Picking Apart Glycemic Index: High Vs Low -PART III-

Back Peddling… Potential Mechanisms of Action   

NOTE: **Any question marks that are shown, does not mean I have no answer for them. It is more of a tool for me to continue expanding on what I currently know. By improving I give you a better answer to that same question in the future. Pretty much, it keeps me focused on always improving my knowledge, hence better explanations.  Also, it allows my viewers to ask away, and I can reply in the feedback box. **

Even though, physiologically the potential mechanisms provide an actual reasoning of how something could potentially work.  We should be aware that everything does not work in absolutes, you have to look at the overall scenario, not just an action of one specific thing, towards influencing the results. Remember, that potential actions are not solely dependent on one particular proposition, but rather the whole scenario, which will predominantly dictate. Also, understanding the simple fact that responses are greatly influenced by an individual genetics, and it can vary. This is why you need to understand all plausible explanations of the differences in results.

Potential Mechanisms of Action #1 –“Blood-Sugar Control: Regulating Appetite/Hunger Better”

There is indication showing that differences in glycemic index have similar glucose entry in blood. How would that help controlling blood sugar than? The whole cholecystokinin hormone action, why did it not support my potential mechanisms of action theory?

Potential Mechanisms of Action #2- “Suppressed Appetite”

Some studies show a supressed appetite by individuals, while others shown to have no real effect.  What else than can be causing prolonged satiation?

Potential Mechanisms of Action #3- “Lowered Initial Insulin Response, due to Improved Insulin Sensitivity”

While fiber can improve insulin sensitivity, to what extent? Will it have a dramatic impact on actual weight loss? Other factors must contribute towards staying leaner, than simply increasing your fiber intake.

In fact, the predicting factors of weight gain shown to support being more insulin sensitive.

Insulin actually has an anorexigenic effect , promoting satiation, by improving insulin sensitivity will result a quicker taper off period of insulin, which can create rebound hunger effect, resulting in eating more food within the 24 hours that your awake, making you eat more food than  you would normally eat, equals a potential weight gain.

I can also see it be difficult to control blood sugar, the constant swings of energy levels, one minute your full of incredible feat of energy, the next minute your sluggish.

Back Peddling… Glycemic Index Effect on Glucose and Insulin Response

The whole long held belief that by eating low glycemic index foods, will stabilize blood sugar better, yield a lower insulin response, due to a slower rate of entry of glucose into blood, does not always apply to all cases, as studies indicate.

Rather, low glycemic index shows a higher initial insulin response, results in a lower glycemic index response in blood, due to quicker clearance of glucose into cells.

Rather, similar entry of glucose into blood, both low and high glycemic index carbohydrates. 

Nor, was the absolute insulin response different between the glycemic index choices of carbohydrates.

Training, can improve the rate of glucose clearance in blood, which will lower the glycemic response, due to the improved insulin sensitivity actions towards cells, resulting in a greater uptake.

Picking Apart Glycemic Index: High Vs Low -PART II-

Potential Mechanisms Why Low glycemic index? My rant first…   

Before I continue on educating you on the mechanisms of potential actions of why I believe doctors, nutritionist, and dietitians maybe recommend low glycemic sources, I have another little rant to express, just bear with me here my fellow readers. Here is the scoop I want to discuss, regarding patients only following because they are told, yet they have no idea though why this or anything else for that matter works for weight loss and overall health. I feel the problem starts with all professionals who simply only give recommendations, which is fine, because you need to recommend, my issue though is that they don’t even understand the reasons themselves of the given advice, yet feel they are credible to give advice. This missing link of not educating our patients is a huge concern for me, hopefully changes in the health industry will make it a necessity to interact with patients, by providing education with recommendations, so patients leave with a feeling of something learned.  This can potentially empower our patients to make a change, because they can feel a sense of urgency of actually using your brain, now that they were somewhat educated on the topic. Can this be a step in the right direction of patients starting to control their own lives, rather than the doctors? This constant faulty loop creates slaves to the health system. Constantly going to pharmacies and refilling the prescriptions that the doctors gave them, is not helping the cause at all! I believe our educators need to make it a priority on the continuation of education, and provide updated information. This is going to take some time, but everything always does.

Potential Mechanisms of Action #1 – “Blood-Sugar Control: Regulating Appetite/Hunger Better”= Less Total Calories

Low glycemic index carbohydrates tend to have higher protein and fiber content. Straight up, without getting all nerdy, sufficient protein always beats insufficient protein when advising a dieting strategy for optimum body composition purposes.  We all know that protein is key for packing and maintaining lean mass, it’s a no brainer. Protein also has many other valuable purposes, which I will not be going into all the detail, simply because all the other details are not in response towards “appetite control” purposes. Even if I did discuss everything in detail, this would turn into a book, rather than many parts. Who knows, maybe a book will be required to publish in the future, will see. Anyway, protein interacts with a gut hormone called cholecystokinin, and one of many of its actions is delaying gastric emptying. Potentially slowing down motility of food movements, can slow down the rate in which glucose enters into the blood, resulting in prolonged sustainment of energy throughout the day. By feeling fuller, having prolonged energy, could be the contributing to eating less food than our maintenance calories requirements, which can result in weight loss. This certainly can be a reason why we eat low glycemic carbs, and studies do dictate this. Realize this though, the weight loss happens because less overall calorie intake, not do to the difference in carbohydrates themselves. Certainly how they interact within our organisms can be contributing to eating less. Be aware, calories is eventually what matters.

Potential Mechanisms of Action #2- “Suppressed Appetite”=Less Total Calories

Both protein and fiber interact with two hormones in the gut called cholecystokinin and peptide yy. These hormones have endocrine activity by acting upon receptors in the brain that trigger activation of polypeptide neurons Pro-opiomelanocortin which have been shown to have an anorexigenic effect. Once again, prolonging the Satiation Loss Rate (SLR) can contribute to eating less within the time that your awake, can result in a negative energy balance.

Potential Mechanisms of Action #3- “Lowered Initial Insulin Response, due to Improved Insulin Sensitivity”= Less Total Calories

Fiber is resistant towards digestion, because of the Beta-Linkages of many sugar glyosidic bonds, that our own digestive enzymes are unable to break apart into a simple digestible form for absorption. Our friendly bacteria will ferment the sugar to produces various acids, and gases. Butyric acid has been show to improve insulin sensitivity. Improved sensitivity can indicate in general a lowered initial insulin response. This is very important for metabolic flexibility purposes of improved transitioning from carbohydrates to fat oxidation.  Once again, more calories being effectively used for burning, can likely contribute towards weight loss. 

Picking Apart Glycemic Index: High Vs Low - PART I-

                Glycemic index has been of controversy, in terms of being a useful guide towards helping people lose weight. I won’t get into the whole origination of the glycemic index, or what was the reasoning for its purpose, simple because I feel everybody has heard something about it, and likely already factor it someway in the choices of carbohydrates they choose. My objective here is to provide you with the important points of my research, by giving you what is relevant, so you are left pondering. Giving you something to think about on the changes you need to consider to make, and how you can get your life back, (hint, hint, this is what my blog is all about) by getting the actual facts based on credible scientific research.

Insight on Glycemic Index and My Rant

                Before I begin, I feel though, I should give you atleast something regarding the glycemic index, and even if you never heard about it, than I encourage you to please listen up. This would be a brief explanation just to stimulate our brains to start thinking about the subject at hand more clearly. The glycemic index is used to see how significantly and fast a given food causes levels of glucose in the blood to rise. The belief was ALWAYS that low glycemic index keeps us fuller, improves our blood sugar, and stimulates a low initial insulin response due to improved insulin sensitivity. Sounds pretty much like an ideal scenario for fat loss, which it is mind you. All of this is in fact true, that the glycemic index do differ in glucose responses, and do indicate a difference in insulin responses, meaning low glycemic having a lower glucose and insulin responses, while high glycemic index have the opposite effect.  The problem here is the ALWAYS word I mentioned above. In fact studies actually show variances of both glucose and insulin responses. Meaning by eating either low or high glycemic index carbohydrates, will not support what you think should happen, and what I actually mentioned above is not always the case. Also consider that some studies show low glycemic index do keep us fuller, while other studies show no effect.

Ranting in General... Glycemic Index

Here is my issue with the whole problem, but also in this case the glycemic index, is giving your advice or answers in absolutes. That everything happens only this particular way, and the complete undermining of potential variances of responses is overlooked. We have to understand all potential variables, and if you are not able to understand that, than keep your advice general, but actually specify that, so people don’t feel they now know what happens, yet really have no idea. Sorry for the rant, getting off topic here, this is just something important for me to share, so we all realize on how important is to educate people with the correct information.