Can A High Carb Diet Make You Fat?

Can A Low Glycemic Diet Help?

The conventional wisdom about carbs and weight for some time has been that to be healthy and slim we must be on a low fat and high carbohydrate weight loss plan. However, with obesity levels increasing and an alarming increase of diabetes, it seems that this approach has not worked. It may be that the high carbohydrate diet may well be one of the reason why more and more people are becoming overweight.

Carbohydrates and Weight Gain

To better understand this issue, first you should know that there are three kinds of nutrients - carbohydrates, fats and proteins.

Fats and proteins are digested relatively slowly. Carbohydrates, on
the other hand, are digested and absorbed quickly, thereby releasing
a large amount of glucose into the bloodstream; the level and speed dependent on the foods consumed. This sudden rise in blood sugar triggers the release of insulin, a hormone whose function is to lower blood sugar levels. Insulin lowers blood sugar by removing it from the blood and storing it as body fat. This, however, can lead to feelings
of hunger, sleepiness or low energy. When that happens, many respond by consuming more carbohydrates, which the body eventually turns into more body fat, as explained earlier. This then becomes a continuous vicious cycle that is very likely to lead to overall weight gain. 

Carbohydrates are changed in the body to glucose. While some glucose in the blood is essential for energy and healthy functioning of the brain, eating meals that are high in carbohydrates can increase the blood glucose over the appropriate limit, leading to an insulin response. This response eventually converts the extra glucose in the system into body fat. But don't get me wrong and think that all carbohydrates are bad. There are some that does not have a lot to offer nutritionally. Then there are other carbohydrates that have a lot of fiber and nutrients essential for a healthy body. 

Can Low Glycemic Index Diet Help? 

The glycemic index measures and calculates a rank number for various foods in relationship to their impact on an individual's blood sugar level. A lower Glycemic Index diet plan can help reduce your weight by reducing your hunger pangs and also reducing the conversion of glucose to fat storage in your body. If you recall, it is the quick and sudden rise and fall of blood sugar that makes your body crave for more carbohydrates. If you can disrupt that cycle, many of your food cravings may well be reduced if not disappear.

Weight loss is all about achieving a better weight through making fundamental changes to your current lifestyle and food consumption habits. 

There is no one definitive way in using the glycemic index. The GI way of eating for weight loss is a guideline. Portion size are important. Also, the actual conversion to glucose and its level and speed can change by how individual foods are processed, cooked or in the case of fruits how ripe they are. 

Remember, not all high glycemic index foods are bad and not all low glycemic index foods are good. There are some high or medium glycemic index foods that are contain important and healthy nutrients, and there are some lower glycemic index foods that are low fiber with poor nutritional content. 

The challenge in a successful glycemic index way of eating is to be sensible and to balance and moderate the intake of higher glycemic foods as well as combine them with lower glycemic index foods so that the overall result is on the lower end of the scale.

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