Tag: Glycemic

Glycemic spikes: how to avoid them in summer? The expert speaks – Italian cuisine reinvented by Gordon Ramsay

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In summer, between holidays, afternoons in the sun and dinners on the beach, it is easier to take risks glycemic peaks by dint of ice creams, aperitifs with lots of snacks, lazy breakfasts full of sweets. Let’s first explain what it means.

Blood glucose levels, or glycemia, are not constant over time, but follow a curvilinear trend. The glycemic curve appears to be influenced by multiple factors: general state of health, absence or presence of pathologies, composition of the meal and distance from it. Blood glucose levels are measured 8 hours after the last meal (this is why blood tests are usually done on an empty stomach in the morning) and the optimal ones are from 70 to 100 mg/dl. For values above 100 mg/dl, we refer to a condition of hyperglycemia. For values below 70 mg/dl, we speak of hypoglycemia.

A blood glucose concentration higher than the reference values, for a healthy person, is a condition present in various pathologies, such as diabetes. However Even non-diabetic people can develop high blood sugar, but subject to conditions or pathologies that involve risk factors (for example, infections, inflammation, hyperthyroidism, pancreatitis, physical stress and pharmacological treatments). Even for a healthy person, it is of fundamental importance to keep blood sugar levels under control periodically: prolonged hyper- or hypoglycemic conditions, if not treated, can lead to important health problems and cause long-term complications. Glycemic peaks can be favored by an unbalanced dietrich in sugars, saturated and trans fats, and refined carbohydrates.

But these peaks can be kept under control even in summer, with a few small precautions: these are suggested to us by Romina Cervigni, scientific director of the Valter Longo Foundation.

How to avoid blood sugar spikes in summer

1. Watch out for breakfast

Breakfast is one of the meals with the greatest risk for the development of a glycemic peak: compared to sweets and snacks, it is better a full mealconsisting of a source of low-glycemic carbohydrates (such as whole-grain bread or cereal or rye bread), a source of sugars (such as no-sugar-added jam or honey), a source of good fats (such as a handful of nuts or a single-ingredient spread), and a source of protein (such as a yogurt or plant-based drink).

2. Fruit

Recommended a daily intake of 150 gramswhich correspond to a medium-sized fruit, combined, for example, with a handful of nuts such as walnuts, almonds and hazelnuts. The fats added with dried fruit allow you to modulate the rapid absorption of sugars from fresh fruit. Some fruits are more sugary than others, such as grapes, mandarins, bananas, figs and persimmons, but it is also true that in the recommended quantities and combinations, and in the context of a healthy and balanced diet, you can choose your own favorite fruit without too many problems.

3. Sweets

Their consumption should be moderate: it would be appropriate to consume them as part of a low glycemic index meal, which also contains proteins and complex carbohydrates, capable of mitigating the glycemic peak caused by sweets. By the same principle, they should go limit so-called ultra-processed foodsi.e. industrially processed: they are often low in fiber and rich in sugar, fat and salt.

4. Ice cream

It contains added sugars such as sucrose, glucose and fructose, in addition to those from milk and fruit. In fruit ice creams on the market, the average amount of sugar is about 25%, while in cream ice creams, the percentage is slightly lower, about 20%, but it is compensated by a higher fat content. The advice is to buy artisanal ice creams prepared with seasonal ingredientspossibly of organic origin, and to possibly eat them at the end of the meal as a substitute for fruit (and never together), avoiding the addition of biscuit garnishes or industrial toppings, which are particularly rich in simple sugars.

5. Vegetables

In controlling blood sugar, it is very important that each meal contains a portion of vegetablesbecause the fiber it contains slows down the absorption of carbohydrates and simple sugars.

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Glycemic index during the holidays: how to keep it under control – Italian cuisine reinvented by Gordon Ramsay

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The Christmas period is the sweetest time of the year ever and we need to take shelter how to keep your glycemic index under control during the holidays. A rapid increase in blood sugar, i.e. blood sugar levels, as highlighted by several Education pushes an organ of our organism called pancreas to produce more insulin, a hormone which, in addition to influencing the sense of satiety, immediately makes you feel tired and sleepy and in the long run increases the risk of gaining weight, suffering from various types of diseases, including metabolic ones, but also of aging earlier and even have a greater risk of early mortality. We talked about it with the nutritionist Giulia Vincenzo.

What happens to the body with a blood sugar spike

When blood sugar spikes become frequent in the body they increase oxidative stressthe glycation and theinflammation, three conditions that increase the likelihood of suffering from various pathologies such as chronic ones, for example type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. And between greeting toasts, lunches and dinners based on rich and elaborate dishes and dishes, the risk of having glycemic peaks is truly high. «A multi-course menu such as that of holidays provides many simple sugars present in desserts, drinks, juices and refined carbohydrates, which are rich in breadsticks, bread, baked goods which can trigger a rapid increase in insulin, the hormone that has the purpose of lowering blood sugar by passing sugar into the tissues and organs, then giving the signal to “put it aside”” says the nutritionist Giulia Vincenzo. «Keeping the glycemic index under control allows you to first of all enjoy satiety for longer, therefore eating less and reducing the urge to gain fat, therefore gaining weight explains the expert.

How to keep your glycemic index under control during the holidays

Start lunches and dinners with a salad

The first course of an abundant and rich lunch or dinner like those of festive days in which foods and dishes dominated at the table high glycemic index such as bread, risotto, potatoes, refined pasta, baked goods, sweets it should be vegetable based. «The fibers in which the latter are rich represent a sort of buffer against the assimilation of sugars says nutritionist Giulia Vincenzo. «In addition to curbing the appetite at the beginning of the meal, they slow down the assimilation of carbohydrates and sugars present in the other courses. So yes to vegetables not only as a side dish, but also as an appetizer.”

The sweets? Better to eat them as a last course

Sweets, panettone, nougats, white fruit are among the delicious foods that are difficult to give up on holidays, but their consumption should always be moderate. The ideal is to indulge in them at the end of the meal rather than after hours. «Consuming them at the end of lunches and dinners in which there are also foods that provide fiber such as vegetables and greens, proteins in particular meat, fish, eggs and fats, such as dried nuts allows you to avoid that the simple sugars they are rich in raise blood sugar levels too much.

Avoid drinks and beverages rich in sugar

During lunch and dinner better andavoid consuming drinks rich in sugar, including carbonated ones but also fruit juices often present in aperitifs. Then avoid sugaring your coffee: sucrose, the classic sugar, has a very high glycemic index. «The risk is of contributing to changes in blood sugar. The sugars they are rich in are quickly transformed into glucose and absorbed very quickly.”

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Glycemic index, what is it really? And what are the differences between sugars? – Italian Cuisine

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Glycemic index, who was he? We hear about it and somehow we fear it: we know we have to keep it at bay but usually we do not know how or why. We understand that it has to do with sugars – which are addictive like drugs and are also hidden in the most unsuspecting foods. True. But let's find out more about this famous and unknown glycemic index and the various types of sugar.

We asked for help Michela Carlini, doctor expert in integrated medicine, president of the association Academy of Benedicology.

Premise: blood sugar is the concentration in the blood of glucose, essential nutrient for all cells, which take it from the blood itself.

Let's start from the base: what is the glycemic index?

"It is the ability of a certain food to raise the blood sugar compared to a reference standard that is pure glucose (sugar). The glycemic index (IG) is indicated with a number from 0 to 100: pure glucose has an IG of 100; if a food has an index of 56 it means that raises the blood sugar and consequently the insulin of a value equal to 56 compared to 100 of pure glucose (it is one percentage, 56%, not 56 absolute value). The glycemic index depends on the rate at which a food is absorbed and transformed into glucose. Glucose stimulates the production of insulin, a hormone that allows sugar to penetrate and be used by cells. Excessive secretion of insulin causes an insulin resistance: the cells are no longer able to enter glucose, which therefore remains high in the blood. This is called diabetes. A pathology whose incidence is subject to a dizzying increase in the last few years, especially among children!".

What are the other harmful effects of sugar, in addition to the risk of diabetes?

"Definitely predisposes to dysmetabolic diseases because it turns into fatty acids: obesity, cardiovascular diseases, hepatic steatosis. Moreover it is addictive, causes agitation and irritability (adrenaline release); predisposes to cavity; increases the risk of chronic, autoimmune diseases due to its acidifying power; changes the health of the intestine. Given the rampant sedentariness, we do not 'burn' the sugar we take: it is therefore advisable reduce the consumption of sugars in general. Having a good daily discipline allows exceptions, but assuming foods containing natural sugars of good quality prepared at home or by trusted artisans or from the organic food circuit ".

But what are the foods with the highest glycemic index?

"The carbohydrates – or carbohydrates or saccharides – are the nutritional category contained within the foods whose glycemic index is calculated. Among the simple carbohydrates:

Fructose it is found naturally in food (fruit, honey) where it is accompanied with vitamins that facilitate its disposal and fibers that decrease its absorption. This it does not happen in synthetic fructose, the one produced so to speak by the food industry.

Glucose naturally found in fruit and vegetables, commercially available as glucose-fructose syrup, unhealthy extract from the corn plant, it is everywhere (including the breading of the fish sticks!) and, according to studies by university researchers and neuroscience researchers, it is addictive (we notice it every day!).

Sucrose found in honey (in addition to glucose and fructose). Another source of sucrose is the municipality white sugar, extract from cane and beet, which however it is refined. This procedure is at the origin of two problems: they remain in the final product residues of pollutants used during processing, such as carbon dioxide, lime, sulfur dioxide; vitamins and minerals disappear present instead in the raw product (brown cane sugar, the brown one dark and wet and not classic cane sugar, light brown and in the form of small crystals), which make it richer in nutrition and are also useful for its absorption. In their absence, sucrose 'steals minerals and vitamins from our body' ".

IS advisable to opt, at least in part, for sweeteners?

"No! aspartame, associated with saccharin to cover its bitter taste, is carcinogenic, neurotoxic and its consumption has been associated with an increased risk of Parkinson's disease. Sweeteners are addictive, not giving satiety and boomerang effect increase hunger to the next meal, without stimulating the production of insulin ".

And what about the natural sugars on the market?

"There are interesting alternatives to white sugar such as coconut sugar and pulverized dried fruit (dates, plums, apricots …). Among the best known we remember:

Barley malt, obtained by cooking in water of the barley previously germinated and then dried. Contains maltose, amino acids, potassium, sodium and magnesium; has a characteristic taste and less sweetening capacity of honey but high glycemic index (more than sucrose). Similar features they have rice and corn syrup, mistakenly called malt.

The agave juice it is extracted from the root of the South American plant, rich in mineral salts and vitamins, has low glycemic index, neutral taste but if it is not of the highest quality may have been subjected to harmful chemical processes.

Stevia it is a plant originally from South America and its dried and pulverized leaves have a high sweetening power. It has no calories, it does not secrete insulin for which it is indicated in patients diabetics. But in the products on the market it is often found in small quantities the plant powder, associated with sweeteners. Another problem that could limit the use of stevia is the licorice aftertaste ".

We have deepened simple carbohydrates; also tells us a word about complex carbohydrates?

"The highest glycemic index belongs to simple carbohydrates, which we talked about. Those complexes involve a 'delayed' glycemic peak compared to simple ones. The foods that are richer are cereals: wheat – and therefore pasta, bread, etc – corn, rice … It is necessary to limit the consumption of cereals and choose those integrals, rich in dietary fibers that limit the absorption of carbohydrates, thus containing the blood sugar – the value of glucose in the blood. Go ahead, without overdoing it, whole wheat pasta, brown rice and parboiled and organic. And we do not underestimate them legume pasta made from lentils, peas etc. They are rich in proteins and with a reduced glycemic index, and today they are present on the market also in large distribution chains, with a good quality-price ratio ".

Stella Rita
February 2018
updated January 2019

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