Читать книгу The alli Diet Plan: Your Essential Guide to Success with alli - Литагент HarperCollins USD, F. M. L. Thompson - Страница 37

This category also includes breakfast cereals, oats and other grains. Starchy carbohydrates should be the most important source of calories in your diet. Starches are a type of carbohydrate that provide energy, and it is important to eat a starchy food at every meal, including some wholegrain versions as these give you additional fibre, minerals such as iron and calcium and B vitamins.

Starchy foods, especially those that are wholegrain, can be filling and are much less energy-dense than fat or oil. One gram of carbohydrate provides less than half the calories per gram compared to fats such as butter and oil.

You may have heard of foods with a high or low ‘GI’ or glycaemic index. Foods with a low GI help regulate your blood sugar so you don’t have surges of sugars in your blood after you’ve eaten, followed by a trough that leaves you feeling ravenous. These fluctuations are unhealthy and are thought to reduce the efficiency of the hormone insulin that controls your blood sugar. In the long term this can lead to diabetes. Foods with a high GI cause a sharp rise in your blood sugar, while those with a low GI cause a more gradual rise that is then prolonged. Having foods with a low GI helps you feel fuller for longer.

This diet encourages the use of lower-GI foods, and Chapter 9 provides nutrition and GI information on some commonly eaten foods. You may also find more information on the internet – and look for GI labels on some foods in supermarkets.

This is not a low-carbohydrate diet. Some people have great weight-loss results through cutting out carbohydrates, but for lifelong healthy eating this important food group provides essential nutrients and fibre.