Not too many years ago the term “diet” was NOT a four-letter word. Your “diet” was simply the foods you chose to eat, and the guidelines were to eat a wide variety of foods in sensible amounts. “Eat to fill yourself, don’t eat to kill yourself,” my grandmother always said.

From a noun to a verb–and a curse
Our diet changed when the food processors began manufacturing edible, food-like substances in the 1980s. Then those whose pantries were filled with processed foods such as snack crackers, soda, and such nutritionally void “junk foods” began gaining weight. (Totally sedentary, electronic-centered lifestyles contributed to this as well.) We began searching for a “diet” to lose or manage weight. The noun (diet) changed to a verb and “dieting” became a way of life. And the never-ending search for a diet that works is a curse, hence “diet” became a four-letter (curse) word.

Initially, we were told by the experts that fats were the problem. So the manufacturers produced a myriad of fat-free and low-fat products. However, particular fats are necessary for the absorption of other nutrients. Then we went after the caloric rating of foods, and carbohydrates became the culprit.

In the meantime, many of us continued packing on the pounds and became diabetic. Endocrinologists, the medical speciality that cares for diabetic patients, have been aware of the glycemic index (GI) for many years, but the scientific research on how quickly a food is broken down and absorbed by the body has been minimal. The glycemic index (GI–find a chart online) is the principle behind the South Beach diet and other commercial diets. Many have had success with these diets–at least temporarily.

New supporting data
A study by Canadian researchers, Dr. David Jenkins, University of Toronto, and his colleages, compared the outcomes of 210 diabetes patients taking medication to control blood sugar, half on a low-glycemic diet and half on a high-fiber diet. For six months all kept a journal of their food consumption, and all were told to avoid high-glycemic foods such as pancakes, muffins, French fries, etc. The study published in JAMA last month (12/17/08) found that after six months the low-glycemic diet group had lower blood glucose levels and a 1.7mg/dL boost in HDL or good cholesterol. The high fiber group had a .2mg/dL decrease in the HDL. Raising HDL levels contributes to heart health. And this was a study of the effects of the glycemic level on cardiovascular health, not weight loss.

The theory behind the GI is that foods that break down quickly in the stomach cause a surge of glucose in the blood and put a heavy burden on the body to produce enough insulin to process the sugars, leading to diabetes. Low-glycemic foods take longer to process in the gut and produce a lower, more steady supply of glucose in the blood after a meal.

Criticisms of the Glycemic Index
Criticism of the GI include all the variation in food and the individual that draws the mantra of WomensMedicineBowl.com: “You are an Experiment of One, and you’re the only one that matters.” An individual’s glycemic response varies depending on the kind of food, its maturity, how long and how it was stored, and its variety. (White potatoes range from moderate to very high GI even within the same variety.)

The GI of a food varies from person to person and even the same individual day to day depending on blood glutose levels, insulin resistance and other factors. A GI of a mixed meal is very difficult to predict. Fat and proteins can make a meal sit in the stomach longer, which reduces a food’s GI. (Hint: eat a high glycemic desert at the end of a meal, not a separate snack!)

Undoubtedly, the lower GI foods are healthier. How or whether you lose weight, again, depends on the individual. After four months of backpacking in Africa and eating a poor, high carb diet, my daughter returned home 20 pounds heavier. She did a variation of a GI diet, eating anything she desired in the morning (including the high GI sins such as muffins), but NO CARBS after 2pm. She also burned 1,000 calories/day at the gym and, at 24 years, she has no metabolic issues. In two weeks she lost the 20 pounds–and keeps if off.

Back to Basics –Plus Herbs
Basically, we’re back where we started–eat a sensible amount of a wide variety of foods (nothing processed). But I’m not depending on foods alone. Due to a complex and aging metabolism, I am not depending solely on food choices and exercise but am using herbs traditionally used in ayurvedic and Chinese medical traditions to control blood sugar. These herbs and minerals are essential if you’re diabetic or tending toward obesity.

Gymnema sylvestre or gurmar, which translates in Hindi as “destroyer of sugar”, has been used by Ayurvedic practitioners for thousands of years. Scientific studies have shown a significant reduction in fasting blood sugar levels with 400mg of gymnema sylvestre extract. Other herbs used traditionally from the Mediterranean to Asia include banaba leaf extract, fenugreek seeds (my Persian mother-in-law’s remedy for diabetes), and bitter belon.

Modern scientific studies have documented the effectiveness of each of these traditional medicines in balancing blood sugar. Another critical element is chromium, which aids in digestion and transports blood glucose to the cells for energy; 90 percent of American adults have a chromium deficiency.

The WMB mantra, “You are an experiment of one…” is as applicable to matters of weight control as it is to taking drugs and remedies. Probably moreso.

Salud!
Beverly Jensen, Ph.D.
President, www.WomensMedicineBowl.com