Have you been counting sugar that you eat? Are you concerned that you're eating too many types of high-glycemic food? This study suggests that you should not worry about that unless you're suffering from diabetes.
We all want to be healthy. That's why we're trying our best to make the right choices when it comes to food and drink that we eat. If you have a family history of diabetics or you simply don't want to suffer from it, then most probably you're following a low-glycemic diet.
A brand-new research, however, suggests that this fear doesn't have any sense. Whether you're eating food that's high in sugar or not doesn't matter as long as you're not diagnosed with diabetes.
A group of researchers working in Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital conducted a study on the effects of eating food that's high or low in gylcemic index to the body.
With Dr. Frank Sacks in the lead, the team worked with more than 160 adults that were overweight. They had to eat 4 different types of diet for five weeks each. They began on April 2008 and ended on December 2010.
These diets were mostly carbohydrates with either low or high glycemic index (for example, high carb with high glycemic or high carb and low glycemic).
After analyzing the results of their diets, the researchers found out that there's no marked improvement to health. Their insulin levels, which are a benchmark in determining whether you have diabetes, remained normal. Their blood pressure also didn't change.
According to the researchers, it's possible that the body could effectively manage insulin levels. A diet low in glycemic is also non-issue if you're already following one that's considered heart healthy such as DASH or Mediterranean.
Nevertheless, they recommended that glycemic index should be strictly followed by those who already have type 2 diabetes. By then, the body no longer has the capacity to regulate the production of insulin.
