What if we could directly control our metabolism through the foods we choose to eat?
Getting through the day with plenty of energy can be done in one of several ways. While energy drinks and quick sugary snacks help for a short while, the constant ups and downs in your blood sugar create serious damage to your body. Before you know it, you’re taking naps, experiencing low mood and need more quick calories to get you moving again. Even in the short term, you fuel the process of glycation which leads to increased fat storage and decreased metabolism. Long term, this eventually leads to metabolic syndrome – a life threatening condition affecting millions of Americans.
Some individuals like to skip breakfast, which lends itself to the desire for quick energy foods as mentioned above. Unless you are working on a controlled fast, foregoing the first meal of the day is not in your best interest if you want smooth, consistent energy throughout the day. Let’s get into the proper way to start your day.
Are all calories created equal?
This is where many people are confused and I at one time was no different! It turns out that this is not the case. Thanks to the field of nutrigenomics we now understand that all calories are not created equal and their effects on the human body can be quite dramatic and even have different effects on different people.
Studies have now revealed that diets made up of high glycemic carbohydrates (rapidly absorbed sugars) spike your blood sugar levels which in turn spike your insulin levels. Constant high insulin levels promote fat gain, high triglycerides and cholesterol, insulin resistance, fatty liver, obesity, inflammation and all the disease associated with it.
So let’s play a game I call “Pick the Better Breakfast”. We determine which one of these three breakfasts will supercharge your body giving it all the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients that it needs to power up your day all while keeping your blood sugar levels stable. Here is the tricky part; they are all “healthful foods”.
A. Scrambled eggs with diced peppers on a bed of arugula with 10-grain bread sliced avocado and one cup of berries.
B. Steel cut oats with added flax, walnuts, and a cup of berries.
C. Rolled Oats with a cup of berries and a glass of orange juice.
Watch the video below to discover the answer!
Picking the right one can make a huge difference as to whether you gain weight or lose weight. Seems pretty straight forward but there is actually an enormous difference in the way your body metabolizes the different foods you choose to eat each and everyday.
Foods that are digested quickly enter the bloodstream quickly, which means higher blood sugars, which can mean a slow metabolism and weight gain. Compared this to a food that is digested slowly, which means more stable blood sugars, which means weight maintenance or loss. In addition some of these foods have anti-inflammatory properties and others inflammatory properties.
Not all calories are created equal
The lesson on the state of the apples:
- Eating unprocessed apples promotes weight loss.
- Drinking apple juice can promote weight gain or hinder your weight loss efforts.
In our examples of the 3 different breakfasts, they are all healthful foods; that is where the similarity ends. You see each one of these breakfasts will be digested at different rates resulting in either rapid or slow escalation of blood sugar.
That difference alone can make all the difference in your overall health and in the aging process. By maintaining stable blood sugars through out the day you promote health, wellness, consistent energy, and utilization of digested and stored energy.
So which breakfast is our winner? While breakfast C is certainly healthy, its consumption results in consuming roughly 80% more food later in the day than breakfast A. Breakfast B is certainly a healthy way to start the day, but its consumption led to eating 51% more food later in the day than breakfast A. Which makes breakfast A our winner!
The combination of eating eggs, peppers, arugula, avocado, and berries was not only a breakfast with a low sugar content, but one with anti-inflammatory properties as well which means stable blood sugars, fats, insulin, and adrenaline levels. This group of foods sends a hormonal message to speed up your metabolism.
The interesting fact here is that the types of food we eat not only supply our bodies with energy they also send signals to either slow down or speed up our metabolism. Which is great news because we can directly control our metabolism through the foods we choose to eat.
Want to have more energy, reduce inflammation and stay lean year round? Follow a Low Glycemic Nutrition plan!
Dr. Rob also has a “Super Secret Diet” reserved for patients.
These are things we should be doing on a daily basis.
You can also contact our office at 937-350-5527 today to speak to us about the many benefits of Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy. No matter what your age or symptoms, we can help you feel like your former self by reclaiming your peak health through Predictive, Preventative and Proactive Precision Medicine!
