Healthy Carbohydrate Choices.
Carbohydrate choices are important to accommodate our bodies. When food is processed, it produces chemicals called advanced glycation end products (AGEs). The word sounds scary, but AGEs contribute to the aging process.
The best way to avoid this is by choosing healthy carbohydrate choices, meaning complex carbohydrates that have less of a chance of causing an AGE reaction in the body. These include vegetables, whole grains like whole wheat pasta and brown rice, beans, fruits and berries , and nuts.
Avoid processed carbs that are simple and have a high glycemic index, like processed white flour products, sugary foods and drinks, pastries, pasta dishes made with refined wheat or white flour, french fries, and desserts. Know which of your favourite foods have a high glycemic index rating . A food’s glycemic index is measured on a scale from 0-100. High GI ratings over 70 are associated with increased risk of high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes.
How glycemic index affects health and fitness is that a high glycemic index food will take longer to digest, causing an insulin spike in the body. The insulin spike causes a number of negative effects.
Firstly, it lowers levels of HDL (good) cholesterol by 35% and increases LDL (bad) cholesterol by 15%.
Secondly, it raises levels of triglycerides in the blood. Elevated triglyceride levels are associated with increased risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer and other diseases.
Thirdly, the insulin spike can cause blood sugar to become too high and lead to the body having a lower amount of energy.
Not only does it affect the health of our bodies, but a high glycemic index diet can be potentially damaging to our cardiovascular system; this is because a high glycemic diet increases blood pressure. Also, a higher glycemic index diet will have us put on weight when we are not actively exercising or trying to lose weight.
The glycemic index is really an average of your body and the food you are eating. So if you are consuming carbs from a healthy food source (good complex carbs), then the impact on blood sugar will be on average healthier.
