To lower your insulin levels you could go on a “low carb” diet and avoid any food that comes from a plant–not just bread. potatoes, rice and sugar but also fruit and vegetables. It would work if you could do it. The problem is that for most people, low carb diets require eliminating too many foods. Fruits and vegetables contain vitamins and minerals, which we crave when they’re missing. We need the fiber in plant products to keep our digestive system working right. We even have a natural craving for sweets. The reality is that most folks don’t stay on strict low carb diets for long.
But there’s an easier way. In the 1980s, scientists discovered that some carbohydrates raise blood sugar and insulin levels more than others do, even if the amount of glucose that enters the bloodstream is the same. For example, 50 grams of glucose in bread raises blood sugar and insulin levels more than 50 grams of glucose in peaches. The reason for this is that the digestive system breaks down some carbohydrates to glucose faster than it does others and speed matters. The faster glucose enters the bloodstream the more insulin you need to handle it, even if the amount of glucose that enters the bloodstream is the same.
The amount your blood glucose level rises after eating 50 grams of glucose in a particular food is called its glycemic index. However, the scientists who developed this measurement didn’t intend it to be used as a guide to eating. They were just trying to prove a point–that some carbohydrates raise blood glucose more than others do even if the amount of glucose that enters the bloodstream is the same.
A few years later, researchers developed a more useful tool called the glycemic load. Instead of measuring the effects of amounts of food that provide 50 grams of glucose, it reflects amounts of food people typically eat–typical servings. Here is an example of the glycemic loads of five foods, expressed as a percentage of that of a slice of white bread.
| Food (Serving Size) | Glycemic Load |
|---|---|
| Carrot (one 8-inch) | 11 |
| Tomato (one medium) | 15 |
| White Bread (one slice) | 100 |
| Spaghetti (2 cups) | 342 |
| Bagel (one medium) | 340 |
Makes sense doesn’t it? The fruit and vegetables are at one end, the starchy stuff at the other.
The difference between glycemic index and glycemic load is not just technical nitpicking. It provides startling insight into what causes us to produce excess insulin. You might have known that starchy foods like bread, potatoes and rice were worse than fruit and veggies, but the glycemic load reveals that they aren’t just a little worse than fruits and vegetables; they‘re terrible! You’d have to eat 15 tomatoes all at once to raise your insulin levels as much as eating one slice of white bread.
The table, Glycemic Loads of Common Foods, lists the glycemic loads of some foods we eat a lot of. If you look at carbohydrates through the lens of the glycemic load you can see that the list of culprits that cause us to overproduce insulin is amazingly small–mainly flour products, potatoes and rice. The problem is that these foods are what modern humans eat the most of. Dietary custom dictates that we have starch with virtually every meal. Why? Because it’s the cheapest way to eat. Calorie for calorie starch requires less investment of land, labor and capitol than any other kind of food.
Ironically; as much as we like flour products, potatoes and rice; starch, the main component of these foods, is 98 percent tasteless. If you don’t believe it, try eating a spoonful of flour. About 2 percent of starch breaks down to glucose in your mouth, which you can taste, but the rest doesn’t turn to sugar until it reaches your intestine where it all turns to sugar.
The good news is that if you reduce your consumption of a few starches–you don’t have to abstain completely–you can lower the glycemic load of your diet to a fraction of what it was and at the same time enjoy a richer, tastier way of eating. Here’s how: The Sweet Spot: 500 per day
