Low Carb Counsel

Atkin’s Glycemic Rating and the Carbohydrate Ladder

The Atkin’s Glycemic Rating is a three-pronged approach utilizing both the GI and GL numbers of a food to arrive at a consensus of the resultant impact on blood sugar. Foods grouped in the low range can be eaten on a regular basis, while those in the middle can be eaten in moderation and those with a high rating are to be consumed sparingly if at all.

It is important to remember that foods with a low rating do not give you a license to gorge. Portions and grams still have to be factored in. Foods have been broken down into easy to decipher charts based upon category for your convenience.

“Low Carb” Carbohydrate Ladder

Vetetables     Regularly    Moderately    Sparingly

artichokes    beets    corn, sweet asparagus    carrots    parsnips bamboo shoots,    peas, green    pea soup beans, string/green    squash, acorn    potato bok choy    squash, butternut    broccoli    taro    broccoli rabe    tomato juice brussels sprouts    tomato soup butter beans    sweet potato cabbage, all    yuca cauliflower celeriac celery chard chayote collards cucumber dandelion greens eggplant endive fennel jicama kale Kohlrabi lettuce, all lima beans, baby mushrooms, all mustard greens okra onion pea pods/snow peas peppers, all pumpkin radishes rutebga sauerkraut spinach sprouts squash, zucchini tomato turnip greens water chestnuts Dairy Regularly    Moderately    Sparingly cheese, nonprocessed    buttermilk    no-sugar added ice cream hard varieties cottage cheese    milk, whole    skim milk, 2%, etc cream, heavy/light    low carb ice cream farmer’s cheese    yogurt, full fat plain half and half low carb dairy beverages low carb yogurt pot cheese ricotta cheese sour cream Nuts and Seeds Regularly    Moderately    Sparingly almonds    cashews    chestnuts brazil nuts    peanuts    coconut    soybeans, roasted hazlenuts/filberts macadamias pecans pine nuts/pignolis pistachios pumpkin seeds sesame seeds sesame seeds sunflower seeds walnuts Beans and Legumes Regularly    Moderately    Sparingly hummus    chick peas    black-eyed peas lentil soup    kidney beans    lima beans, dried minestrone soup    lentils    navy beans soybeans    peas, dried    pinto beans soy milk, sugarless    tofu/bean curd Fruits Regularly    Moderately    Sparingly apple    apricots, canned    banana in juice blackberries    apricots, dried    cranberry cocktail, sugarless blueberries    apricots, fresh    cranberry juice, sugarless cherries    grapes, green/red    fruit cocktail, canned cranberries    grapefruit juice    grape juice no added sugar orange    mango    prunes peach    melon    raisins cantaloupe pear    melon, crenshaw plum    melon, honeydew pomegranate    papaya raspberries    pineapple, fresh strawberries    watermelon tangerine

Whole Grains Regularly    Moderately    Sparingly
barley    amaranth    bagel, 100% whole grain low carb bagels    bran flakes    corn flakes, no added (soy)    sugar low carb (soy)bread    bread, 100%    cream of wheat whole grain low carb soy muffins

Atkins Low Carb Dieting Tip: Glycemic Load (GL)

The glycemic load does factor in the portion into its rating. However in practical application, a host of other considerations can affect the absorption rate of the carbs into the bloodstream from a single source. \

For instance, fat and fiber content play roles in the rapidity of carbohydrate absorption into the bloodstream. There is a simpler method to gauge the effect specific foods will have on your blood sugar levels.

Atkins Diet: The Glycemic Index (GI)

The glycemic index tells you the impact that certain carbohydrates will have on blood sugar. This is achieved by measuring the effect a similar amount of pure glucose would have on blood sugar (which enters the bloodstream practically instantaneously). The lower the GI, the less glucose it will deliver to the bloodstream.

Consequently, the pancreas produces less insulin, which in turn means there will be a lower probability of any excess being stored as fat. As useful as it may seem, the GI has an inherent weakness in that it does not consider the size of a portion.

Atkins Low Carb Diet: Spiking Your Insulin

Simple carbohydrates, such as those found in candy bars, white bread, and pasta, are broken down quickly and enter the bloodstream as glucose at a rapid rate. The pancreas must create insulin at a similarly quick rate to clear the glucose from the bloodstream. This is what is known as “spiking your insulin.” It provides the body with a quick energy boost.

However, what goes up usually comes down just as fast and the body responds by dropping blood sugar levels, hence the energy slump, or “crash”. Consequently, cravings for more carbs are created to sustain energy levels. This cycle builds upon itself and the results are more glucose than the body can use, which in turn, gets stored as fat.

Insulin is spiked predominantly whenever carbs are consumed. It is slower with complex carbs, but the end result is the same. Proteins and fats cause far less insulin production because the body does not have to contend with an immediate overdose of glucose due to slower digestion.

Glucagon, a hormone that counteracts some of the principle effects of insulin, is also created upon consumption of protein. The less insulin the body produces, the more stable the blood sugar levels remain, providing a more consistent stream of energy.

Atkins Diet: Glucose and Insulin

As stated previously, the body’s chief source of fuel for energy is glucose. Glucose is converted from carbohydrates upon consumption. In order for glucose to be transported from the bloodstream to the cells, the pancreas creates insulin. Insulin, however, prevents the release of bodyfat for use as fuel.

While the body needs glucose, effective levels need not be extremely high. Consuming excess carbs raises blood sugar to unnecessary levels. In order to clear the over abundance of glucose in the bloodstream, the pancreas then produces more insulin to transport the glucose to the cells for storage. This excess blood sugar is stored as fat.