GI Update

GI Q&A with Prof Jennie Brand-Miller



Can you explain to me how low GI diets work for weight loss?
The most important reason is likely to be the effect on day-long insulin levels – low GI foods result in lower levels of insulin over the course of the whole day. The hormone insulin is not only involved in regulating blood glucose levels, but also plays a key part in fat storage. High levels of insulin mean the body is forced to burn carbohydrate rather than fat. Thus, over the day, even if the total energy burnt is the same, the proportions of fat to carbohydrate are different. Oxidising carbohydrate won’t really help you lose weight, but burning fat will.

Dr Emma Stevenson’s research which we have reported on in GI News over the years has demonstrated over and over that, compared with healthy conventional meals, low GI meals were associated with greater fat oxidation during episodes of gentle exercise in overweight volunteers.

People who are overweight have been shown to have high glycogen (carbohydrate) stores that undergo major fluctuations during the day. This suggests that glycogen is a more important source of fuel for them. If glycogen is being depleted and replenished on a regular basis (before and after each meal, for example), it is displacing fat from the engine. Each meal restores glycogen (especially if the food has a high GI value) and the cycle repeats itself. Carbohydrate ‘balance’, as it’s called, is turning out to be one of the best predictors of future weight gain.

The benefits of a low GI diet for weight control go beyond appetite and fat burning. When you first begin a diet, your metabolic rate drops in response to the reduction in food intake, which makes weight loss slower and slower. Research shows your metabolic rate drops much less, however, on a low GI diet than a conventional diet. If your engine revs are higher, you’ll not only lose weight faster, you’ll also be much less likely to regain it.

New GI values with Fiona Atkinson
Blue Diamond Almond Breeze beverages
The new values this month were tested by our colleagues in Toronto at Glycemic Index Laboratories. These unsweetened, non dairy beverages are low calories (and carbs) in a typical serving, lactose and casein free, contain no transfats or cholesterol and are a good source of calcium and vitamin A. You can use enjoy them as a snack, on your breakfast cereal, in your cooking, for making smoothies or sauces or for adding to a cup of coffee.

Almond Breeze® Original: GI 25
Per 8 fl oz (240 ml cup) serving you'll get 40 cals (168 kJ), 1 g protein, 3 g fat, 2 g total carbs (includes 1 g fibre)

Almond Breeze® Unsweetened Vanilla: GI 25
Per 8 fl oz (240 ml cup) serving you'll get 40 cals (168 kJ), 1 g protein, 3 g fat, 2 g total carbs (includes 1 g fibre)

Almond Breeze® Refrigerated Unsweetened Vanilla: GI 22
Per 8 fl oz (240 ml cup) serving you'll get 40 cals (168 kJ), 1 g protein, 3 g fat, 2 g total carbs (includes 1 g fibre)

Almond Breeze® Unsweetened Chocolate: GI 22
Per 8 fl oz (240 ml cup) serving you'll get 45 cals (189 kJ), 2 g protein, 3.5 g fat, 3 g total carbs (includes 1 g fibre)



Raw almonds have a GI of 25. For more information, check out the Blue Diamond Growers website HERE.

GI testing by an accredited laboratory
North America
Dr Alexandra Jenkins
Glycemic Index Laboratories
36 Lombard Street, Suite 100
Toronto, Ontario M5C 2X3 Canada
Phone +1 416 861 0506
Email info@gilabs.com
Web www.gilabs.com

Australia
Fiona Atkinson



Research Manager, Sydney University Glycemic Index Research Service (SUGiRS)
Human Nutrition Unit, School of Molecular and Microbial Biosciences
Sydney University
NSW 2006 Australia
Phone + 61 2 9351 6018
Fax: + 61 2 9351 6022
Email sugirs@mmb.usyd.edu.au
Web www.glycemicindex.com

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Weight loss drug Qnexa submitted to the FDA for approval

The Phase 3 clinical program evaluated Qnexa in more than 4,500 patients in the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. The average baseline weight in one trial was 223 pounds and another trial had an average baseline weight of 256 pounds. All patients were asked to follow a diet representing a 500-calorie/day deficit and advised to implement a simple lifestyle modification program. "The weight loss of up to 37 pounds combined with significant improvements in weight-related medical conditions, such as hypertension and diabetes, demonstrates the importance of treating obesity, which has become a major epidemic in the United States," Leland F. Wilson, chief executive officer for Vivus, said in a statement. Across both 56-week studies, the most commonly reported side effects were dry mouth, tingling and constipation, the application said.



Source: UPI

The Couch Potato Diet

The Couch Potato Diet, a handy guide for anyone who wants to lose weight but still eat fun foods like pizza and cookies. The three basic tenants he preaches: add fiber, reduce fat, and reduce sugar. Diets don’t work, Ladas notes, if the changes aren’t something you can live with every day. “You’ll go back to old ways unless you take smaller steps, start to exercise and create a diet that eliminates excess calories.”  “I lost over 50 pounds five years ago when I started the plan,” he says. “I knew it was different. It worked within my lifestyle,” and similarly, he thought it would resonate with “busy middle-aged folks, people who have trouble with the fact that their metabolism has slowed down.”   By substituting healthful foods for more healthful choices, he’s able to create recipes for nachos, pizza and even homemade ice cream. Interestingly enough, the diet book that’s patterned after the couch-potato lifestyle still advocates exercise. “Exercise is a tough sell with couch potatoes,”he notes. “It’s their worst nightmare, but the benefits of exercise are too great to ignore.



Read more on: Projo.com

Capsiplex can burn calories while you sit at your desk

Capsiplex's makers say the capsule, which is made from hot peppers and capsicum and is used by Hollywood stars Jennifer Lopez, Brad Pitt and Britney Spears, can eat up as many calories as 80 minutes of walking or a 25-minute jog. Trials at the University of Oklahoma showed adults taking Capsiplex burned off 278 more calories before, during and after a bout of exercise than those on placebos. A spokesman for Capsiplex said: 'For decades, scientists have known about the weight-loss potential of red-hot peppers. The problem has been the ability to consume such a highly concentrated amount, but we have overcome this by putting a protective coating on the ingredients which stops any gastric irritation.



Source: DailyMail

SLIMR™ gastric band, the sensation of a smaller stomach suggested through hypnosis

Tooley has developed a multi-faceted 27-week weight loss protocol that combines the power of the sub-conscious mind with the appetite-limiting features of a gastric band. Tooley's unique program provides a lower risk, lower-cost option for those considering lap band surgery, or for whom diets do not work. The "SLIMR™ gastric band," is making its debut in the United States at the Tooley Weight Wellness Clinic in Torrance, California. "The sensation of a smaller stomach suggested through hypnosis offers results similar to a physical gastric band inserted by laparoscopic surgery, commonly called a lap band. The mind is very powerful, and what you think becomes real for you," says Duncan Tooley, CHt, Certified Medical Hypnotist and developer of the program.

Read more on: The Medical News

A genetic mutation may be the real reason overweight children cannot shift the pounds

"This is the first evidence that copy number variants have been linked to a metabolic condition such as obesity," said Dr Matt Hurles from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, one of the leaders of the study. Findings show for the first time that the condition can be a genetic one, rather than the result of over feeding. Dr Sadaf Farooqi from Cambridge University added: "This study shows that severe obesity is a serious medical issue that deserves scientific investigation. "It adds to the growing weight of evidence that a wide range of genetic variants can produce a strong drive to eat.



Read more: Telegraph.uk