Dieting for your Good Health - Ten Simple Rules

The advent of low-fat dieting has not seen a decrease in the problem of obesity or the associated health problems. The problem with low-fat dieting is simply that many low-fat foods are high-glycaemic, and high-glycaemic food can cause the body to produce excess triglycerides, a blood fat that makes up the majority of each cholesterol molecule.

Many scientists believe that the healthiest way to nourish your body is by eating a low-glycaemic diet.

“Eating a food that drives your blood sugar above normal causes you to secrete insulin to normalise it. When the insulin spikes, the mechanism by which food is converted to energy is shut off, and then most or all of what you have eaten is turned to fat.” Here are ten simple rules to help you follow a low-glycaemic food plan. These concise rules will make eating very simple and easy to remember.

1. Whenever possible, eat raw and natural foods. For example, raw Carrots have a low-glycaemic index of 35 and are safe and natural. Cooked carrots have a higher glycaemic rating of 65. Most vegetables in their raw state have a low glycaemic index.

2. Eat foods that are harder to digest. Hard to digest food is usually lower-glycaemic and takes longer to convert to sugars. This longer process minimises insulin reactions, so that you can maximise your conversion of food to energy and minimise the amount of food converting to fat. For example, cooked carrots are very easy to digest, which is another reason why their index is much higher than raw carrots.

3.Eat foods that are high in fibre. Fibre ranges from hard to digest to impossible to digest. Impossible to digest is actually good for humans. It not only helps with a feeling of fullness, but also helps to clean our colons, something that is essential for good health. The higher the fibre, typically the more absorbent it is for fats. The slower the digestive process is for a specific food, generally the lower the glycaemic index will be for that food. A good example is bread. Highly refined white bread’s fibre is so broken down and easy to digest that it is virtually useless for colon health.

If you eat bread, make sure it is whole grain and as close to the natural state of grain as possible. Depending on the grain and seeds in the bread, it will be at the low end of the glycaemic scale.

4. Do not use artificial sweeteners. There is preliminary evidence that artificial sweeteners may in fact slow the fat-burning process by confusing the normal chemical signals to the brain. These signals are normally associated with sweet tastes. There is also an increasing body of evidence that indicates some artificial sweeteners may have harmful effects on the human body.

5. Do not eat fried foods. Fried foods stress the pancreas, which is never advisable regardless of your health or weight management goals. One of the many benefits of low-glycaemic eating is keeping the pancreas healthy.

6. Avoid white foods. Of course there are exceptions to every rule, but, in general, white foods tend to be high-glycaemic. White potatoes are the highest (85-98) on the glycaemic index. They are a starchy complex, and those starches convert to glucose rapidly. Additionally, they are very easy to digest and contain very little fibre.

7. Be sure to drink enough water. Water is absolutely vital to the efficient functioning of our bodies. Approximately 50% of the female body is made up of water and 60% of the male body. It is impossible to maintain a proper hormonal balance without it and water is extremely important in weight management and for fat transfer.

Having said that we must drink lots of water, the quality of the water we drink is also vitally important.

Don’t worry that you seem to be ‘weighing heavy’ from all this water. The extra water-weight can sometimes be misleading as you monitor your progress. Check how your clothes are fitting and use the tape measure instead of the scales to get a true picture of your progress. Just keep in mind that you cannot expect long-term success on any program without proper hydration.

8. Don’t skip meals. You must keep your blood sugar balanced and if you are skipping meals, your body will perceive a state of starvation and reduce the rate of converting your stored fat. You may save a few kilojoules but this will eventually backfire and defeat the purpose. Snacking will help keep your blood sugar balanced, which in turn, will control your appetite - just be sure you are snacking on the right foods.

Fresh fruits or vegetables that are low-glycaemic, such as peaches or celery, would be the ideal snack. But as this isn’t always convenient, a practical (and tasty!) alternative would be to snack on natural almonds in their natural state between meals. This should help the average person to maintain a reasonable level of blood sugar.

9. Do not mix fad diet principles with low-glycaemic eating. Some fad diets give quick, temporary results that make for good marketing but result in bad health over the long term. The GlycoLEAN Body System is designed as a system to support you for life. Unless you have found a system that is working for you (and, if that is the case you probably won’t be reading this report) ignore all the media hype, and focus on just one system that is proven to work longterm.

10. Be committed to a healthy life. This last rule on the list is vitally important. Unless you are prepared to make a commitment to your health, don’t start on this complete system based around the glycaemic-index. The GlycoLEAN Body System is designed to support good health, not just fat loss. It is a system you should adopt for life - not just until you can fit into a particular item of clothing. In order to have a healthy and fit body, we may need to take a good look at our lifestyle and habits and make changes where necessary.