The Glycemic Index: Lifestyle Changes
In order to remain healthy in our later years, lifestyle changes are needed that include changing the way we eat. Even if you think you are eating healthy foods, look at what you are eating in the way or carbohydrates. If you are eating white bread, white flour, white rice, potatoes, and cereals that are not in the oat, bran, or barley group, you are eating carbohydrates that have a high glycemic index. That doesn’t mean you are going to be able to eliminate all of the carbohydrates that have a high glycemic index, but the goal is to reduce them so that less sugar is going into the blood stream and more is being utilized and turned into energy. The body needs the energy for your to feel rested after a good night’s sleep, but you want to consume the slow burning energy rather than the quick energy that is derived from sugar products such as candy, cakes, and other sweets.
Diet and exercise are important to good health, but you want to make sure that you are eating foods that are nutritionally sound. Don’t go by things you were taught in school unless you are very young because things that were taught about nutrition ten, fifteen, and twenty years ago have now been changed. While many of us were taught that slow burning carbohydrates included potatoes, white bread, and unsweetened cereals, we are now finding that only a portion of that is correct information. As years go by, science finds out different information about the foods we eat, so it’s important to make certain that you have the most current information before you make any lifestyle changes. For this, the Internet is the most reliable source of information since web pages are changed on a regular basis as opposed to a book that you may pick up in the library or bookstore.