I posted a thread over in Diet and Nutrition concerning questions I have about the glycemic index pertaining to a doctor advised high fiber/strict low cholesterol/low fat diet.

I had 3 colon polyps removed a couple of months ago and they were precancerous. I was advised to go onto a high fiber diet, prescribed Aciphex and told to have a repeat colonoscopy in a year due to high risk.

I then had a physical with my family doctor and received a letter stating that she advised the strict low cholesterol/low fat diet. My Triglycerides are 344, my HDL is 42 and my LDL is 93 for a total cholesterol of 204. From the literature she sent me and reading on the net I found that to lower the triglyceride level that "avoiding sweets and to control the amount of carbohydrates you eat (starchy food such as flour, bread, potatoes) is the advised plan. I received some great advice on the high cholesterol forum as far as supplements and suggestions of looking into the glycemic index. There were some surprises waiting for me on the index. I have followed a low fat plan for years and enjoy 100 percent whole wheat bread almost exclusively. I found on the index that my whole wheat is listed at 72 while whole rye is 50 and pumpernicket is 49. That is a pretty big difference.

How closely would you advise me to follow the low glycemic plan in my situation? I understand that under 50 or 55 is considered low glycemic so the 72 for my whole wheat would knock it out for me. Any advice you have to offer me would be greatly appreciated as I am struggling to understand exactly what I need to do to correct this by diet. I really don't want to add another prescription to my daily pills if I can avoid it.TIA

Karen

The glycemic index is a measurement of how quickly the carbohydrates you consumed will raise the blood sugar. I thought this was only of concern to diabetics. I have never heard it mentioned in relation to triglycerides. If you are not diabetic, I would think you would watch the total carbs and not the glycemic index.

Using the Glycemic Index is important so you have an idea of which foods are better to consume and which you should avoid. The premise of the GI is that it indicates how fast a specific food will be absorbed into the bloodstream and converted to blood glucose over a 2 hour period. Foods determined to have a low GI are rated less than 55, 56-69 is a medium GI, and 70 or higher is a high GI. The benchmark number on the Glycemic Index is 100 - this is for pure glucose. All GI ratings are established by determining their effect on blood glucose compared to pure glucose. While this information is useful, there is also a bit of common sense that needs to be applied.

First of all, not everyone responds to foods the same way. And second, there are many healthful foods that fall into the medium or high category, but it doesn't mean they are bad for you. The example I like to use is potatoes. If you compare a baked potato with pasta, the pasta has a lower GI. But pasta is typically manufactured from refined white flour and stripped of most nutrients. Its also often quite low in fiber. Potatoes on the other hand are competely natural, high in fiber, and filled with healthful nutrients. Diabetics use the glycemic index more carefully because it indicates what foods may cause an increase in there blood glucose, but again, using my example, I can eat potatoes with little effect on my blood glucose, but if I eat pasta, my blood glucose soars.

My recommendation is to use the GI as a guide, but not as a rule. If you keep your total carb intake to no more than 50% of your total daily caloric intake and focus on complex carbs, that is the best step you could take. On the other hand, eating lots of foods with a low GI, but consuming 70% of your daily calories as carbs isn't going to help you much.

I also can't stress enough the importance of drinking water - lots of it - to help you metabolize fat (stored or consumed). It makes a HUGE difference.

Thanks to both of you for the information. I understand that the index is a tool for diabetics but it was mentioned as being helpful to someone who is new at counting carbs. Since I am new at this there is much that I don't understand and an struggling to grasp.


Jdimassimo, I plan to do much as you suggested and use it as a guide. If given a choice between blueberries or cherries and watermelon I will try to choose the first 2 but will have the watermelon if I feel that will satisfy me. I would like to take as much of the processed white flour and sugar out of my food plan as possible. The white flour is not difficult for me but the sugar will be difficult as I crave it. Diabetes is in my family and while it may not be a problem for me now I would really like to prevent it from becoming a problem in the future. As I said before, I would also love to bring down my tryglycerides without additional prescription medication. I am having problems swallowing all the pills I take now as it is.

Thanks so much for the help. I will continue to eat my whole wheat bread but in moderation. That may be the hard part.