“Low carb”, “ketogenic” or “nutrient dense” mean different things to different people. Defining these terms numerically can help us to choose the right tool for the right application. Decreasing the insulin load of your diet can help normalise blood glucose levels and enable your pancreas to keep up. However, at the same time a high … Continue reading optimising protein and insulin load
In previous articles I have outlined the idea of the insulin load[1] [2] which is similar to carbohydrate counting, but also accounts for the effect of protein, fibre ad fructose. insulin load = total carbohydrates – fibre + 0.56 x protein show me the data! Most people understand that dietary carbohydrate is the primary nutrient that influences … Continue reading insulin load… the greatest thing since carb counting?
The glycemic index (GI) compares the rise in blood sugar for a particular food relative to glucose. The theory goes that it is better to eat low glycemic index carbohydrates that will not raise our blood sugar too much and will take longer to digest. Building on the glycemic index is the concept of glycemic load which … Continue reading glycemic load versus insulin load
There has been a lot of chatter around the interwebs lately about exogenous ketones and whether they are health promoting, particularly for people with conditions that relate to excess insulin such as diabetes, traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer’s, cancer, epilepsy, obesity etc. Exogenous ketones are becoming trendy, particularly in the low carb scene! A couple of … Continue reading are ketones insulinogenic and does it matter?
optimise your food choices using the food insulin index
Lately I’ve seen a number of common themes come up at low carb conferences and online. The contentious questions tend to run along the lines of: I did really well on a low carb diet initially, but my fat loss seems to have stalled. What gives? What should I do now? If protein is insulinogenic … Continue reading how optimize your diet for your insulin resistance
I found a number of people that were using the a combination of the optimal foods for diabetes and nutritional ketosis and the optimal foods for weight loss lists. So I thought it would be useful to combine the two approaches into a single list of foods for people who want to lose weight but who were still somewhat insulin resistant. … Continue reading nutrient dense foods for weight loss and insulin resistance
What are the most insulinogenic, low nutrient density and energy dense processed foods that everyone should avoid for heath and weight loss? Generally I think it can be more useful to tell people what they should focus on rather than what they shouldn’t do. It’s like the proverbial hot plate or ‘wet paint’ sign. You can’t unsee … Continue reading foods to avoid… the most processed, insulinogenic, energy dense low nutrient density foods
As well as identifying nutrient dense diabetic friendly foods, we can use the food insulin index to highlight more insulinogenic nutrient dense higher energy density foods for use by athletes or people wanting gain weight. This article highlights more insulinogenic nutrient dense foods that could be used by metabolically healthy people to strategically “carb up” before events, to … Continue reading nutrient dense insulinogenic foods for bodybuilding
A wide range of the major health issues that we face in the western world appear to be associated with high levels of insulin (hyperinsulinemia). More people have impaired insulin sensitivity but wouldn’t know it just from looking at their blood glucose levels. Insulin sensitivity is influenced by a wide range of factors including food, infections, fasting … Continue reading hyperinsulinemia, food, infection and the monthly female cycle
