The GL Diet Cookbook: Over 150 tasty recipes for easy weight loss. Nigel Denby

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СКАЧАТЬ GL has been shown to rise after a food is cooked, which makes sense as the food will generally become softer and more easily digested, meaning it will break down into glucose more quickly once eaten, causing a faster rise in blood sugar levels.

      Pasta is a good example. If you cook it until it’s al dente (firm to the bite), the GL will be lower than if you cook it until it is soft.

      Raw food is best wherever possible and safe. If you have to heat it, do so gently and don’t boil the life out of it or burn it to a crisp!

      Ripeness and the Age of a Food

      The more ripe or aged a food becomes, the more starches and sugars are released, so it makes sense that a new, baby potato has a lower GL than a large baking potato, and that a ripe banana has a higher GL than an under-ripe one.

      Eat baby vegetables when possible, and fruits when slightly under-ripe rather than over-ripe to help keep your GL score as low as possible for the day.

      Adding Acidity

      Tests have shown that if you add acidity such as lemon juice or vinegar to a high-carb meal it can lower the glycaemic response by up to 30 per cent. This is believed to be because acid slows stomach-emptying and therefore the rate of digestion.

      Red wine vinegar and lemon juice have been shown to have the greatest effect when added to foods. It is thought that the body’s low-glycaemic response to yoghurt and sourdough breads is due to their high acidity.

      Another good reason to use vinegar is that researchers in Sweden have found that vinegar may help us to eat less and reduce the cravings induced by blood-sugar spikes after meals. Interestingly, they found a direct link between increased vinegar intake and satiety (feelings of fullness and satisfaction) after eating.

      So, no excuses, get those fresh lemons and vinegars out, add some olive oil and start making a GL-lowering concoction…and no, before you ask, this doesn’t mean that you can now eat chips floating in vinegar with impunity!

      Fibre Content

      There are two types of fibre – soluble and insoluble.

      Insoluble fibre helps move bulk through the intestine, which together with fluid and being active helps relieve constipation and has been linked with a reduction in the incidence of colon cancers.

      Vegetables and many fruits and root vegetables contain fibre only in their skins, so try not to remove them wherever possible.

      When insoluble fibre is finely milled and processed it allows enzymes to cause rapid digestion, thus taking away the added fibre benefit. This is why you will find that some wholemeal breads, ‘brown’ breads, pasta and rice, despite looking less refined and being higher in fibre, have a very similar GL to their white counterparts.

      Wholegrains, flaxseeds and oat fibre are all good sources of insoluble fibre.

      Soluble fibre is a gummy mass when mixed with water, and binds with fatty acids which can help lower total and LDL (‘bad’) cholesterol, reducing the risk of heart disease. It also prolongs stomach-emptying and therefore your feeling of fullness. From the GL standpoint, it slows the release and absorption of sugars into the body and therefore helps regulate blood sugar levels.

      Soluble fibre is found in whole oat products and oat bran, legumes, flaxseed, fruits, vegetables and psyllium husk.

       Do add extra fibre to your meals and recipes wherever possible, to harness its many benefits – and don’t forget to keep hydrated to help the fibre do its job.

      Adding Fat and Protein

      Adding fat to a food can lower its GL, as it can slow the rate of stomach-emptying and therefore the speed at which a food is digested.

      However, this isn’t a licence to add butter to everything!

      A good rule is to try and ensure you have a combination of healthy fats, proteins and carbs on your plate. The fats and proteins will help to moderate the effects of the sugars in the carbs, so that overall you should have a lowish GL effect.

      Different Types of Foods

      Not all foods within the same family will have the same GL. Different types of potatoes, rice and oats have varying GLs, for instance, as they contain different starches which affect the level of starch gelatinization that takes place, and consequently the GL. Not all foods have been tested yet for their GL. We give you the basics in this book, but if you want more specific and up-to-date low-GL food lists, see www.dietfreedom.co.uk.

       Chapter 3 HEALTHFUL OILS AND FORGET-ME-NOT FATS

      OK, so some fats are GOOD – despite our 20-year indoctrination that ALL FAT is the devil’s work, we have finally cleared that one up once and for all (or at least the latest research has).

      Virtually ALL dieticians, health professionals and researchers worldwide nowadays agree – it is the type of fat you eat that counts, not just the overall quantity.

      Fat is essential in our diet, and the majority of it should come from natural oils from seeds, nuts, olives and fish. These healthful oils are anti-inflammatory, help protect us against heart disease, improve the condition of our nails, hair and skin, can ease depression, and may even help fight cancer.

      Types of Fat

      Unsaturated Fats – Eat and Enjoy a Good Variety

      Monounsaturated – olive oil, avocados, nuts and seeds Polyunsaturated – seeds, nuts and their oils, oily fish such as mackerel, tuna and salmon

      Saturated Fats – Eat in Moderation

      Found in butter, hard cheeses, coconut oil and fatty meats

      Trans Fats – Avoid!

      Hydrogenated margarines are made by converting vegetable oil into fat at very high temperatures, to make them last longer. Check labels and avoid anything containing trans/hydrogenated fats, as they have been linked with heart disease and cancer. You will find them in many commercially-produced baked products and in processed foods, although countries around the world are now legislating to restrict or ban their use.

      What are Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs)?

      Fatty acids are the basic building-blocks of all fats and oils. Some of these can be made by the body. The ones the body can’t make have to be obtained through the food we eat, and are called Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs). They are ‘essential’ because without them we would die!

      EFAs affect our mood, behaviour, intelligence and emotions, and are vital to the functioning of the immune system. A lack of them has been linked to depression, СКАЧАТЬ