How carbohydrates affect your body. Part 2- Glycemic Index

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I mention Glycemic Index fairly often when talking about nutrition and carbohydrates.  Glycemic Index is also being mentioned increasingly often in the media as well, so what is glycemic index (GI) exactly?

GI is the measure of how certain foods (mainly those with high carbohydrate content) affect blood sugar levels.  The basic idea is that scientists give 10 people equal portions of a food and then measure their blood glucose levels in intervals over the next two hours.  Foods that create a higher blood sugar level or a spike inside the two hour window are rated with a higher GI, while foods that have minimal effect of blood sugar levels are considered low GI.

The standard accepted scale rates glucose at 100 (being pure sugar) and everything else is based off of this baseline.  For example: white bread is generally rated around 70 while an apple is around 40.  Foods are generally classified as either: high GI (70 and above), medium GI (56-69), and low GI (1-55).

The basic idea is that by consuming foods with a lower GI you can control your blood sugar levels which provide you with several benefits.  Lower blood sugar levels means less insulin,and less insulin means less fat storage.  Consistently elevated blood sugar levels also lead to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, while lower levels are associated with less frequent development of type 2 diabetes.  Lower blood sugar levels are also linked with lower levels of cancer, lower cholesterol, and lower blood pressure.

There are still other factors that affect blood sugar levels such as: the time of day you eat, the amount of carbohydrates you eat (glycemic load), what you eat with the carbohydrates, and even herbs and spices can affect your blood sugar levels after a meal.

By choosing foods with a lower GI over there high GI counterparts you can control blood sugar levels and improve your health very quickly.  Always choose: whole wheat over white bread, whole grain brown rice over white rice, sweet potatoes over white potatoes, and whole wheat pasta over regular white pasta.  Just by making these small changes you can look and feel significantly better each day.  Not all high GI foods are bad especially not in small amounts.  Glycemic load is the actual amount of carbohydrates while GI is only the speed at which your body absorbs the carbohydrates.  5lbs of whole wheat pasta is just as bad as 2lbs of white pasta if losing weight is your main concern.



Carbohydrates are not the evil that most nutritionists and trainers portray them to be, but understanding carbohydrates and how they affect your metabolism and hormones is the key to controlling your weight.  By using both glycemic load and glycemic index together in planning your meals you can have better control of your weight.

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How carbohyrdrates affect your body. Part 1- What are carbohydrates?

Carbohydrates are the body's main source of energy.  All carbohydrates are converted into glucose which is released into the bloodstream and used readily by the body to fuel metabolism.  The body can function without carbohydrates, but maintenance of bodily functions become more complex without them.  When glucose is not present in the body it must convert fats and proteins into glucose, which is not as efficient as utilizing carbohydrates.

Carbohydrates are typically classified as either simple or complex.  Simple carbohydrates are usually either starches or sugars and are present in: fruits, fruit juices, sugar,white rice, white potatoes, and refined carbohydrates like white bread.  Complex carbohydrates are found in whole grains like: rice, breads, quinoa, spelt, oatmeal, as well as in legumes and vegetables.  The distinguishing factor is that simple carbohydrates are digested rapidly and hit the blood stream quickly (high GI), while complex carbohydrates are not as refined or processed and take longer for the body to break down (low GI).  Unless you are looking to gain weight your goal should always be to limit simple carbs and replace them with complex carbs.

Excess carbohydrates that your body does not use get either stored as fat or stored in the muscle and liver as a complex carbohydrate called glycogen.  When glucose is stored as glycogen it is basically stored in a complex form and is readily available for energy anytime your body needs it.  If your blood sugar begins to get low then your body releases a hormone called glucagon which release glycogen into the blood stream as glucose.  If your blood sugar levels get too high then your body releases insulin which stores the excess sugar as fat or glycogen.  This is why refined and simple carbohydrates have a greater effect on weight gain, since it is in a simple form the body breaks it down quickly causing a spike of blood sugar, which the body then must store. When you consume complex carbohydrates they are absorbed more slowly keeping your blood sugar levels more steady and so you end up storing less as fat as a result.

These are basically the fundamentals and basics of carbohydrates.  I will cover more in depth Glycemic index, glycemic load, and then I will summarize in my fourth post and help everyone to understand how carbohydrates are the key to controlling your weight, whether you want to gain muscle or lose fat it is all influenced by carbohydrates.

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11 year old boy fends off sister's kidnapper... with Jiu Jitsu!

An 11 year old boy saves his sister's life with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.  If you don't understand how a young boy can fend off a full grown man, then you haven't taken a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu class!  If you would like to learn the art there has never been a better time to start then now, whether you are 6 years old or 60 years old, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has a ton of benefits to offer you!

Watch the interview of the 11 year old boy who was able to fend off his sister's kidnapper.
http://www.wxii12.com/r-video/29869381/detail.html

If you are still not convinced check out my previous post on Jiu Jitsu and why you should give it a shot.
http://everystepblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/what-is-brazilian-jiu-jitsu-and-why.html

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8 common household foods you shouldn't be eating.

1) Farm raised fish.  Farm raised fish are often raised in terrible environments with little space to move around and are also fed diets that are completely different than anything a wild fish would eat.  These packed living conditions makes them more susceptible to disease so the fish are given high doses of antibiotics to combat sicknesses.  Farm raised fish are given more antibiotics per weight than any other farm raised animal.  Farm raised fish are also fed unnatural diets of corn or pellets (made of chicken feces, corn meal, fish oils, and fish parts laden with mercury); as a result farm raised fish have on average seven times as much heavy metal and mercury contamination as their wild counterparts and far less of the beneficial omega 3 fatty acids.  Farm raised fish (salmon) are also fed artificial dyes to give them their brilliant pink color, because of the poor diet these fish are fed their flesh is often a dull grey color and they are fed dyes to make their skin look healthy.

2) Corn fed beef (hamburgers).  Corn fed beef shares some of the same problems as farm raised fish.  A diet of corn is not natural for a cow and this causes a host of problems.  For one, corn fed cows are often fed corn to make it cheaper and more efficient to raise a cow.  Imagine if you sat around all day and ate nothing but cornbread you would get fat pretty fast, especially if you were used to eating nothing but spinach.  Since these cows don't need open pasture to graze for grass they can be kept on less land, which means the same overcrowding and disease problems as farm raised fish experience, which leads to... you guessed it, more antibiotics!  Corn is not a regular part of a cows diet so it can affect the cows digestive system and allow it to harbor ecoli, since these cows are full of antibiotics to keep them from getting sick the ecoli becomes resistant to antibiotics, and this leads to some of the major outbreaks of ecoli we have heard about in the news over the last couple of years.  Corn fed beef is also: lower in omega 3 fatty acids, usually washed with bleach to kill microscopic organisms, lower in many vitamins and nutrients, higher in saturated fat, and often fed chicken feces and litter mixed with corn meal.

These are not healthy cows, welcome to factory farming 101.

3) Non organic dairy.  Non organic dairy products can be full of all kinds of things you wouldn't want in your body; this is along the same lines as the corn fed beef above.  Non organic cows are pumped full of antibiotics, live in cramped quarters, are full of disease, eat unnatural diets affecting nutrient content of dairy, and also are pumped full of growth hormones to increase milk production.  When I was in nursing school we learned that almost anything a mother eats or puts in her body can and will be passed on to her baby through breast milk.  If you are drinking milk from a sick, poorly nourished, antibiotic injected animal, you WILL receive all of those things through the milk.  Non organic cows also are usually fed corn and grains which are GMO or non organic, leading to contamination of the milk with any pesticides or fertilizers that bio accumulate in the cow.

4) Refined sugars.  Refined sugars and especially those that are not grown and processed organically can be linked to many health problems.  Some scientists and nutritionists actually believe that sugar acts as a poison in body destroying the liver.  Sugar consumption has been directly linked to: obesity, type two diabetes, osteoporosis, high blood pressure, and dental carries.  While unrefined organic cane sugar contains some nutrients the white table sugar we often find sitting on the kitchen counter is nearly devoid of all nutrients.  If you must have sweets try your best to buy organic ones or make your own with organic ingredients.

5)  Artificial sweeteners.  The use of artificial sweeteners in food is highly controversial.  Studies have shown relationships with artificial sweeteners to contribute to: various cancers, rebound hypoglycemia, neurological disorders, and migraine headaches.  Though the FDA has currently banned only one artificial sweetener, (cyclamate), many people believe that others such as aspartame and acesulfame potassium should be removed from shelves as well.  The bottom line is this, artificial sweeteners are artificial, they are chemicals made in a laboratory and if it was made in a laboratory then it was never part of nature's plan for us to consume it.  Artificial sweeteners may provide a sweet taste with zero calories, but hey, I have heard that antifreeze tastes sweet too and you won't find me putting that in my tea in the morning.

6)  Soda.  Soda is a very poignant evil in our world today.  That's right, despite all the jobs cola companies have provided, I truly believe there is absolutely ZERO benefit to consuming cola and that by doing so you are voluntarily consuming a poison and toxic substance.  For starters, there is a strong link between osteoporosis and cola consumption; this is why we live in a country where we have the highest calcium consumption in the world, yet we have also the highest rate of osteoporosis.  Colas are extremely acidic in nature, so acidic in nature, that your body must release alkaline minerals into the blood stream to maintain your PH balance.  Guess the main alkaline minerals in your body... calcium and magnesium,and these minerals are the main components of bone.  Now you can see how drinking 2 or 3 sodas per day can cause broken bones.  Soda is basically liquid sugar so everything I stated above about the harmful effects of sugar applies to cola as well.  If you value your: bones, teeth, liver, pancreas, or your shape, you should avoid  soda at all costs.

7). Potato chips.  Potato chips are almost totally devoid of any nutrients while being loaded with fat and carbohydrates.  One serving of chips (11-18 chips) can pack a whopping 150 calories.  11 chips is not even going to put a chip in your hunger and the starch content of the chips will spike your insulin levels leading you to crave more and store it all as fat.  Chips are also usually highly processed with dyes and chemicals, loaded with salt, seasoned with MSG (monsodium glutamte), and fried at ultra high temperatures in hydrogenated oils which contribute to heart disease.  Although there are some healthier options out there, you would do best to leave this american snack on the shelf.

8). White bread.  There are quite a few reasons that white bread is much more unhealthy than it's darker cousin whole wheat.  Wheat consists of three parts: the bran (husk), endosperm (starch), and the germ (embryo).  White bread removes the bran which provides most of the fiber of wheat and also removes the germ which provides most wheat's nutrients and leaves only the endosperm which is basically pure starch and empty calories.  To top it all of the refined endosperm is then bleached with chemical agents and dried at extremely high temperatures destroying any nutrient value that may have been present in the flour before.  Most flour also has added gluten which is becoming more and more known as being a strong allergen in people's diets.  Before baking, sugar or high fructose corn syrup is then added to feed the yeast that allows the bread to rise and become fluffy.  White bread is highly refined, processed with chemical bleaching agents, empty of any nutritional value, impacts blood sugar negatively, raises cholesterol, and high consumption can be linked with increased belly fat and colon cancer.

If you eat any of these foods on a daily or weekly basis you may want to reconsider your food choices.  Eating any of these foods can contribute to an array of health problems later on in life.

Thank you to all my readers and as always, make sure to add me on facebook or like my articles if you enjoy the content I cover.
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Thank you to my readers.

I want thank my readers and fans for helping my blog to reach 2,000 views in it's first month.  Even with the holidays slowing traffic I was still able to reach my goal.  This month I am looking to double traffic to 4,000 views so please be sure to add me or like my page on facebook, send recommendations to your friends, like my posts, and share them facebook.  The bigger my blog gets the more I will strive to add new content and articles.

Thank you again to everyone! And look for a new post on Monday!

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Observations on a black Friday.

On my home page today I saw several stories of mayhem that occurred on this year's black Friday.  It seems like every year we hear of horror stories of people getting trampled, shot, killed, robbed, and beaten for items at rock bottom prices.  It saddens me that we live in a society where people value saving 30 dollars on a flat screen more than they value human life.

At my last job I was making over 2 grand per month and since moving to Atlanta to train full time I do not even make half as much, yet I am happier than I have ever been.  The pursuit of your dreams in life is what provides true happiness.  We don't all dream of becoming world champions, celebrities, or politicians, but every one of us has inner hopes and dreams.  Most of us choose to silence these inner voices and whether we see it or not, when you kill your dreams you kill a part of yourself as well.  There is a light within all of us, every single person on this earth has a purpose, every single one of us is on this ship called earth and we have the power to steer our lives, we hold the power to shape our destinies.

Material possessions cannot make you happy, far from it, material possessions are like weights tied around your waist.  You are in a giant ocean of life and you have to swim to stay afloat, every thing you own weighs you down and makes it a little harder to float until you can't float at all.  Truly, the things you own, own you.  I do believe that money can buy happiness to a certain extent, but I do NOT believe that any amount of possessions can ever make you happy for long.  Money can buy freedom, and freedom allows you to follow your passions, it allows you to follow your dreams fully, but this in itself is the problem.  Money allows you the freedom to follow your dreams, but most people expect money before they follow their dreams, they want to own everything they want and be wealthy, then they can write their destiny.  People expect to: be successful without trial, have money before they are broke, win without defeat; and sadly this is not how the universe usually works, on the contrary most people only become wealthy as a BYPRODUCT of following their dreams.  If you want true wealth of body, spirit, mind, and finances it must come as a result of following your own dreams.  Your success will only come after a time of trials and tribulation.  You must endure to the end for what you want, you must be willing to take anything life gives you and use it to become closer to your goals.

Your happiness cannot be purchased in a Walmart on black Friday no matter how much you are willing to pay for it.  Not until you can throw away desire for physical things and truly look at yourself can you ever be complete, not until you learn to work with all people in a spirit of love and harmony can you ever achieve your dreams, not until you say you are willing to suffer to have your victory will you ever win.

You are not the clothes you wear or the car you drive, you are not the house you live in or the country you were born in, you are not the color of your skin or the god you worship, you are whatever you desire to be.

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The wonders of seaweed.

Seaweed is truly an amazing gift from nature.  Sea water itself is incredibly similar to blood plasma in composition, and it contains almost every single mineral needed for the human body.  Seaweed takes these amazing minerals and concentrates them into a tasty treat.  Seaweed is a wonderful salty snack packed with nutrition.  Seaweed can be used in place of salt in soups and broths, added to salads and stir fry, or baked into delicious seaweed chips.

Seaweed has powerful cleansing actions on the body.  Studies have found that seaweeds can actually bind to toxins in the body and help remove them from your system.  Seaweed is packed with potassium, fiber, vitamin A, chromium, iodine, iron, and the b vitamins.  Seaweed has been found in several studies to: possess powerful anticancer properties, boost the immune system, lower cholesterol, and help speed fat metabolism.  Dulse, kelp, and nori are all fairly easily accessible types of seaweed in America.

Seaweed has been eaten for hundreds of years in Japan and throughout Asia as a staple in their native diet.  Give some seaweed a try I know you will like it and it will probably become a new favorite instantly!

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