10) GLYCEMIC INDEX
b) Types of Common Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates tend to be simplified into "simple carbohydrates" and "complex carbohydrates". Everyone agrees that sugars are "simple carbohydrates". After that the definitions beome pretty ambiguous. Genetic engineering has in actuality made any grain and many white vegetable carbohydrates "simple carbohydrates". Even the "100% whole wheat bread" should be considered as a simple carbohydrate by someone with type 2 diabetes. The "whole wheat" has been genetically engineered to have sufficient gluten and other simple carbohydrates to be able to rise into a usable bread. These changes make the "100% whole wheat" a lot easier and faster to digest. The carbohydrates in fruits have been modified by genetic engineering into very sweet "simple carbohydrates", largely fructose and glucose simple sugars. About the only exception seems to be the old fashioned stove top cooked oatmeal, it has so much fiber it actually is a "complex carbohydrate". Other truly "complex carbohydrates" are the carbohydrates found in vegetables, beans, peas and nuts. These haven't been genetically modified very much.
One "carbohydrate" is "starch". There are two types of starch, amylopectin and amylose. Amylopectin is easily and rapidly turned into blood sugar (glycemic index of 80 to 100) while amylose is turned into glucose more slowly (index of 50 to 60). Most wheat, potatoes, corn and rice grown in the USA contain largely amylopectin, and are rapidly turned to blood sugar in the human body. This grain ends up as flour, breads, cakes, fries, mashed potatoes, rice, etc, the "white stuff" many diet plans tell us to avoid. Some experts feel that amylose starch isn't detrimental to the health of an individual with type 2 diabetes because of its lower glycemic index. We feel amylose starch, by and of itself, still has too high a glycemic index to be considered a "good" carbohydrate. The Amylose starch needs to be complexed with other materials such as fiber in order to be beneficial. The best carbohydrates are those carbohydrates which are amylose starches complexed with a lot of fiber and proteins, such as the starches found in beans, peas and nuts.
High glycemic index starchy foods are pastries, cookies, cakes potatoes, rice, bread, pasta and other foods which the body very rapidly converts to glucose. These are sometimes known as the "refined carbohydrates" or "white stuff" and reflect the genetic engineering that has taken place over the past 100 years in the USA to make all foods as "sweet" as possible. Note that there is confusion as to the meaning of "refined carbohydrates"; some consider that to be only simple carbohydrates such as sugar, while others add easily digested starches to the meaning of the word. We prefer the latter definition since the starch in the wheat, rice and corn grains has been "refined" from a slowly digested starch to a rapidly digested starch by the genetic engineering and is the equivalent of any sugar in its speed of assimilation.
Very low glycemic index foods have been shown to reduce A1c by up to 0.7 points. But amylose starch per se is not a very low glycemic index food; it is a moderate glycemic index food. So consuming large amounts of even amylose starch will only raise A1c. In any case, there are very few grains that are truly amylose carbohydrates (barley, wild rice, amaranth and millet). Beans, nuts and peas contain amounts of amylose but they also have fiber and vegetable protein which makes them very good foods for a person with type 2 diabetes.
Table sugar (sucrose) is a disaccharide ("double sugar") that needs to be converted to two simple sugars, glucose and fructose, by the body. As mentioned elsewhere, fructose damages the body just as much as glucose but fructose doesn't register on the "glycemic index" test. So, while the typical glycemic index scale puts sucrose at 60 to 70, the actual "body damage index" of sucrose is more like 100. So table sugar is still a food that diabetics need to avoid. It is not the horrible "poison" some would have us believe ("The 75 Ways Table Sugar Damages your Body"). It is no worse and no better than other refined carbohydrates such as glucose, fructose, white breads, cakes, rice and potatoes.
- So, all in all, we end up with a list of carbohydrates, some of which are good for someone with type 2 diabetes but the majority of which are "bad":
A, "Bad" Sugars and Grain Based Carbohydrates
1, sugars (fructose, glucose, sucrose, galactose, maltose, lactose, etc)
2, simple "white carbohydrates" (Amylopectin) wheat, rice, corn based grain flours, pastries, cookies, cakes, potatoes, rice, bread, pasta
3, simple whole grain products (i.e. breads in which the major ingredient is regular wheat flour)B, Moderately Bad Grain Based Carbohydrates
1, 100% whole grain breads, cereals and crackers
2, grain products with at least 25% soluble fiber in them (old fashioned stove top cooked oatmeal)
3, barley, wild rices, amaranth, and milletC, "Limited Amounts" Carbohydrates
1, whole kernel corn
2, tomatoes, onions, eggplant, peppers
3, low glycemic index fruits (largely apples and pears)D, Good Carbohydrates
1, legumes: peas, beans, peanuts, lima beans
2, nuts
3, colored root vegetables such as carrots (not beets)
E, Very Good Carbohydrates
1, almost all true vegetables: string beans, spinach, asparagus, cabbage, lettuce, cauliflower, snow peas, broccolli, kale, collard greens, Brussels sprouts, zucchini, summer squash, cucumbers, mustard greens, okra
It has to be remembered that all of these carbohydrates, save group "A", are fine in even relatively large amounts for people who do not have type 2 diabetes. But carbohydrates are converted to high levels of blood sugar in the body of someone with type 2 diabetes and high levels of blood sugar in a person with type 2 diabetes causes protein poisoning, a very undesirable condition. So all but the "Very Good Carbohydrates", group "E", need to be controlled at least to some degree in individuals with type 2 diabetes.
Current Chapter: 10) GLYCEMIC INDEX
a) Introduction
b) Types of Common Carbohydrates
c) Glycemic Index and A1c
d) Glycemic Index and Losing Weight
e) Glycemic Index Controversy
f) Using Bad Statistics to Judge the Glycemic Index
g) The Occasional High Glycemic "Splurge"
h) Glycemic Load
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