To Low Carb Purists – You Are Not Helping the Cause

[DreamStalker]

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I make up a batch of equal amounts garbanzo beans and black beans, with cucumber, and onions lightly dressed with a light olive oil vinaigrette, to store in the refrigerator and serve with dinner as an accompaniment to whatever we're having. It pretty much goes with anything and can be further dressed as desired. I probably eat about 1/2 cup or so of this a day.

I didn't realize this, DS, but serving this salad cold as I've been doing, may be providing even more benefit (resistant starch). See: http://www.montignac.com/en/the-factors ... c-indexes/

My dietary supplements now include: 1 dose Probiotics and 1 Tsp. of Benefiber, 4 tsps. of Konsyl Psyllium, 1/3 C of Rolled Oats, and 1/2 cup chilled mixed beans as additional fiber/prebiotics daily.

DreamStalker, how about trying my oatmeal mix and see if you get the same result I did (A satisfactory BG response)?

A basic recipe including 1/3 C oatmeal, 1 Tspn psyllium husk flour, 1 egg, a little coconut oil, 2/3 C liquid (water, almond milk, yogurt, milk, etc., or a combination), about 220 cal, 8 gr fiber, can be microwaved for two minutes or fried or baked, adjusting the liquid and fat as desired, raises my BG from 100 to 116 at +1 hr, 104 at + 2 hrs. Compared to over 140 for plain oatmeal. I assume the added ingredients change the glycemic index and load resulting in a more favorable BG response.*

Just put the oatmeal and fiber in a bowl, stir in the egg, add melted fat and liquid and microwave for two minutes. A little less liquid, and/or full fat yogurt makes a good batter for a pancake. Add vanilla, cinnamon, etc. to taste

*Addendum: A consultation with Dr Google indicates this is likely. The GI of foods in combination does not appear to be the simple average of the combined GI's. Other mechanisms seem to be at work. From my reading in general, combining protein, fat, or fiber with a carbohydrate appears likely to lower the effective GI of the carbohydrate, like butter on baked potato or mayo on potato salad. If so, it looks like I accidently hit the trifecta with my oatmeal recipe.

The glucose index is pretty useless and even the glucose load is somewhat misleading. In order to discover the true effect of food on your glucose levels, one needs to take post-prandial blood glucose readings every 10 to 15 minutes for about 2 hours after a meal. This allows for enough data to plot a curve of your body's glucose response to the meal. By integrating the area under the curve you get an idea of the actual effect of the glucose load.

So some things may create curve with a high peak that comes down quickly (plain baked potato) ...or a curve with a lower peak but with a broad base (bake potato with all the toppings) ... and yet the area under both curves may be the same thus requiring the same amount of insulin. And it is the amount of insulin that we need to control .... and less the peak value of the blood glucose. That's where additionally measuring blood ketones help understand what's going on even better .... because blood ketones cannot be produced by the liver unless insulin levels are low.

[Jay Aitchsee]

The glucose index is pretty useless and even the glucose load is somewhat misleading. In order to discover the true effect of food on your glucose levels, one needs to take post-prandial blood glucose readings every 10 to 15 minutes for about 2 hours after a meal. This allows for enough data to plot a curve of your body's glucose response to the meal. By integrating the area under the curve you get an idea of the actual effect of the glucose load.

So some things may create curve with a high peak that comes down quickly (plain baked potato) ...or a curve with a lower peak but with a broad base (bake potato with all the toppings) ... and yet the area under both curves may be the same thus requiring the same amount of insulin. And it is the amount of insulin that we need to control .... and less the peak value of the blood glucose. That's where additionally measuring blood ketones help understand what's going on even better .... because blood ketones cannot be produced by the liver unless insulin levels are low.

Yes, I agree with that. The GI and GL lists serve as an indication of how a food might affect one, but not necessarily how it actually will. Take oatmeal and apples that we've mentioned in this or the other thread; the GL's for these foods, 13 and 5 respectively, are comparatively moderate and low, yet the oatmeal produces higher than acceptable glucose responses in both of us, while the apple affects you similarly, but not me. The only way to know for certain how a particular food or combination of foods will affect one's own body is with testing as you've outlined above. And even then, due to the combined complexities of digestion, the body's ultimate use of nutrients in metabolism, cumulative effects, and the current state of understanding, we are probably still mostly guessing, at best.

[DreamStalker]

The glucose index is pretty useless and even the glucose load is somewhat misleading. In order to discover the true effect of food on your glucose levels, one needs to take post-prandial blood glucose readings every 10 to 15 minutes for about 2 hours after a meal. This allows for enough data to plot a curve of your body's glucose response to the meal. By integrating the area under the curve you get an idea of the actual effect of the glucose load.

So some things may create curve with a high peak that comes down quickly (plain baked potato) ...or a curve with a lower peak but with a broad base (bake potato with all the toppings) ... and yet the area under both curves may be the same thus requiring the same amount of insulin. And it is the amount of insulin that we need to control .... and less the peak value of the blood glucose. That's where additionally measuring blood ketones help understand what's going on even better .... because blood ketones cannot be produced by the liver unless insulin levels are low.

Yes, I agree with that. The GI and GL lists serve as an indication of how a food might affect one, but not necessarily how it actually will. Take oatmeal and apples that we've mentioned in this or the other thread; the GL's for these foods, 13 and 5 respectively, are comparatively moderate and low, yet the oatmeal produces higher than acceptable glucose responses in both of us, while the apple affects you similarly, but not me. The only way to know for certain how a particular food or combination of foods will affect one's own body is with testing as you've outlined above. And even then, due to the combined complexities of digestion, the body's ultimate use of nutrients in metabolism, cumulative effects, and the current state of understanding, we are probably still mostly guessing, at best.

Good probability the difference in response to apples lie with differences in our gut ecologies.

[Jay Aitchsee]

Good probability the difference in response to apples lie with differences in our gut ecologies.

Good guess, I'd say

[chunkyfrog]

I can live without oatmeal, unless it's in a cookie.
Guaranteed glucose spike.

[SewTired]

I can live without oatmeal, unless it's in a cookie.
Guaranteed glucose spike.

I can't completely give up oatmeal, so I just include a protein, heavy whipping cream and the spike is lower.