Yes I know that it has been a while since I posted any good info on the Paleo challenge. I must first apologize for the delay in getting this out to all of you that are still following the challenge. Don't forget that the winner of the challenge will receive a free month at the exclusive CrossFit 5280 facility!
I have noticed some dramatic changes in a few people that I would like to recognize here. If you have not seen Mark H. in a while, be sure to drop by and stare at him for a while. I think the challenge has served you well! As for the rest of you, I am sorry I have not made it around to the other classes, since I kissed the "Pig" a couple of weeks ago, it has been an uphill challenge. Now for the good info that will hopefully serve some of you in the next coming weeks. This information was consumed in "The Paleo Diet for Athletes" by Dr. Loren Cordain. I am trying to regurgitate that info and I hope I do it the justice it deserves.
Glycemic index and the Glycemic load
First I will attempt to explain the index so that all can understand my jibber jabber. Plus I don't want to ramble, which is what I am doing right now. The index was created some time ago so that a person could see a number that would correlate with the reaction that particular food has on the production of insulin. The issue with the index is that it did not take into account the total carbs for the food and a candy bar had a similar number to a piece of fruit. Then a group of really smart guys and gals got together and used this unknown thing called math to account for total card load and released the Glycemic load. As you all can imagine processed foods will have a much larger load then it's wonderful counterpart of something that is grown or raised.
Now that that has been given a quick explanation, how about the effects of each on our bodies? Well, if you continue to consume foods that have a high glycemic load, your pancreas has to work harder to produce insulin so that the body remains in a general neutral status. This can lead to two problems. The first one is that your pancreas may get overworked and begin shutting down that will lead to type 2 diabetes. The second problem is that if you are not burning the excess insulin that has been placed into your blood stream, it has to go somewhere. Would you like to guess what it turns into? How about I just tell you, it TURNS INTO FAT!!!
Bottom line, you can continue to tear it up at the gym and notice minimal results. You will achieve those results that you can see, but you will never turn the corner to having the body you want and deserve. You must limit the high Glycemic load/index foods that create that extra insulin. Your body will thank you! And who knows, the mirror might just thank you also!!!
