Everyone agrees that keeping weight down reduces the risk of getting diabetes, as well as heart disease and a host of other conditions. Long term, the best way to control your weight is to develop healthful eating habits and eat moderately. Do that, and unless you have a major metabolic disorder and are extremely inactive, you will arrive at a weight that is appropriate for your age and body type.
But if a diet – and I am speaking of a way of eating, not specifically a weight loss diet- is impossible to maintain because it is lacking in flavor and leaves you hungry and with cravings for certain foods, it is only a matter of time before it becomes a former diet. In the decades since the American government has advocated a low-fat diet, the obesity epidemic has exploded.
A low-fat diet, by definition, is inherently a high carbohydrate diet. That is because when you restrict fat you are restricting protein as well since meat, poultry, fish, cheese, and most other forms of protein contain good amounts of fat. What are you left with, then, is carbohydrates, which encompasses an array of foods. ( Most foods contain some combination of fat, protein, and carbohydrate). Low glycemic (“good”) carbohydrates are typically whole foods like green leafy vegetables, brown rice, lentils, raspberries and hundreds of other vegetables, fruits and whole grains.
Then there is the endless array of high glycemic (“bad”) carbohydrates that beckon from the supermarket shelves, including the processed, refined offerings, such as cookies, chips, syrupy drinks, white bread and so on. By definition, high glycemic foods have a dramatic impact on blood sugar levels within a couple of hours after consumption. In contrast, low glycemic foods raise blood sugar levels more slowly and moderately. In addition, dairy products contain carbohydrate, along with fat and protein.
