Monday 25 October 2010

Sugar: The bitter truth!

Conditioning Research: Lustig - Sugar the bitter truth

In a nutshell for those who are not familiar with what eating sugary foods does to the body and the effects it has on OBESITY in MEN, WOMEN & CHILDREN please read on . . . . .

Our body has 2 hormones that have to work TOGETHER to transport fuel to the muscle to be used for energy, Insulin & Glucagon. (lets think of them as 2 taxi drivers)


When blood glucose gets too high the pancreas works hard to regulate this spike by releasing insulin and other regulating hormones. When this happens, our other taxi driver glucagon can't transport fat to the muscle for energy. 

  
Glucose will be brought to the liver and muscles to replenish glycogen used during exercise. Excessive blood glucose can also be taken up by fat cells and stored as adipose (fat) tissue!



GLYCEMIC INDEX
Depending on the speed of conversion to glucose, all carbs can be placed on a scale between 0 and 100. This scale is known as the Glycemic Index (G.I.)


Complex Carbs = Slow releasing = Low G.I. 



Brown Rice
Potatoes
Other root vegetables
Wholemeal breads
Granary bread

Simple Carbs = Faster releasing = High G.I.


Table Sugar
Fruit Juice
Sweets
Bread made with white flour
Pasta made with white flour



We only want an increase in blood sugar straight after training and not, for example, on a non-gym day when there is simply no need for a massive sugar rush!
 Stick to the complex carbs and maybe post workout quick release food to replenish the energy quickly!

 I want to use white bread as an example. This highly processed food is high G.I., low in fibre, proteins and good fats - boo!


White bread ----> Easy to eat - - -> Digested quickly - - -> Sugar spike - - -> Insulin released - - -> Excess energy stored as fat - - ->  Sugar levels drop - - -> Carb cravings - - -> Cycle repeats - - -> Fat gain! 

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