Posts Tagged ‘Glycemic Index’

Every day I hear quotes such as the following: “I want to lose fat, so I will start doing cardio for the first six months and then I will start the weights AFTER I lose the fat”, or my all time favorite, “I just do cardio to keep the fat off”.  The problem with these statements is that they disregard basic principles of exercise physiology that state that there exists a balance of these two exercise modes.

There is a term in Exercise Science known as Specificity.  This principle is based on the fact that the human body adapts to various exercise stimuli.  In other words if I were to train you to be a bodybuilder I would want to train you using a resistance of about 75-85% of your I repetition maximum.  On the other hand if I wanted to train you to be a marathon runner I would be training in the 40-50% 1 rep max range because the body will respond entirely different to that kind of exercise.  So you may be asking yourself, “Well how does this have anything to do with finding the correct balance of cardio and weights?”  The answer is a resounding EVERYTHING.

Remember that cardiovascular exercise and resistance training exercise have a completely different affect on how your body adapts physiologically.  Take for example the following key differences:

-Cardiovascular exercise is catabolic (meaning that it promotes the breakdown of tissues, both fatty and muscular)

-Resistance training exercise is anabolic (meaning that it promotes the build-up of muscle tissue…BUT it does not encourage the build-up of fatty tissue)

-Aerobic exercise does NOT favor optimal strength development.  So when you hear somebody say “I lift weights for my upper body, but for my lower body I just run”, you will know that they are fooling themselves.

-Aerobic exercise encourages catabolic hormones (breaking down) such as glucocorticoids (cortisol,cortisone, ect).  These hormones prevent muscle growth and promote the storage of FAT…yes you heard me right…the storage of fat.  This is your bodies attempt at turning you into an efficient fat-burning machine.  The problem is that you don’t want to be an efficient fat burning machine.  Think about this for a minute…what do you want your air conditioner to be? Efficient or non-efficient?  Well, you want it to be efficient because then you are using LESS energy and that is a good thing.  But what about your body?  Remember that your goal is to burn fat NOT be efficient with it.

This is where resistance training comes into the picture.  Where cardiovascular exercise is excellent in burning extra calories and getting your weight down, it also has the tendency to keep you in a state of efficiency. 

-Resistance training promotes the secretion of Testosterone and Growth Hormone which ARE FAT BURNING HORMONES!  So what have we now…? We have the best of both worlds: the immediate fat-burning affects of cardiovascular exercise and the long-term fat-burning effects of resistance training (growth hormone, testosterone, and muscle itself which is highly metabolic in nature).

Summary: Cardiovascular exercise and Resistance Training Exercise have different outcomes on the human body.  A proper balance is needed to ensure fat-loss is maximized.  The following is a general starting guide for you to consider:

Beginners (less than 6 months weight training): 3-6 days cardio and 2-3 days of weight training

Intermediate: 50/50 split between the two modes of exercise.  For example weights on Mon/Wed/Fri and Cardio on Tue/Thur/Sat

Advanced: Favor more resistance training to optimize hormonal balance and maintain metabolism. For example weight training 5 days a week and cardio 2 days a week.  This will ensure you stay on the fat burning fast track.

Well there you have it my friends!  I will dive more aggressively into this topic, but this should keep you thinking squarely for now!  Remember that life is good!

Excuses & Meme’s…The Great American Way! Part II

Please read part I posted last week to shed light on what I am about to suggest in this post.  Last week I told you that all of us have meme’s and that they act to impede our fitness and nutrition goals.  Today I would like to give you some simple steps that you can apply to change your current mindset so that you can obtain the lifestyle that you truly deserve.

Step #1:  Acknowledge that you make excuses:

No, you’re not in AA but this first step CANNOT be overlooked. If you do, you will pay the price of failing.  You make excuses…yes you do.  There is absolutely nobody that is exempt from excuse making and you are no exception.  That is ok.  The good news is that you can change your mind once you identify your excuses and memes. 

Step #2: Write down all of your excuses and memes:

This is more of a process.  For the next 30 days I want you to write down all of the excuses and memes that you make to yourself.  See last weeks post for examples.

Step #3: State the opposite:

Once you have written down all of your most annoying excuses and memes you need to write down the exact opposite.  For example if you say, “I am too tired to exercise after work”, write down “Because I am proactive and take responsibility for my life, I will exercise before work to increase my energy level”. 

Step #4: Change your Sub-Conscience Mind: 

Your sub-conscience mind is the part of the brain that stores all of your habits.  It steers the proverbial ship.  This is where the vast majority of all your behaviors are stored and processed.  To change your sub-conscience mind you have to do the following things.

            a. Convince it that it is wrong:  You do this by stating the exact opposite of your memes.  The very moment that a negative or damming thought enters your head you must replace it with the opposite thought…even if you have to say it out loud.

            b. Construct a list of positive affirmations:  On this list could be something like “I am in control of my eating at all times”, or “Exercising daily is just part of who I am”. 

            c. Repeat your list of affirmations daily, morning and night: Do this when you first awake and before you go to sleep.  The goal is to be in a relaxed state where not much will bother you and where your mind can be at ease. 

            d. Be in a state of believing:  When you are repeating your affirmations, do so in a state of positivity and optimism

Step #5: Disarm your alarm system!

When you begin doing these simple steps your brain will tell you that you are crazy and that you are acting weird or like a moron.  This is normal because your brain is still convinced of the validity of your previous mindset of excuses and memes.  Persistence is the key here.  If you persist and repeat your affirmations day after day you will begin to believe the things that you are telling yourself and BECAUSE YOU BELIEVE YOURSELF YOU WILL ACT ON IT!  Yes your behavior will start to change in a way that you never imagined possible.

Step #6:  Realize that you never “Arrive”.

We live in a world of complacency, feeling entitled and laziness.  If you are not constantly reinforcing your sub-conscience mind, rest assured you will slip back into old ways.  Stay focused and realize that you have to be proactive to win the battle.  Things will not magically work out for the best if you are not constantly bathing your mind with the things that you want to accomplish.

Step #7 Action:

This is where it is time to get off your butt and get into action.  You can have the most wonderful meditation sessions of visualizations and imagery known to mankind, but if you don’t move you will never change your behavior.  It is much easier to shed your old excuses when you see yourself doing the opposite of them.  Soon you will be excuse free!

Step #8 Making it Long-Term:

Realize from the get-go that this is about lifestyle change for the long-term!  Never allow any short-sightedness to enter the picture here.  When you are planning your visualizations and affirmations make them long term.  You want to adopt a mindset of permanency.

 Well there you have it my friends!  Properly applied these principles can and will change your lifestyle for the better.  Start applying them today…there is absolutely no room for procrastination here.  Remember…life is good!

Ryan Flint, Lifelong Fitness Certified Personal Trainer and Sports Nutritionist

 I know there seems to be an on-going debate out there these days with health professionals, nutritionists, and the media giving different opinions about whether organic food is worth the slightly higher prices.

But there are a few VERY important aspects of organic food that I rarely see anybody out there talking about.

First, as you know, the main aspect that most people talk about in the organic vs conventional food debate is simply whether the food in question was grown with pesticides, herbicides, or chemical fertilizers, and whether that food contains pesticide/herbicide residues on the actual food when you eat it.

And that IS important… I mean, I know I don’t want to be ingesting pesticide residues that are potentially carginogenic or even estrogenic and can possibly increase belly fat (due to the xenoestrogens)… and I’m sure you don’t either!

But there’s another another MAJOR aspect of organic vs conventional food that most people are overlooking, and that is:

The impacts of conventional farm chemicals on the SOIL, and how that affects the nutritional composition (quantities of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants in the food)

The harsh chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides used in conventional farming can destroy a large part of the microbial activity in the soils (bacteria and fungi) that help to make soil minerals more available to the plants roots.  Conventional farming degrades this aspect of the soil which results in lower micro-nutrient levels in the plants that you eat.

In organic farming, these harsh chemicals are not used, and the soil is healthier and more biologically active (fungi and bacteria aid the plant roots with uptake of minerals and nutrients), and the plants roots can therefore obtain more nutrition which produces foods with higher micro-nutrient levels.

Also, it’s quite possible that the heavy use of chemical fertilizers, which make crops grow much faster than normal, leads to a shallower root system, that inherently absorbs less micro-nutrients from the soil column compared to organically raised plants that are forced to have deeper, more extensive root systems to obtain all of the nutrients the plant needs.

I think it’s quite easy to see why organic foods can have superior nutrition levels and more vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants than conventional foods.

But beware of conflicting “reports” out there on this topic.  Although there is much data on the superior nutrition levels of organic foods, you may also find some data that contradicts these findings in particular studies.

The reason that this happens is that science isn’t perfect, and someone may measure the nutrition levels of a certain type of conventional tomato, for example, compared against a different type of organic tomato, grown in a vastly different geographic area in vastly different soils and climate.  There are dozens, or even hundreds of complications with these types of studies, which is why you can’t always make direct comparisons.

 However, I think with the evidence we talked about in terms of soil quality, nutrient uptake, and also just the pure fact that we don’t want carcinogenic and estrogenic chemicals in our food, it makes it worth it to try to buy organic as much as possible.

Sometimes Local may be MORE important than “Organic”

Here’s another vitally important thing to keep in mind… 

If your choices at the grocery store for the organic food come from half way around the globe (such as organic produce from Chile or New Zealand when you live in North America), then you might want to consider favoring local produce even if it’s not labeled “organic”.

For one reason, many local farm stands may actually have organic produce but simply aren’t legally allowed to label their food “organic” if they haven’t acquired whatever necessary licenses they need for that.  If you ask the farmers, many times you may find out that the local farm produce is in fact organic, or at least close to organic (meaning they use very minimal chemicals compared to a large industrial farm).

Also, local produce that is picked at it’s peak of ripeness, and on your plate in a matter of hours or days, will usually have much higher nutrition levels compared to “organic” produce that was picked halfway around the world well before it was ripe and traveled weeks to make it to your grocery store.

The one caveat to this is frozen produce… sometimes fruits and veggies are picked at their peak of ripeness and frozen rather quickly, even if they were picked halfway around the world.  In this case, organic frozen fruits and vegetables can sometimes be just as nutritious as local produce (although they may carry a bigger petroleum burden than local produce)

So, if I were to give my overall recommendations to save yourself from the inherent health dangers of pesticides and herbicides, while also eating food that contains the highest levels of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, it is this:

1. choose organic over conventional most of the time, when it’s available

2. choose local foods over organic if the organic food came from very long distances away (although frozen organic fruits and vegetables can be just as nutritious as local)

3. Don’t forget that choosing organic also helps to protect the environment from chemical fertilizer and pesticide pollution that can harm ecosystems and your own drinking water supply.

4. Don’t fall for “organic junk foods” — I’ve been seeing this trend lately — Just because crackers, cookies, cakes, and corn chips may be labeled “organic”, doesn’t mean they are healthy… junk food is still junk food!  And these are still overly processed foods that can make you fat!

Remember that forcing change for responsible agriculture starts with your choices as a consumer.  The more we demand responsibly grown and raised foods by choosing those foods in our shopping carts, the more that producers and suppliers will respond to that demand.

Remember that there is a difference between a snack and a meal.  A meal is fully BALANCED meaning that it contains all three macro-nutrient ratio’s (Carbs, protein, fat) in the correct ratio.  For example putting together a snack would mean nothing more than slamming a few crackers and calling it good, whereas if you want to make it a meal you would have to put some protein in there as well such as a protein shake, yogurt, cottage cheese…you get the point.  You may be asking yourself, “well what about the fat?”  Remember a simple little saying, “the fat will follow”.  What this means is that if you are actively trying to get a low glycemic carbohydrate and a quality low-fat protein, then you DON’T have to worry about adding the fat in…it will naturally occur in about a 20% ratio if you are choosing healthy choices.

 Below are some simple suggestions to spark your mind.  Following the food list, you will find suggestions for quick, balanced, on the run suggestions.

Quick-On-The-Go-Meals

The only thing that you may need with these meals is a mini cooler with ice or a micro-wave oven.  These meals are designed to be quick and easy and worker friendly.

          1- Sandwiches:  Just remember to limit the condiments, dressing and cheese.  These items add fat calories galore!  Egg salad sandwiches work great as well!  Just remember to limit the egg yolks in the mixture and you should be great! 

2-Whole Grain pasta’s:  You may be saying “what, pasta?  That is not quick!”  Hear me out…This can actually be one of the quickest ways to have a pre-made meal.  All you do if make a big serving of whole grain pasta that will last for 2-4 servings and pre-dress it with a healthy sauce (low sugar/fat) and then you have a quick meal ready to be eating at any time.  The only drawback to this is that you may need  microwave to warm it up.

3-Protein Bars balanced with fiber:  It is not enough to just have a protein bar and call it good.  You need to balance that bar with adequate fiber.  So be sure to take along a baggie of pre-cut veggies and fruit to go along with your bar and you will be set for the next three hours. 

4-RTD’s (Ready-To-Drink Meals):  These have become popular in the last decade due to their extreme convenience.  To give you an example of what I am talking about just think of EAS’s Myo-Plex Shakes.  They are pre-packaged shakes that need to be refrigerated and that is just about it.  Just as the protein bars you need to balance this meal with a serving of veggies and/or a serving of fruit.

5-Left-Overs:  This is something that can make your life a whole lot more enjoyable!  If you have more of a formal dinner with healthy recipes (such as in this book) you can intentionally make more servings and package up the rest for later…all you need is a microwave!

6-Pre-made protein shakes:  This is an economical choice because all you have to do is buy a big 5lb jug of Whey Protein and then make 5-6 pre-made shakes and keep them in your fridge.

7-Whole Grain Crackers and a Protein source:  Triscuits, wheat thins, or any other low-sugar/fat cracker combined with a protein source such as tuna fish, yogurt, cottage cheese, lean deli-meat, or any other protein source such as a pre-made shake.

8-Salads:  If you can grab an extra ten minutes the night before and prepare a salad, they make great convienance meals.  You may need a fridge or you can keep it in your cooler if you are on the road.  Just be sure to spice up your salad with adequate protein such as shredded chicken or turkey to keep the protein high.

9-Whole Grain Cereals:  Yes you can have breakfast for your meals if you need to!  Just be sure that it is whole grain and low-sugar/fat…sound familiar?

 Well there you have it my friends!  Some of the fastest meals available for all of you busy people out there!  Remember life is good and I will see you next week!

The following is a list that you can use as a nutritional checklist.  If you can answer yes to these questions you will find yourself on the fast track to success.  If you find yourself at a plateau, oftentimes you will find yourself negligent in one or more of these areas.  These principles are based on long term lifestyle change and I promise you that if you apply them and are able to answer “yes” to all of these on a CONSISTENT basis, you WILL succeed!  Best of Luck!

1- Am I within my calorie range on a daily basis?

This is extremely important.  Most people get frustrated because they fail to lose/gain/maintain weight even when they are making healthy choices.  The problem is that the body can get quite particular and even 300-500 calories in either direction can make all of the difference.  Log on to www .fitday.com to enter your calories and find out if you are indeed within your range.

2-Am I eating 5-6 SMALLER meals spaced out every 2-3 hours?

Remember that the reason behind this one is to activate your metabolism and supercharge it!  You can eat the same amount of calories but only in 3 square meals and you will NOT lose the weight that you would with 5-6 smaller meals spaced out every 2-3 hours.  Why?  Because your blood sugar levels stay much more steady when eating the smaller more frequent meals.  Never neglect this principle.

3-Are my Macronutrients (Carbs, Pro, Fat) in Balance?

Remember that the body prefers a balance of these sources.  You should be around 50% Carbohydrate, 30% Protein, and 20% Fat, unless otherwise directed by your trainer.  This pertains to each individual meal and to your total daily intake.

4-Am I Consuming Moderate to Low Glycemic Carbohydrates?

This is by far the most overlooked nutritional aspect that can have a huge impact.  Please refer to the book, The New Glucose Revolution, The Complete Authoritative Guide to the Glycemic Index for further insights and understanding on this topic.  It is essential to gain a complete and thorough understanding on this topic so that you can reap the benefits of eating moderate to low glycemic carbohydrates.

5- Am I consuming adequate Fruits and Vegetables on a Daily basis?

The body demands nutrients, fiber, antioxidants that are found in fruits and vegetables.  Don’t like veggies?  Get over it and get used to them because they are the life blood of good nutrition and you cannot consider yourself truly healthy until you are getting at least 3 servings (3-5) of veggies a day and 2 servings (2-4) of fruit.

6- Am I eating Breakfast?

This is an absolute must!  I know that many of you struggle with this one…if you do start small and work up to a moderate meal.  This sets your body’s metabolism into motion for the day and ensures that you keep your blood sugar levels in check.

7-Is my sugar/treat intake low?

Nobody is telling you that you can never have a treat, but if you do so earlier in the day and make sure that you keep your portion size small.  Your total daily sugar intake should never be more than 10% and lower is much better.  Sugar is a death nail when it comes to weight loss.

8-Is my fat intake low? 

Remember that you should never be over 20% in the fat category and of that 20%, no more than 10% (and much lower if possible) should come from saturated (animal) fat.

In my next post I will do a Non-Nutritional checklist that will work hand in hand with this one.

Life is good!

Today I want to continue speaking about the power of the glycemic index in helping you to change not only your physical body but also the more important things like energy level, better mood,  and increased concentration and focus.  Is there any of you that would not like to enhance these facets of life?  Please refer to the first edition to this article for the nuts and bolts concerning the glycemic index.

Sometimes we think of calories as calories as calories…with absolutely no differentiati0n.  The fact of the matter is that calories can have a drastically different affect on the body depending where they come from.  Lets say that you are a fitness enthusiast (as you all should be) and you are planning on going on a long 5 mile hike tomorrow.  What kind of carbohydrate should you consume…high, medium, or low glycemic?  I want to give you some example scenarios to help illustrate the point.

If you were indeed going hiking you would want to start loading up on some low glycemic high energy yielding carbohydrates such as whole grain pasta’s, sweet potatoes, or beans and legumes.  Ideally you would want to consume these carbohydrates about 1.5 to 2 hours before your hike (or whatever athletic, or recreational event you are planning to endeavor in).   The reason for this is that these sources of foods are very low glycemic which means that they break down SLOWLY into your blood stream and provide you with a slow but steady source of calories (energy) for the task at hand.  If you were to eat a high glycemic carbohydrate instead and then go hiking you would hit the wall faster because the food would be rapidly digested, your blood sugar would rise, give you an abrupt source of energy but then you would end up crashing as your blood sugar came back down.

Now lets say that you are in the same scenario with hiking but the only difference is that you have neglected to eat prior to your hike and now you need to get some quick calories in you to get on with your upcoming hike.  You only have half an hour before your hike so now you would want to consume something with a moderate glycemic index such as whole wheat bread or corn.  You can also consume some low glycemic carbohydrates first such as those listed previously to ensure that you have an “energy cusion”.  What I mean by this is that once you burn off the moderate index carbs you still have the lower glycemic carbs to fall back on because they will be breaking down to blood sugar at a slower rate than the moderate ones.  Think of it like a birthday cake…you have the initial layer of frosting (your higher medium carbs) followed by the cake itself (the lower glycemic carbs).  The frosting is what is going to get you the initial energy boost, and the cake itself will provide the lasting energy because there is more substance and bulk, just like you would get from a lower glycemic carb.  Obviously this is not true in real life, but I hope the visual helps.

OK, that is all well and good, but what about it you just want to lose weight!  If that is the case then you should be trying to get the lowest glycemic carbs possible at all times because it ensures that you will keep your blood sugar levels low which means less insulin spikes which means less fat-storage!  It’s that simple!  The bottom line is that you want the carbohydrate to break down as slow as possibleso that you can use that calories that it yields.  This also ensures that your body uses the available calories instead of storing them.

So go and make the resolution to strategically isolate which carbs you will and will not have.  The New Glucose Revolution is a great book series to get you started in this endeavor.

Some of the following is taken from “The New Glucose Revolution The Authoritative  Guide to the Glycemic Index pg XVI.

Myth #1:  Starchy foods are fattening and should be avoided.  Foods like bread and pasta are always cited.

Reality:  Most starchy foods are bulky and nutritious.  This means that they fill you up and keep you satisfied.  Did you know that the term “starch” only means stored carbohydrate?  Just like we store carbohydrate in our muscles for energy, so do veggies!  Just be sure that you check the glycemic index of the food that you are selecting and pay particular attention to your serving size.

Myth #2: Sugar causes diabetes.

Reality:  Today, an absolute agreement exists among reasearchers specializing in diabetes that sugar in food does not cause diabetes.  Type 1 diabetes (formerly known as insulin-dependent or juvenile diabetes) is an autoimmune condition triggered by unknown environmental factors.  Type 2 diabetes is largely inherited, BUT lifestyle factors such as lack of exercise or being overweight increase the risk of developing it.  Foods that are high on the glycemic index may increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, but sugar has a more moderate effect than may starches, especially refined and highly processed ones.

Myth#3: All starches are slowly digested in the intestine.

Reality:  Nope!  Most starch, especially that in refined-grain products, is digested very quickly causing a faster and more severe increase in blood glucose.  Again, be sure that you are picky at to what types of starches you are consuming.  Low glycemic starches such as a sweet potato is much more nutritious than a plain white baking potato.  The more natural the starch is (i.e. not processed or refined) the lower it will be on the index.

Myth#4: Hunger pangs are inevitable if you want to lose weight.

Reality:  High carbohydrate foods, especially those with a low GI such as rolled oats, or whole grain pasta, can keep you feeling full, often until you’re ready to eat your next meal.

Myth #5:  Foods high in fat are more filling.

Reality:  Studies show that high-fat foods are among the least filling.  That’s why it is so easy to passively overcome high-fat foods like steak or potato chips.

Myth #6:  Diets high in sugar are less nutritious.

Reality:  Studies have shown that diets high in sugar (from GOOD sources such as fruits, and dairy products) often have higher levels of micro-nutrients, including calcium riboflavin, and vitamin C, than low-sugar diets.  Just remember GOOD sources, not refined sources such as pastries.

Myth #7:  Sugar goes hand in hand with dietary fat.

Reality:  Yes, many foods high in fat are also high is sugar-think chocolate, full-fat ice cream, cakes, cookies, and pastries.  But most high-sugar diets are actually low in fat, and vise versa.  The reason:  most sources of fat in our diet are not sweetened (e.g. potato chips, French fries, steak.

So there you have it my Lifelong Fitness friends!  Remember this is all found in lifestyle change…this is not just a simple diet.   Good Luck!

Oh carbohydrates!  We hear about them all of the time!  Carbs are bad, carbs make you gain weight!  Heck, this is the only macro nutrient (carbohydrate, protein, fat) that goes by a nickname!  Having served in the health and fitness industry for more than 8 years I have found this single macro nutrient to be the most misunderstood with no exception.  Granted it is the most complicated macro nutrient but it CAN be simple if we understand the basics.

Basic Principles:

1-The Glycemic index is a rating system ranging from 1-100

2-This scale pertains to carbohydrates ONLY.

3-The higher the rating, the faster that particular carbohydrate breaks down into  blood sugar (your immediate and ultimate source of energy)

4-Every time a carbohydrate is broken down into blood sugar you have a corresponding rise in the hormone insulin

5-Insulin acts as a transport hormone that shuttles the blood sugar into one of three containers in your body (blood sugar, glycogen, and fat)

6-High insulin levels are equated with fat storage and other hormonal shifts that cause hunger pangs and satiety issues.

Summary:  Each carbohydrate source that you ingest has a glycemic index attached to it.  The higher it is, the faster that carbohydrate breaks down into blood sugar which is your immediate source of energy.  The faster it breaks down the more insulin is required.   Chronically high insulin levels are associated with a plethora health disorders such as insulin resistance, hyper-glycemia, metabolic syndrome and ultimately Type II Diabetes.

SO…Who should care about the glycemic index?

As we all know, nutrition is the most vital part of any fitness program.  It can make or break our goals and ambitions.  Furthermore, when it comes to nutrition there is little discussion that carbohydrate seems to be the most confusing macro-nutrient (out of carbs, protein, and fat).  Why is this?  Let us think about a few reasons.

1.  Carbohydrates are all listed on the glycemic index, while protein and fat are not.  This means that we need to educate ourselves as to what carbohydrates are good and which ones are bad.  This can be tedious at first, but will eventually become second nature to us as we form a new lifestyle. 

2.  Carbohydrates are shrouded with myth.  What have we been told by popular diets such as Atkins®?  We have been told that carbohydrates are the culprit for mass weight gain.  Is this true?  Stay tuned.

3.  Carbohydrates come in all shapes and sizes.  Carbohydrates range from simple carbohydrates to complex carbohydrates and everything in between.  What further complicates the scenario is that some complex carbohydrates are high on the glycemic index and some simple carbohydrates are low.  However some general rules can be established.  Remember that complex carbohydrates are generally lower on the glycemic index and simple carbohydrates are generally higher.

In my next post I will delve into some common myths that surround carbohydrates and I will give you some ammo as to how you can dispell them and make the right carbohydrate selections.  Please stay tuned!