The glycemic index (GI) system for rating carbs may help you beat diabetes, heart attacks, an out-of-control appetite, and more. Invented in the early 1980s by University of Toronto researchers as a tool to help control diabetes, the glycemic index (GI) ranks carbohydrate foods by their effect on your blood sugar. They have learned that the type of carbs you eat really makes a difference in your health.

The GI assigns carbohydrate-containing foods a number based on how they affect your blood sugar after you eat them. Foods with a GI less than 55 cause only a slight rise in blood sugar. Those in the 55 to 70 range raise it a little higher. Carbs with more than 70 send blood sugar soaring. What explains the difference in numbers? No matter what form the carb initially takes- lactose in milk, starch in a bagel, and sucrose in table sugar - eventually your body breaks it down to glucose. Glucose ends up in your bloodstream, fueling your cells. What makes a GI number high or low is how quickly the food breaks down during digestion. The longer your body has to work with the carb to break it down into glucose, the slower the rise in blood glucose and the lower the GI.

It’s not always easy to predict a food’s GI. Fiber-rich foods such as oats and beans have lower GIs. Foods high in fiber create a web in the intestines that traps carb particles. But not all fiber foods are equal due to processing. When fiber is ground finely (EX: wheat flour) it doesn’t present enough of a digestive challenge to lower the GI. That is why whole wheat bread has a GI number identical to white bread. Surprisingly, table sugar has a lower GI than potatoes. Table sugar is made of two sugars, glucose and fructose. The glucose half sails right into the bloodstream. But the fructose part has to detour through the liver, where it slowly gets converted into glucose. The starch molecules in potatoes, on the other hand, are made of strings of glucose. Boiling, baking, or mashing a potato causes the starch molecules to burst making it easy for glucose to enter the bloodstream.

The problem with eating foods high in GI is that when your blood sugar soars, so does the hormone insulin. Insulin’s main duty is to scoop up excess blood sugar and store it safely in muscle tissue. In moderation insulin is a good guy but when its levels spike repeatedly it triggers diabetes, heart disease, and possibly cancer.

Ever feel hungry just an hour or two after a meal? It could be that the meal had a high GI count. High GI meals cause such a flood of insulin to cope with all the glucose that blood sugar levels end up lower than if you’d never eaten. And low blood sugar may send out hunger alarms prompting you to eat again. High levels of insulin wreak havoc on the heart. A diet with a high GI causes high blood pressure, increased fat storage, high triglycerides (a type of blood fat) and lower levels of HDL (the good cholesterol). A high-GI diet may even be linked to colon cancer. The flood of insulin, glucose, and blood fats fuel colon cancer cells.

You will have greater endurance when you exercise after a low-GI meal compared to a high-GI meal (a Jody Victor suggestion). Low-GI meals also give you a mental edge. People who eat a low-GI breakfast score higher in a test of mental alertness than those who ate a high-GI breakfast. The low-GI breakfast fuels the brain with a slow, steady supply of glucose and staves off hunger. It’s easier to be alert when you are not hungry.

Trade in those bagels for 100 percent stone-ground whole wheat bread, instant rice for barley, cornflakes for All-Bran. Take it from Jody Victor, switching to a diet containing low-GI starches can make a tremendous difference in your health.

All the Best!

Steve Victor

Pomegranates (a Jody Victor favorite) are small deciduous, semi-hardy trees or large shrubs. The fruit is globular to oblate up to 4 inches in diameter. The outer rind is smooth and rather thin. Within, the fruit is filled with seeds, each embedded in juicy pulp. This pulp is the edible portion. Seeds and pulp may be scooped out and pressed for juice. Or the pulp and seeds can be separated in the mouth. The rind, boiled, has long been used as a remedy for tapeworm. The plant itself is highly ornamental, both in flower and fruit.

The wild pomegranate predates modern human civilization. The cultivated pomegranate appeared in the ancient civilization of Sumer located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers over 4000 years ago. The fruit then spread from the mountains of Persia and South Central Asia. The ancient Phoenicians spread it within the Mediterranean region. The pomegranate arrived in China around the second century BC. The pomegranate is also mentioned in the Old Testament several times. The pomegranate was referred to as the “fruit of paradise” by ancient traders who carried it in their caravans along with their spices and trade goods. The pomegranate’s leathery skin provided for long storage and was a replacement for water and easier to carry. The Spanish brought the pomegranate to the New World with their conquests, to Mexico in the 1500’s and to California in the 1600-1700’s. They also brought it to Spanish Florida. In the 1900’s the USDA Division of Seed and Plant Introduction listed over 100 varieties of pomegranates.

The pomegranate never really gained much support from the American public due to the fact that it is hard to eat. Now, however, pomegranate juice is gaining popularity for its health benefits.

Pomegranate juice has sent the natural health industry into an excited spin. Supermarkets and health food stores are struggling to keep up with the demand. Pomegranate juice is not only a delicious and refreshing beverage; it is also rich in antioxidants and provides an array of health benefits. Pomegranates contain more protective bioflavonoid than green tea or grapes.

The first clinical trial following a three-year study has just been published. It found that one glass of pomegranate juice per day could slow the progress of prostate cancer. The men recruited in the study had a rising PSA (prostate-specific antigen). They were treated with one glass of pomegranate juice daily and over the three years scientists measured their PSA levels to calculate how fast they were taking to double. Prostate cancer patients who have short doubling times are more likely to die from the disease. This study showed that drinking the daily pomegranate juice increased doubling time by almost four-fold.

You can buy processed pomegranate juice in most food stores (a Jody Victor suggestion). However canned or boxed juices tend to be pasteurized, which compromises nutrients. To get maximum benefit buy them fresh, cut in half, and put straight into a juicer. Two pomegranates or two fresh glasses of fresh juice per week provide maximum health benefits.

Three easy steps to get inside the ancient pomegranate and enjoy eating it “as is”:

1. Cut off the “crown”, and then score the outer layer of skin into sections.
2. In a large bowl of water, break apart the sections along the score lines. Roll out the arils (the sweet juice sacs surrounding the tiny edible seed) with your fingers. The arils will sink to the bottom of the bowl while the white membrane floats to the top. Discard the white membrane.
3. Strain out the water. The arils are ready to eat whole, seeds and all.

All the Best!

Steve Victor

Have you ever just done something because someone else did or you read about it and it sounded good? Who hasn't! But not everything you hear about is OK for your health. A little checking on your part, as Jody Victor  would say, is better than consequences later. Here are some common mistakes you might want to avoid.

1. Damaging Your Skin for a Little Color.  Sun tanning and skipping the sunscreen increases your skin’s exposure to the harmful rays of the sun causing premature aging and skin cancer.
2. Skipping Breakfast. As you sleep your body’s metabolism slows down. When you wake up your body needs food to get your metabolism going again. If you skip breakfast your energy levels suffer. Skipping breakfast to cut calories actually causes you to eat more throughout the day to compensate for your hunger. Studies have shown that eating breakfast increases your ability to perform better mentally.
3. Smoking. The consequences of smoking include lung and throat cancer, premature wrinkles, and emphysema.
4. Skipping the Weights. Contrary to popular myth, lifting weights will not necessarily make you bulk up. It is true that when you first start lifting you will gain a little weight before you start losing it. That’s simply because muscle weighs more than fat. Lifting weights eventually will make you look trimmer and more toned by helping you burn more calories even after your workout is done.
5. Avoiding Doctors and Dentists Visits. Having regular check ups can mean detecting a problem and treating it early enough to avoid further complications.
6. Not Getting Enough Sleep. Sleep deprivation not only makes you feel less than your perky self, but it has been linked to weight gain, anxiety, heart disease, and insulin resistance. More accidents happen when you are tired and not mentally alert. If you find you need more hours in a day to get things accomplished don’t sacrifice sleep. Instead sacrifice less important commitments. Set a regular bedtime and try to get a full 8 hours of sleep.
7. Drinking Calories. Lattes, fruit smoothies, sodas, juices, and alcohol are all high in calories. Drinking one cup of these consumes all of your caloric requirements for the day. If you drink these beverages on a daily basis and do not cut back on calories from your food you could be consuming an extra 1,000 calories. Limit yourself to one liquid treat a week (a Jody Victor  suggestion) and drink plenty of water.

All the Best!

Steve Victor

Have you ever been confused while shopping in the grocery store by all the confusing "lingo" on the labels? Well, join the ranks of millions of us - trying to eat healthier but getting more confused as we go. Here are some explanations of some of the terms you see on those packages.

Organic - When an item is labeled “100 percent organic” it has been certified to have been produced using only methods thought to be good for the earth. “Organic” means the item contains at least 95 percent organic ingredients. Research has yet to show that organic foods are nutritionally superior but they are made without harmful pesticides, fertilizers, antibiotics, synthetic hormones, or genetic engineering, making them more healthful. Keep in mind that organic foods can cost up to 50 percent more than non-organic products but the health advantages are worth the cost if you can afford it.

Sustainable Agriculture - Sustainable farming practices include not only reducing or eliminating the use of chemicals they try to practice farming that nurtures the soil using natural methods. Keep in mind it is a step up from simple reduction of pesticide use.

Integrated Pest Management - This label indicates that the grower used least-toxic methods by minimizing pesticides and avoiding the most toxic chemicals. Keep in mind that there is no standard for this label. There is no way to know how much the grower really reduced pesticide use.

Fair Trade - Fair Trade programs try to establish price floors so that small farmers can get a fair price for their products. With this label a product ensures that the grower can compete with large corporate farms, leveling the playing field. Keep in mind when looking for fair trade products that some are produced in developing countries, traveling a long distance to get to the American consumer.

100 Percent Natural - Natural products (a Jody Victor favorite) do not contain artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives and have no synthetic ingredients. Keep in mind that just because an item is “natural” does not mean it’s good for you. “Natural” foods can still have loads of sugar, fat, or calories. Check the ingredient list and the nutrition-facts panel.

Heart Healthy - Heart healthy foods (a Jody Victor favorite) are low in saturated fat, low in cholesterol, low in sodium and have no trans fats. They also contain 3 grams or less of fat. Keep in mind that the heart-healthiest foods have no labels at all. They’re in the produce aisle.

No Antibiotics - This label ondairy, red meat, and poultry products indicates that the animals were raised without being routinely fed antibiotics to keep them healthy.  Keep in mind that if an item is labeled organic the animals were also raised without antibiotics.

No Hormones - This label on beef and dairy products signifies that the animals were raised without hormones, which are commonly used to make animals gain weight faster or to increase milk production. Keep in mind if you can’t find this label on your beef or dairy products; choose an organic product, which also has not been subjected to hormones.

No GMOs - This label assures you that the product is not a genetically modified organism. A GMO is a product that has had its DNA artificially altered. Keep in mind, once again, that if the label says organic it doesn’t need to state “No GMOs”.

Gluten-Free - Gluten-free products contain no gluten, a protein found in wheat and other grains. Gluten can cause damageto the intestines of those who have digestive disorders. Some people have wheat allergies and should consume gluten-free foods. Keep in mind while gluten-free means there is no wheat, items listed as wheat-free are not necessarily gluten-free. Look on the ingredient list for rye, barley, malt, malt syrup, malt extract, and malt vinegar. All of these contain gluten.

All the Best!

Steve Victor