Media attention the last couple of decades has steadily built up the fixation in our minds to avoid white breads, pasta and white rice etc., especially the diabetic. All of these items, over-processed during production, lead to a rapid breakdown of glucose (sugar) in our system during digestion, thus it leads to a spike in blood sugar levels and insulin levels.
So what's always been the recommendation - switch to whole wheat products instead for a slower more steady increase in your sugar levels.
Now The Bad News
If you are over 50 years of age, when the term good "ole days comes up, you're now right. The problem here is quite simple. Even whole wheat products today are using genetically modified ingredients so much within the last half century that our bodies can no longer recognize these items as food anymore. This means the carbohydrate content of whole grains now converts to glucose so rapidly during digestion they are almost as bad as the white products have always been reported to be.
Need proof? You don't have to look any further than the glycemic index to find the scores of whole wheat products and you will notice it's not a whole lot better than the white products. A few examples are:
The point here is you must remember, yes whole wheat bread is better for you than white breads (a 71 vs a 95 score rating), but that still doesn't make it good for your daily food choices. Sure you can have some occasionally as a treat, because the whole wheat will spike your sugars a little slower. But to consider it a good choice, no the lentils on the scale at 29 are a much better selection to prevent any rise in your blood sugars. Many of the alternative grains, like coconut flour, almond flour, buckwheat, rye or barley flours are all lower on the GI scale and also make excellent bread flours for your own personal use in the kitchen. If you would use many of these instead, with repeated use you will notice your blood sugars are barely budging at all!
So what's always been the recommendation - switch to whole wheat products instead for a slower more steady increase in your sugar levels.
Now The Bad News
If you are over 50 years of age, when the term good "ole days comes up, you're now right. The problem here is quite simple. Even whole wheat products today are using genetically modified ingredients so much within the last half century that our bodies can no longer recognize these items as food anymore. This means the carbohydrate content of whole grains now converts to glucose so rapidly during digestion they are almost as bad as the white products have always been reported to be.
Need proof? You don't have to look any further than the glycemic index to find the scores of whole wheat products and you will notice it's not a whole lot better than the white products. A few examples are:
- one sering of lentils has a GI of 29
- one serving of unsweetened orange juice has a GI of 50
- one serving of Coca Cola has a GI of 63
- one serving of whole wheat bread has a GI of 71
- one serving of a white bagel has a GI of 95
The point here is you must remember, yes whole wheat bread is better for you than white breads (a 71 vs a 95 score rating), but that still doesn't make it good for your daily food choices. Sure you can have some occasionally as a treat, because the whole wheat will spike your sugars a little slower. But to consider it a good choice, no the lentils on the scale at 29 are a much better selection to prevent any rise in your blood sugars. Many of the alternative grains, like coconut flour, almond flour, buckwheat, rye or barley flours are all lower on the GI scale and also make excellent bread flours for your own personal use in the kitchen. If you would use many of these instead, with repeated use you will notice your blood sugars are barely budging at all!
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