“GI & the Keto: The Dark Knight”
By Jesi Mandagaran
Well, here it is. The time has come to unveil some Nutrition truths. Thanks to the internet we have unlimited access to Nutrition information, a lot of things but specifically we are focusing on Nutrition, and it is at the touch of our finger tips. The downfall, is there’s so much out there that they tend to conflict each other leaving you confused as ever. Now, you all know me by now, I like simplicity. I like to see facts and information that backs up those facts. And then I pass that on to you fine people. Off we go.
If food effects our health, and it does, then you’d agree that choosing beneficial foods would be smart. Agree? Great. Moving forward we will be looking at these three things:
- Glycemic Index (GI)
- Blood Sugar and Insulin
- Old Food Pyramid (My favorite topic to sass)
- The Ketogenic
Let’s start with the GI—glycemic index, which, is a scale that estimates how different types of foods affect your blood sugar. It’s an excellent resource used to help monitor blood sugar levels, especially those who suffer from Diabetes.
Low- GI foods keep the blood sugar levels low, which is a GOOD thing. High-GI foods SPIKE—raise—blood sugar levels, which is NOT a good thing. Here’s why, consistently high blood sugar levels lead to chronic diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease etc. etc. etc.
How does that happen? When you eat high GI foods, such as a white bagel or a skinny Venti Carmel Latte extra sprinkles, your blood sugar spikes, high, in which insulin is released into the body. Consistent eating of high GI foods, keeps the blood sugar levels high producing higher levels of insulin released in the body and that results in insulin resistance, which means the body is now blocking it. Any amount of insulin released in the body blocks the fat burning hormones making losing weight extremely difficult. In case you didn’t catch that—INSULIN PREVENTS WEIGHT LOSS!
Quick short example chart of Low-GI’s to High GI’s
Low GI’s [1-55]: Apples, Kale, Broccoli, kidney beans, chickpeas.
Medium GI’s [56-69]: Bananas, pineapples, oat cereals, whole-wheat bread.
High GI’s [70-100]: White rice, white bread and potatoes.
** Side Note: The GI is a bit more complicated than this. While there is also GL to better consider because the GI doesn’t tell the whole story in terms of servings etc. So, future Blog Alert!)
Now, this is one reason why the old food pyramid diet is outdated with all of its emphasis on carbohydrates as its foundation. Sure, they sugar code it, pun intended, ha, with ‘multi-grains, and wheats’ blah-blah-blah, but still… Too much is indeed too much. Notice what I wrote above, consistently high blood sugar, meaning consistently consuming carbohydrates (whether medium or high in GI) as a major food choice in all your daily meals is EXCESSIVE—super harmful to your body yo! That means, your blood sugar levels are high, which means your continuously dumping insulin into the blood stream. And too much of that yo-yoing is called hyperinsulinemia. And hyperinsulinemia is sort of the Al Capone of the chronic disease gangster squad—notorious!
This kind of diet, a particular way of eating, is not only dangerous for your health but makes it absolutely frustrating in attempt to losing weight. This makes your body a sugar burner and not a fat burner.
Make your carb choices more dominant with the low-GI foods then you will have lower blood sugar and insulin levels, making your body more of a fat burner than a sugar burner. #Lightbulb
This brings me to the Keto—Ketogenic diet, a once practiced and effective ancestral diet. It’s an eating lifestyle that drastically reduces the carbohydrate intake and replacing it with fat. This means, it is the consumption of low GI foods, mostly fats and some protein, which means low blood sugar levels which means low insulin levels. This puts your body in ketosis, a metabolic state- AKA a fat burning state.
Basically, if you haven’t already put it together, it is the complete opposite of our current scheming food pyramid, excuse me, I mean food pyramid. Scheming would mean, white coats with the big degrees in the FDA chairs would cherry pick studies to manipulate their idea of healthy eating with no real observable data. And they’d never do that… right?! Right?! Whether intentional or not, the curtain is finally being pulled back. The truth is in the science friends. Double check your resources and question everything! Bold, I know, I can’t help it, my blood type is Latina sarcasm. In my references and links below, there are studies and data to support this information.
And, once again, side note: most of our body and organs are made up of protein and fat. NOT carbohydrate. #slamdunk. So, why would it make sense to eat primarily higher GI foods?!
Ironically, this celebrity health and fitness trainer I am about to mention is someone I very much looked up to. In fact, I owe the lot of my Health journey to her. I read all her books and closely followed her lead. She’s brilliant. Jillian Michaels. This is not an attempt to throw blows or circle one particular villain. But because rash and false statements were made, and knowing this could be the undoing of a lot of hard work from the recent Nutrition Science breakthroughs, and since she has a massive following… I want to help clarify some things. After all, as an Affiliate, it is our duty to lead you all in the right direction.
It is no secret, Jillian is against the Keto craze, sure I was too, at first, until I learned about it. Anytime I hear the word “diet”, I get suspicious, rightfully so, many diets fads have come and gone that reign under stupidity. But learning and understanding the science behind the Ketogenic diet, I embraced it. Opinions are allowed, absolutely. No one diet is for everyone. There is a reason some folks swear by practicing Vegan and some folks practice Keto. Everybody is different and one’s needs may differ from another’s. Now, about the false claims… (If you want to see the clips, see links below)
The Keto diet is not dangerous, as you read above, the ketogenic diet reduces blood sugar levels and inflammation in the body. If anything, it improves your health! The keto way of eating is something our ancestors did, they not only survived off eating live, raw fruits, raw vegetables and meats (all meats, fatty meats), nuts and seeds, with little starch and no sugar… They thrived! I mean sure, they didn’t have spaceships or anything but the majority were lean and active. Today’s world… it’s flipped the other way—Obese, sick and not active.
Think about it. The rise of chronic disease climbed the charts in the last 40-70 some years, after the food pyramid came out with all of its poker chips placed on carbohydrates and after the invention of processed foods. A direct quote from an article, mentioned from CrossFit journal called, “Want a Healthier Heart? Eat a steak [Opinion]” [by Bret Scher], “If saturated fats were truly unhealthy, then obesity, diabetes and heart disease rates should have plummeted alongside this drop in saturated fat consumption.”
BUT, IT DIDN’T. Instead, there was a smoking hot rise of those chronic diseases!
Whatever the case is, Jillian Michaels is still, of course, an outstanding Health and Wellness Guru, it could very well be that these current studies haven’t crossed her desk yet—she’s a busy gal (in her defense and I am a classy thug like that, never mind she sells supplements and her brand goes against the Keto…). But again, to be fair, Nutrition is something that is ever evolving. And in just the last 4 years alone, the Science of Nutrition have really made some stellar breakthroughs. So, it very well could be that she’s just running with old information. The great news is, we now have answers, solid ones, and sadly its, out with the old and in the with new.
So… In case you haven’t connected the dots yet, low GI foods and the Keto have been the Knights in shining armor all along, hiding in the shadows, waiting for us to find the logical part of our brain.
Money Question: So, if it is true and it is, that continual high GI carb eating spikes blood sugar and insulin levels sky high and blocks the fat burning hormone, why would it make any sense to keep eating that way???
Strong evidence proves that low-GI food choices are the way to go when it comes to effectively losing weight and curing all chronic diseases. The Keto, a relative to eating low GI foods, is not only effective but it is by far one of the only eating lifestyles that shows long term promise of losing weight and keeping it off.
After all, Earth was so smart, it provided beneficial foods for us. Quality nutrition is in the foods from the Earth, not the Burger King skinny menu, or the low-calorie pop chips. Time to turn the page friends. Let’s eat the good stuff to get the good stuff.
#BackToTheCaveManDays #KetoMeTender
Need more Nutrition guidance? Make an appointment with our Nutrition Coach Laura Nava. Email us: fireandice.crossfit@gmail.com
Back to the Batcave,
Coach Jesi M.
[REFERENCES]
A quote from ancient texts of Jesus, when asked by his students how they should nourish their bodies? Jesus said, “If you put living food into your body, it will give you life. If you kill the food that enters your body, that food will no longer give you life.” — GREG BRADEN London interview
CrossFit podcast “The Big Mess” w/ Greg Glassman
Dr. Berg Reacts to Jillian Michael’s interview
Dr. Ken Berry on Jillian Michael’s interview
Want a Healthier Heart? Eat a Steak [opinion] by Bret Scher
Sugar Burner vs Fat Burner by JJ Virgin
GI vs GL by Dr. Berg
