The Insulin Factor: Can’t Lose Weight? Can’t Concentrate? Can’t Resist Sugar? Could Syndrome X Be Your Problem?. Antony Haynes
and processed – and it is food processing that is largely to blame for the huge increase in refined, high Glycemic Index foods. The main staple foods around the world are wheat and rice. However, there is more to grains than just the big two. Below is a list of grains and, where appropriate, the sorts of foods that are made from them. Where possible, opt for the unrefined product – wholemeal breads, whole-wheat pasta, unrefined breakfast cereals, brown rice, quinoa, millet grains and so on.
| Grains | Food |
| Wheat (white & brown) | Bread, pasta, breakfast cereals, cakes, biscuits, couscous |
| Rice (white & brown) | Pasta, bread, biscuits, crackers, rice cakes |
| Oats | Porridge, flapjacks, biscuits |
| Rye | Bread, pasta, crackers (Ryvita) |
| Barley | Bread, pasta, cereals |
| Millet | Bread, pasta |
| Buckwheat | Pasta, noodles |
| Bulghur | Tabouleh |
| Corn* | Tortilla chips, pasta, popcorn |
| Quinoa | Cereals |
| Polenta | |
| *Generally, corn is processed and refined |
Fruit
While fruit contains many beneficial nutrients, such as antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, fibre and water, as a food group, fruit is higher in carbohydrates and lower in protein and fat than any other. Fructose is the main carbohydrate in fruit, which is absorbed more slowly than glucose but still more quickly than complex carbs found in whole grains and legumes. For this reason you should be careful about how much fruit you eat. For the archetypal fit and lean individual, fruit will not be an issue, but the more insulin resistant you are, the more likely it is that you need to limit your fruit intake. If you have full-blown Insulin Resistance, you should only eat the lowest Glycemic Index fruits.
| Higher GI fruits | Lower GI fruits |
| Banana | Blackberries |
| Dates | Blueberries |
| Figs | Cherries |
| Grapes | Grapefruit |
| Prunes | Raspberries |
| Raisins | Strawberries |
| Watermelon |
Limit carbohydrates, don’t avoid them
If you have Insulin Resistance you should limit all carbohydrates, but not avoid them. However, you should avoid all high Glycemic Index foods. You can eat moderate to low Glycemic Index foods, such as many of the above grains in their whole form and in small amounts, although the more insulin resistant you are the fewer you should eat. Some people consider grains to be a primary cause of the Insulin Resistance phenomenon, and recommend an avoidance of all grains, both whole and refined. However, this is not practical for most people and can also cause health problems in the longer term. Instead of cutting out carbs altogether, concentrate on cutting out refined carbs from your diet and choose instead starchy vegetables and legumes as your main source of carbohydrate and whole grains as a limited source – this cannot be emphasized enough.
Main sources of carbohydrate
Try to limit your carb intake to 40 per cent of your diet, and within this 40 per cent the following proportions:
| Starchy vegetables | 35% |
| Legumes (beans/pulses) | 35% |
| Fruits | 15% |
| Cereals/grains | 15% |
Why shouldn’t I cut out carbs altogether?
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that if low GI is good, no GI (i.e. eating no carbs at all) is better. Whatever degree of Insulin Resistance you have, it’s made worse if you eat no carbs at all. Eating a very low carb diet for more than a couple of weeks can reduce the activity of your thyroid hormones, in particular the most active thyroid hormone, T3, or tri-iodo-thyronine. A low level of T3 can lead to fatigue, weight gain and poor circulation. What’s more, a low carb diet will also cause your blood glucose to drop and, when this happens, your brain stimulates the adrenals to raise blood glucose with cortisol, resulting in high cortisol levels. Independently of eating a low carb diet, high cortisol levels will actually reduce the thyroid hormone T3 and also increase Insulin Resistance (see chapter 9
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