Losing Weight Starts With Knowing the Glycemic Index & Glycemic Load Of Foods

Losing weight in the summer and shaping up a beach-ready body can be an important goal. Dr. Al Sears, M.D. addressed summertime weight-loss in his article, “Summer Secret To Fat Loss”. As America’s #1 fitness physician, Dr. Sears explains the glycemic index and glycemic load values and shows how they can be a guide to achieve real weight loss and a bathing-suit proud body.

“You can cut calories and still gain weight. You can work out until you pass out and still have that spare tire. We don’t get fat because we eat too much. Hormones make you fat,” Dr. Sears said. “The hormone insulin is the number one fat builder. It tells your body to pack on the pounds. When you eat foods high on the Glycemic Index, you produce a storm of insulin. As a general rule, carbs are the foods highest on the GI.”

Different foods affect blood sugar levels in various ways. The Glycemic Index (GI) chart lists the values of how much the carbohydrates in foods will raise blood sugar. A food with a high GI raises blood sugar more than a food with a low GI. At the Dr. Sears Center for Health And Wellness the food tested with the highest GI is cornbread.

Blood sugar requires insulin to process it. Eventually the pancreas, the organ that makes insulin, gets tired and stops responding. This creates a condition called insulin resistance. Blood sugar that cannot be processed gets stored as fat.

“In my practice, I take the Glycemic Index one step further. The idea is to eat foods that do not spike your blood sugar and to also let your blood sugar come back down after eating because you don’t want your insulin to stay elevated for too long,” Dr. Sears explained. “This means eating foods with a low Glycemic Load (GL). The GL identifies how fattening a food is.”

To calculate the Glycemic Load multiply a food’s Glycemic Index rating by the total amount of carbohydrate in each serving you eat. Dr. Sears put these calculations on his Glycemic load chart.

“I consider foods with a Glycemic Load under 10 as the best choice. Foods that fall between 10 and 20 are not bad, but you should eat them with caution. Foods above 20 should be eaten sparingly. It’s a good idea to replace these foods with protein,” Dr. Sears said. “Low GI diets have been associated with a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, depression, and several cancers. Another benefit of eating foods with a low GL is that you’ll naturally lose fat and get a leaner, slimmer body that will make you proud to be in a bathing suit this summer.”

For more information about Dr. Al Sears MD or to read the whole article, please visit Dr. Sears' article, "Summer Secret to Fat Loss".