
What, no fruit? Nope. Here's another excerpt from one of Davis' posts, "Diabetes from fruit":
While fruit is certainly better than, say, a half-cup of gummy bears (84.06 g carbohydrates, 50.12 g sugars), fruit is unavoidably high in carbohydrates and sugars.Take a look at the carbohydrate content of some common fruits:
Apple, 1 medium (2-3/4" dia)
19.06 g carbohydrate (14.34 g sugar)Banana, 1 medium (7" to 7-7/8" long)
26.95 g carbohydrate (14.43 g sugar)Grapes, 1 cup
27.33 g carbohydrate (23.37 g sugar)Pear, 1 medium
25.66 g carbohydrate (16.27 g sugar)Source: USDA Food and Nutrient Database
Fruit has many healthy components, of course, such as fiber, flavonoids, and vitamin C. But it also comes with plenty of sugar. This is especially true of modern fruit, the sort that has been cultivated, hybridized, fertilized, gassed, etc. for size and sugar content.
When you hear such conventional advice like "eat plenty of fruits and vegetables," you should hear instead: "eat plenty of vegetables. Eat a small quantity of fruit."
I eat none. I just feel too good from not eating carbs. And on the infrequent occasion I eat sugar, it's going to contain chocolate.
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