Is it possible to maintain a low-calorie diet without counting calories | How do carbohydrates affect blood glucose
Is it possible to maintain a low-calorie diet without counting calories
This is quite possible if you are guided by the principles of product selection described above. Moreover, experts have long recognized: a specific number of calories that a person needs to consume is not important (it’s quite difficult to specify it for each person), but the one by which the person really reduced his diet!
An indicator of the correct observance of the principles of low-calorie nutrition will be the achievement of the result: weight loss! If the weight does not decrease, this suggests that so far it has not been possible to significantly reduce the calorie intake.
How do carbohydrates affect blood glucose
Carbohydrates are the only nutrients that directly increase blood glucose, but this is not the reason for their severe limitation.
Any person, including a person with diabetes, needs a sufficient amount of carbohydrates (at least 50% of the total calorie content), since they are a source of energy for the body. Moreover, different carbohydrates have different effects on blood glucose.
Carbohydrates are the only nutrients that directly increase blood glucose
There are simple carbohydrates (sugars), which are absorbed very easily, because they are composed of small molecules and are rapidly absorbed in the digestive tract (after 10 minutes). They immediately and significantly increase the level of glucose in the blood. It is from such carbohydrates that sugar, honey consist, a lot of them are found in fruit juices (they also exist in natural fruit, but due to the presence of fiber, the absorption of carbohydrates is not so fast), beer. Such carbohydrates are also found in liquid dairy products, but due to the fat content, carbohydrates are not absorbed so quickly.
Another type of carbohydrate is complex (starches), they also increase blood glucose, only not as fast and not as much as simple carbohydrates. Some products include bread, cereals, pasta, potatoes, corn. The starch molecule is large, and the body has to work hard to assimilate it. Therefore, glucose formed as a result of starch breakdown is absorbed more slowly (after about 30 minutes), which to a lesser extent increases its level in the blood.
Any person needs carbohydrates!
The culinary preparation of starchy products (any grinding, prolonged thermal exposure) contributes to an increase in the level of glucose in the blood. This means that a strong increase in blood glucose with the use of starches can be prevented by using certain methods of preparation and cooking.
For example, it is better to cook potatoes not in the form of mashed potatoes but boil them whole in a peel so that it remains dense. It is also better not to cook porridge for too long. It is preferable to prepare them from large uncrushed grain (buckwheat, rice).
Prevents increased blood glucose levels in the enrichment of food with plant fibers. Therefore, it is better to buy bread cereal or bran, and not from fine flour. Fruits and berries should be consumed in natural form, not in the form of juices.
It is better not to cook porridge for too long and it is preferable to prepare them from large uncrushed grain
There are such types of carbohydrate products – “free”, after which the level of glucose in the blood does not increase or does not increase much. Such products include almost all types of vegetables in ordinary quantities (except for potatoes). For example, cabbage, salad, parsley, dill, radishes, turnips, zucchini, eggplant, pumpkin, pepper, etc.
Among the products of this group, the largest amount of carbohydrates is found in beets and carrots, but the rise in blood glucose after them is not very large. Therefore, if you eat them in moderation (for a garnish, not more than 200 g), you can also ignore them.