More clues about the healthiest carb choices

Carbohydrate categories can be bit confusing. Nutrition experts refer to carbs as simple or complex, low-quality or high-quality, or even just “bad” or “good.” Carbohydrate-rich foods can also be ranked by how quickly the sugar they contain is absorbed into your bloodstream after you eat it, using a scale known as the glycemic index, or GI (see “Glycemic index and glycemic load, explained”).

First developed 40 years ago, the glycemic index was in the news again recently. Last March, The New England Journal of Medicine published a large international study suggesting that diets with a higher glycemic index and load are associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease and death. The link was strongest among people who were overweight or obese.

“Glycemic index is one way to think about carbohydrate quality, but it’s not the only way,” says Dr. Frank Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. You can also classify carbs as sugars, starches, and fiber.

Glycemic index and glycemic load, explainedCarbohydrate-containing foods have properties that affect how quickly they are digested and how quickly the resulting glucose (sugar) enters the bloodstream. This is quantified by a measure known as the glycemic index (GI). Foods are ranked on a scale of 0 to 100; pure glucose has a value of 100.However, the GI value doesn’t account for the quantity of the specific food a person typically eats. A separate measure, the glycemic load, indicates the change in blood glucose level when someone east a typical serving of the food. It’s calculated by multiplying the food’s GI by the amount of carbohydrate it contains.For the highest-quality carb intake, choose foods that have a low or medium glycemic load and limit those with a high glycemic load.Low glycemic load: bran cereals, apples, oranges, kidney beans, black beans, lentils, cashews, peanuts, carrots.

Medium glycemic load: pearled barley, brown rice, oatmeal, bulgur, rice cakes, whole-grain bread, whole-grain pasta.High glycemic load: white potatoes, refined breakfast cereals, sugar-sweetened beverages, candy bars, white rice, white-flour pasta.

Carb categories

Here’s a rundown of these three categories of carbs:

Find stability with a charitable gift annuity

When you establish a charitable gift annuity to benefit HMS, your gift will provide you and/or a loved one with a fixed income for life while supporting our mission to improve health and well-being for all.

Sugars. Easily digested sugary foods (sodas, candy, and desserts) have a high GI. Eating them causes blood sugar spikes and dips, which over time can make the body less sensitive to insulin, the hormone that regulates blood sugar. The resulting insulin resistance triggers weight gain, inflammation, and other factors that contribute to the artery-clogging plaque that’s responsible for most heart disease.

Fiber. Foods full of fiber are -digested much more slowly and tend to have a lower GI. Low-GI foods include whole or minimally processed carbohydrate-rich foods, such as whole grains, legumes (beans and peas), nuts, vegetables, and fruits. Here’s the easy part: these carbohydrates are also classified as complex, high-quality, or good carbs.

Starches. Starches are another story. The most commonly consumed form of carbohydrate, starches include cereal grains such as rice, wheat, and corn, and root vegetables such as potatoes. Americans tend to eat mostly highly processed grains, such as white rice and foods made with white flour. These refined starches are quickly broken down into sugar, which is why they have higher GI values.

What is resistant starch?

But some starchy foods — most notably legumes — contain what’s known as resistant starch. Resistant starch is similar to fiber in that it cannot be directly absorbed by the body. It has to be broken down by specific gut bacteria. Eating foods high in resistant starch spurs the growth of these health-promoting bacteria. “They produce short-chain fatty acids, which make your body more sensitive to insulin and reduce inflammation,” says Dr. Hu. In effect, resistant starch has the opposite effect from sugar and other highly processed carbs in your body.

White potatoes are full of regular starch, which is why they have a high glycemic index. French fries and mashed potatoes are probably the most popular ways to prepare spuds, but potato lovers might want to consider potato salad instead. Why? “If you leave potatoes in the refrigerator for one or two days, the cold temperature transforms some of the starch into resistant starch,” says Dr. Hu. Another culinary trick that may slightly lower a food’s glycemic impact is to add vinegar or lemon juice, as the acid slows the conversion of starch to sugar in the body.

Bible verses for today’s meditation and inspiration: Matthew E. McLaren

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love. Ephesians 3:16-17 NIV

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. Mark 11:24 NIV

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1 NIV

For we live by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7 NIV

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit? Romans 15:13 NIV

But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. James 1:6 NIV

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Hebrews 11:6 NIV

Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:8-9 NIV

Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” John 11:40 NIV

Because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. James 1:3 NIV

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26 NIV

Recommended contacts for prayer request and Bible study

www.agapetemplesda.com

www.adventistontario.org

https://www.hopechannel.com/au/learn/courses

breathoflife.tv/

https://3abn.org/all-streams/3abn.html

https://www.nadadventist.org/article/15/contact-us

https://www.adventist.org/en/utility/contact/

It Is Written