Another Diet Revolution Blown Out Of The Water
You’ve probably seen the books – where the words ‘revolutionary’, ‘new’, ‘glycemic’ and ‘index’ all appear in the same paragraph.
Let’s get something clear from the outset. The concept of the glycemic index is not new and it’s certainly stretching the definition of the word to say that it’s ‘revolutionary’.
All of the popular ‘low carb’ (not ‘no carb’) diets are, in essence, low glycemic index diets – meat-fish-chicken etc, combined with low energy-density carbohydrates, particularly vegetables and fruit.
It’s all about eating from the top of the Hourglass.
The Hourglass Diet standard has the low GI bar set at 30. The Glycemic Index Foundation has it set at 55, which means it gives the tick of approval to a lot of junk food.
There’s a lot of good food below the bar.
Much Ado About Nothing
Nearly 150 years ago, William Banting lost weight with a low glycemic index diet.
40 years ago, this was how Lelord Kordel structured his diet. Jean Nidetch (Weight Watchers), Robert Atkins, Barry Sears (Zone Diet), Bill Phillips (Body for Life), Michael and Mary Eades (Protein Power), the CSIRO and countless others have all done the same.
The science behind the GI concept appears to be founded on the selective evidence-based research that promotes the view that we exist better, are healthier and more likely to be close to our ideal weight if we eat a diet high in cereal based carbohydrates. That’s why the bar has been set so high. There’s plenty of research around to indicate that this view of the world is not the only one.
If it weren’t for adherence to the high cereal-based carbohydrate principle, the authors could have simply told people not to eat any of the refined, cereal based, manufactured junk food with a GI above 50, turned off the light, left the room, shut the door and gone home.
In the workshop of ideas about how to eat to
- maintain good health
- nourish the cells of your body
- maintain a normal level of body fat and
- fix up certain body system dysfunctions,
… the glycemic index, in its present form, standards, research base and application is yet another limp and useless nutritional tool. It’s a dead duck!
The GI books are full of menu suggestions encouraging people to eat junk. You’ll roll your eyes through to the back of your neck when you see that the recommended (junk) food for a day in the life of a diabetic includes
- breakfast of porridge with brown sugar, toast, orange juice and hot chocolate
- lunch of a sandwich on the run
- dinners of pasta, potato, pitta bread, a bread roll, chips, topped off with fruit cake and washed down with a glass of red wine,
- … all just big glucose dumps, the net result of which is exacerbating rather than diminishing the condition they’re supposed to alleviate.
Say no more.
