Oldguy

Hello Andrea, The advice you've received in these replies is very good. I would like to add that you should visit the following site: [url="Http://www.mendosa.com"]Http://www.mendosa.com[/url] and work your way thru to the Glycemic Index. It shows you foods and the relative speed in which they are assimilated into your blood stream. Oddly, you will find that white bread is equal to, and if not faster than, sucrose (table sugar). When the assimilation is faster than your release of insulin, you are doing damage by glycation. Glycation is the attachment of hexose units (sugar molecules) to the proteins and/or amino acids in your body. This alters their functions in a damaging way. The HbA1c test is the measure of glycation to two amino acids, Valine and Lysine, in the hemoglobin-A of your blood. The number is the percentage of total hbA that is glycated, or damaged. This percentage is an indicator of your blood glucose control over three months, which is roughly the time it takes to recycle the hemoglobin-A in your body. Even in healthy individuals with a low blood glucose will suffer glycation from normal and spiking levels. People who drink soda would normally get a letdown about an hour after embibing. The spike in sugar results in a panic release of insulin, which is really too much. The sugar is stored and insulin is left over, causing hypoglycemia, and a resulting letdown. It's for this reason that bottlers used cocaine, then cafeine in their drinks. Bread does much the same because it is a complex sugar called carbohydrate. Look up the link I gave you...it's highly informative.