Wednesday, October 25, 2017

How to Eat to Prevent Harmful Effects of Sugar in the Diet

This excellent video out of Japan needs to be promoted because of its potential to help people understand the physiology of their diets.

Many patients are faced with "pre-diabetes" labels these days, and some of them seem unlikely candidates, as they are thin and fit. As this educational video explains, the "glucose spike" can harm the body's cardiovascular system and also increase the chances of Alzheimer's. In the past, we blamed fat for bodily harm, when sugar was more likely the culprit. That statement may be oversimplified, but you get the point.

In the video, it is recommended that to change one's diet to maintain healthier glucose levels and avoid glucose spikes, we need to reduce our carbohydrate intake, begin our meals with vegetables and protein, and have protein and fat with every meal. In Japan, for example, that means "reducing rice intake by half" and beginning the meal with fish. The reason to eat meat before the carbohydrate is that it stimulates the release of the hormone incretin, considerably slowing the rise of blood sugar.

Let's re-cap the recommended meal order. First, eat vegetables, then, meat or fish, and eat carbohydrate-rich foods like rice or bread last.

Eating three meals a day regularly also helps prevent glucose spikes, rather than skipping a meal like breakfast.

Towards the end of the video, cauliflower rice and zucchini noodles are used in place of pasta and rice in one woman's meals.



I can't help but notice that at the same time there is a media campaign against meat, the science of medicine is recommending the importance of protein and meat in the diet for health, along with fewer carbohydrates. That said, portions need to be modest and controlled, and many Western diets assume way-too-large portions of meat.

Finally, exercise, and eat more green leafy vegetables.


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See previous post: The ketogenic diet.