10/15/2012 8:03 AM
Lose fat and build muscle by choosing foods that modulate insulin and keep you energized. This is best done by eating a low-carb, high-protein diet and managing your blood sugar by eating foods that produce a low-glycemic response. This tip will give you strategies to modulate insulin so that you have some flexibility in your diet and don’t feel like a social outcast because you can only eat green vegetables and meat all the time!
The key to fat loss and an awesome physique is to eat meals that are slowly digested so that glucose or sugar is released into your blood very gradually. This even, moderate release of glucose allows for an equally moderate release of the hormone insulin from the pancreas—remember the function of insulin is to shuttle energy into your cells. Insulin also aids in getting the nutrients necessary for protein synthesis and muscle development into the muscle cells, which is the reason it can help you build muscle if you use insulin to your advantage.
Foods that are low-glycemic, such as meat, nuts, and green vegetables, result in this ideal, moderate release of glucose and insulin. In contrast, higher glycemic foods, such as grains, refined or processed foods, and some fruits, will be digested very rapidly and raise your blood sugar with a bang. This leads to a lot of insulin being released all at once, and unless you’ve just done a very strenuous workout that used up all your stored energy, a greater percentage of the glucose will be stored as fat.
It also means there will be excess insulin floating around, which causes inflammation, basically damaging the cells. However, if you moderate your glycemic response correctly, your body will work like a machine, ensuring that the food you eat is stored as energy in the muscle and used in your brain to enable optimal cognitive function.
Research shows that this method works: A recent study tested the effect of having people eat either low- or high-glycemic diets for a month. The low-glycemic diet resulted in a 43 percent lower glucose level and a 27 percent lower insulin level during the four hours after eating meal.
The extreme solution to managing your glycemic load is to eliminate all high-glycemic foods. However, it’s useful to have some tools so that you aren’t overly restricted, or if you use "cheat" meals.
For instance, foods that effectively lower the glycemic response include dark red, blue, and purple fruits (blueberries, cherries, blackberries, strawberries), certain fats (omega-3s DHA and EPA , or coconut oil), and herbs such as fenugreek. Use these foods by eating them with higher glycemic foods because the body ends up requiring less insulin to get the job done, leading to less damage from the carbs. The following are some additional ways of managing the glycemic response:
• Pair berries with oatmeal or whole wheat toast with sugar free blueberry jam
• Avoid eating bread whenever possible, however, if you do eat bread, look for whole grain versions cooked with the herb fenugreek. Research shows this meal improves the blood sugar response of diabetics.
• Mix cinnamon in yogurt and add berries—dairy is very insulogenic.
• Cook with coconut oil or olive oil when preparing higher carb foods to minimize the glycemic load. Or if you don’t have control over the fat used to prepare food, take fish oil with your meal to manage your insulin.• Fenugreek, bitter melon, and cinnamon are three herbs that have been proven to be highly effective at lowering blood sugar. You can buy capsules of each and take them with meals.
References
Deng, R., A Review of the Hypoglycemic Effects of Five Commonly Used Herbal Food Supplements. Recent Patents in Food and Nutritional Agriculture. 2012. 4(1), 50-60.
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