The New Glucose Revolution: The Authoritative Guide to the Glycemic Index -- The Dietary Solution for Lifelong Health by Dr. Jennie Brand-Miller, Thomas M.S. Wolever, Stephen Colagiuri, Kaye Foster-Powell Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The New Glucose Revolution: The Authoritative Guide to the Glycemic Index -- The Dietary Solution for Lifelong Health
Book Review: leaves me no wiser
Summary: 2 Stars
I agree with the other reviewer who talks about contradictions. Nourishing traditions was a much better book on nutrition.Book Review: contradicts itself all over the place
Summary: 2 Stars
As a hypoglycemic, I've read a whole lot about glycemic index and other factors that affect blood sugar. While the underlying premise of the book is solid--replace high GI goods with low GI foods, the details are contradicting.The book talks about having a 'high-carb' diet with lots of grains, etc., which in and of itself seems strange. I think a 'balanced-carb' diet is the better attack. The food recommendations conflict. At times, apples are a 'high-GI' food, other places in the book it is low. They say potatoes are good, then they're bad, then they're good. Whoa! On pg. 206, it talks about a lady who improved her diet by including potatoes and rice, then on the next page it says potatoes are high-GI and should be replaced! Finally, they say sugar is 'not bad', and don't emphasize its restriction at all. The problem with this is that most sugary foods are very high in sugar, and I know from first hand experience, that cutting sugar alone has a drastic effect on health, as I've seen a myriad of my issues disappear.
There are pieces of good information here, but in general, this book is not consistent. It has a huge GI table which is useful, although applies mostly to other countries as foods in different countries have different GI values. I would probably have it on the shelf as a reference, but not have it as the primary GI book. The cover says 'Forget Sugar Busters', but I actually recommend just the opposite--read Sugar Busters first. It is much more concise and has a clear message, and I've had not only myself but others I've recommended this book to improve their weight, well-being, and other nagging ailments by following the Sugar Busters lifestyle.
Another good book is the Metabolic Typing diet, which actually explains why some people do better with more proteins and (good) fats, and others do better with slightly more carbs. This would be a better justification of some of the case studies mentioned in GI Revolution than making blanket statements that high-carb is the way to go.
Book Review: Very Informative, A Valuable Reference
Summary: 4 Stars
This book is very well written, and contains a great deal of useful information. It truly provides the background needed to understand the Glycemic Index well.I am also disturbed by someof the conflicting messages. The authors seem to bend over backwards to encourage people to eat plenty of starchy carbohydrates, i.e. still eat many servings of breads and grains/cereals every day. There is no explanation given for why someone should continue to eat many servings of breads/cereals/grains rather than getting more of their carbohydrates from veggies, fruits, legumes and dairy - all lower GI foods. There seem to be some unfounded reasons stated for why people should avoid lower carb, low fat, lean protein diets such as "The Zone" - the book states that you might find yourself yearning for high-GI foods like bread and potatoes. Huh? I get the impression that the authors are worried that people, like Atkins dieters, will use this book as an excuse to avoid carbohydrates altogether. They also seem to be concerned that if people reduce the carbs in their diet, they will be increasing their fat instead, and that that is a "bad thing". They do point out that the long term results from high protein and/or high fat diets are not yet known. These diets are not as well studied as a low-fat high-carbohydrate diets are.Regardless of some of these undercurrents, I am finding the book very useful in adapting my diet to take advantage of low-GI carbohydrates. I now understand the roles that different foods play in the diet, and how the processing of carbs affect their GI.Book Review: Boring
Summary: 2 Stars
Why can't they put this into simple language. If you are a doctor or dietician, this might be understandable, but to the regular person, this is just plain boring. There must be another more easily understood book on the subject out there.Book Review: Why we gain weight--How to turn it around
Summary: 5 Stars
The body is perfectly adapted to the diet that our human ancestors followed for hundreds of thousands of years, but cannot properly handle "industrial foods", such as refined flour. These mechanically-processed foods flood the blood stream with glucose (the simple carbohydrate that fuels the cells) and provoke an outpouring of insulin. The excess insulin compels the body to burn carbohydrate, leaving the fat to accumulate in our bodies. The deranged insulin levels can also lead to diabetes and heart disease.This book shows that by choosing our carbohydrates with a just little more care, we can restrain these outbursts of insulin and encourage the body to burn more fat. By simply choosing Basmati rice over other varieties, or substituting a sweet potato for an ordinary potato, or buying sourdough bread or bread made with whole-wheat, stone-ground (coarser) flour rather than white flour, we can smooth out the glucose spikes and enjoy better health.
This concept of "glycemic index" (GI) is indeed revolutionary. Each food is rated on a scale of 0 to 100, with pure glucose (as in corn syrup) set at 100. Anything with a GI value of 70 or more is a High-GI food; Intermediate-GI foods range from 56-69, and Low-GI foods have scores from 0 to 55. These values are derived by testing actual foods on actual volunteers, whose blood glucose levels are measured periodically over a couple of hours after they have eaten the food.
The book includes 67 pages of tables so that you can look up the GI values of hundreds of foods, and then use those values to choose which foods you would wish to emphasize and which you would wish to avoid.
The authors go on to explain the factors that influence its GI value. These are the degree to which the starch granules are expanded or even burst during cooking; the particle size (as in finely- or coarsely-ground flours); the chemical structure of the starch (straight- or branched-chain); the type of sugar in the food (sucrose, fructose, galactose, etc.); the quantity and nature of the fiber in the food (its coarseness, solubility and viscosity); and the acidity. In sum, you end up with a solid scientific understanding of why one food will support your health and another will sabotage you.
Choosing low-GI foods virtually guarantees that we are eating foods with a low energy density and a high capacity to satisfy our appetites. We feel fuller on less calories, and the feeling of satisfaction lasts longer. The authors describe a South African study in which volunteers ate the same number of calories from carbohydrate, protein and fat, with the only difference being that one group got low-GI and the other got High-GI carbohydrates. After 12 weeks the low-GI group had lost an average of 20 pounds, versus 16 pounds for the high-GI group. Again, the ONLY difference was in the nature of the carbohydrates.
There is already an international symbol, registered in the US and other countries, indicating that a food has been properly test for its GI value. Watch for it on food labels as the public catches on to the value of this information. P>My only complaint with this book is that the essential information on the link between glucose, insulin and health is scattered throughout the text, rather than being presented in a single succinct statement. But don't let this stop you. If you are concerned about weight, health, and diet, get this book.