Blood sugar problems linked to excess weight

dudara

From today's Times


Blood sugar problems linked to excess weight
Eithne Donnellan, Health Correspondent

Nine out of 10 people who have difficulty losing weight have symptoms of blood sugar problems, according to new research.

The findings, which come from a study of some 37,000 adults in Britain and Ireland and which were released yesterday, suggest that if people use certain types of food to control blood sugar levels, losing weight may no longer be an endless battle.

The five most common symptoms of blood sugar problems reported by those surveyed were waking up tired, not being able to get going without having something sweet or a tea or coffee, craving something sweet at the end of a meal, an energy slump in the afternoon and feeling tired all the time.

While many people with no weight problem may recognise these symptoms in themselves, the survey established that people who suffered from these symptoms were three times more likely to be obese.

The research was headed up by leading British nutritionist Mr Patrick Holford, who also found "staggering" differences in weight loss among people on the same amount of calories.

This was, he said, because they were eating different carbohydrates. People on what he calls low GL (glycemic load) carbohydrates were more likely to lose weight, because low GL carbohydrates keep blood sugar levels stable.

GL scores are obtained by multiplying the quantity of carbohydrate in a serving by the quality of the carbohydrate, otherwise known as GI (glycemic index). "When blood sugar levels are low, you feel hungry. When they are too high, the body dumps the excess as fat. So the name of the game, if you want to lose weight, is to stabilise your blood sugar," he said.

His finding supports the contention of Dr Robert Atkins, who pioneered the popular but controversial low-carbohydrate Atkins diet, that obesity was caused by underlying blood sugar problems.

However, Dr Atkins's high protein diet, while effective at controlling blood sugar, has been linked to health problems such as osteoporosis.

Mr Holford claims he has come up with the perfect solution, a balanced diet which stabilises blood sugar levels and increases energy levels. He says one needs to eat no more than 40GL a day to lose weight but stresses that, because of the way they release sugars, two bowls of porridge oats and a large punnet of strawberries for breakfast have the same GL as a half-bowl of cornflakes and one-third of a banana.

"A large punnet of strawberries does the same thing to your blood sugar as one single date. This is going to be the future of all weight loss and it's totally good for you."

Mr Holford, who will be speaking in Dublin's Sugar Club on Leeson Street tonight, said most people think eating too much fat, or too many calories, makes you fat. This was not the case he said, pointing out that calorie consumption in Ireland over the last 20 years had dropped, but obesity levels were rising. The key issue was blood sugar levels, he said.

Transform

I went to see him last night and was a big fan of his work from meeting him in the past anyway. Patrick Holford is at the cutting edge of holistic nutrition and everyone should own a coppy of his book the New Optimal Nutrition Bible. If you do not understand GL or GI then you are wasting your time and energy training especially if you are looking to decrease body fat levels. I have lectured on this for years and know from practice that it is the way forward. His books are great and are a real help for those suffering from chronic conditions and are sick and tired of feeling sick and tired.

Bottle_of_Smoke

hehe why of all the places the *sugar* club

its true though as soon as my metabolism drops its low GI for me!

Doper Than U

I knew it. I went on a low GI "diet" a little while back and it did wonders, but I fell back into old habits out of sheer laziness. Time to get rid of all the crap again. I did love this "diet", if you could call it that... hunger was never an issue, and I prefer to eat healthily... now if only I could get my arse in gear...