New Glucose Revolution

In this book Miller, Foster-Powell, and Leeds explore the dangers of out-of-control blood sugar.

The major point of this book is that high levels of glucose are very dangerous. Glucose increases the production of free radicals, which are highly reactive, charged molecules that inflict harm on everything close by. In particular, they cause inflammation of the cells lining blood vessels... hello atherosclerosis and other inflammatory diseases.

Six years ago when I was studying gerontology I was taught that the hardening of the arteries was a natural and inevitable part of the aging process. These authors believe quite the contrary... by stopping the abuse, you halt (or significantly limit) the hardening and limit the inflammation.

The heart of this book is to control your blood sugar by selecting foods that have a slow burn and don't spike your blood sugar. Foods that take longer to digest tend to generate a slow rise in blood sugar rather than sharp spikes.

Insulin resistance is caused by the long term abuse of the pancreas... abuse in the form of roller coaster blood sugar. These researchers have found that insulin resistance can be better managed by following the low GI diet.

Exercise is the ticket back to healthy living! Benefits are well know.. how much... well, 30 minutes 5-6 days a week. Overall this is raise the metabolic rate so that you will even burn fat while you sleep. Exercise turns on the fat burning capabilities of the body.

Okay, let's look at the shockers... the foods you thought were healthy for you in endless quantities that may actually spike your sugars (anything with an index over 70) or have a negative affect resulting from fat:

• Cottage cheese (even the 2% variety)
• Cream of wheat
• Granola
• Grits
• Quick cook oatmeal
• Bagels
• Cantaloupe
• Raisins
• White instant rice
• Dried fruit
• Mashed or baked potatoes
• Cous cous
• Corn bread
• Flour tortillas

Based on The China Study, we should be limiting our intake of most of these items anyway... as they are refined non-whole foods. However it surprised me to see melon and raisins on the list.

The take-away I got from reading this book.. which was actually one of the first books I studied after finding out that my dad had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes... is that whole foods that are high in fiber are really the best.

Opt for whole wheat or whole grains whenever possible. Eat brown rice, not white rice if given the choice. Focus on the fresh vegetables... other than russet potatoes, they are all great!