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The Limitations Of The Glycemic Index: Dr. Joel Fuhrman Argues For A "Micronutrient Index"

In an earlier post on the Glycemic Index and NutriSystem we published some notes from Dr. Laurie Rothman on the subject. And we mentioned that we wanted to get Dr. Joel Fuhrman's take on it as well. We got it, and here it is. It is a dissenting view, and we work to present a wide array of views and approaches. This is also an interesting perspective on the dominant approach to fight metabolic syndrome and diabetes. Joel is essentially arguing against what most MD's are telling their patients. He also takes a swipe at our "Diet Fusion" idea- arguing that this is just "watering down" the ideal diet. We agree and just point out that "Diet Fusion" is methodology, not a diet. And this methodology leads to a very high level of micronutrient intake over time.

Glycemic index Versus Micronutrient Index-- No Contest 

By Joel Fuhrman, M,D.

In diabetes research the glycemic index (GI) of carbohydrates has long been recognized as a favorable aid  for diabetics to control blood sugar.  The same is now often the case in lipid research as it has been demonstrated that high glycemic diets, rich in white flour, refined sweets and processed foods are unfavorable to both glucose levels and lipid parameters.

Authors and writers who advocate a high protein (meat-based) diet, hang their hat on the low glycemic index of animal products to explain the advantages of a diet rich in animal products and lower in vegetation.  This view oversimplifies the multi-factorial nuances of nutrition and results in a distorted understanding of nutritional science.

Ranking food on glycemic index alone ignores many other factors that may make that food favorable or unfavorable.  Because a carrot has a higher glycemic index than a slice of bacon does not make the bacon a better food for a diabetic or heart patient.  There are other more important nutritional considerations besides the glycemic index, including the toxicity, micronutient density and fiber in the food.  .

A good example of such nutritional nonsense is when Barry Sears of the Zone diet, warns against the consumption of lima beans, papayas and carrots because of their glycemic index and Atkin’s excludes or limits those carbohydrate containing fruits and vegetables with proven powerful anti-cancer benefits.

The studies that have looked at the negative effects of a higher glycemic diet are always diets that are low in nutrients and fiber, with lots of processed grains and sweets.  Obviously this diet-style is not unhealthy merely because the diet has a high glycemic response.  Processed foods are also low in fiber, phytonutrients and anti-oxidants and rich in those toxic acrlyamides; they are disease-promoting foods and one of their features is that they have a high glycemic index. 

When a diet is rich in high nutrient containing, vegetables, beans, nuts, seeds, and fresh fruits the disease-protective qualities of these foods and the weight-loss benefits overwhelm any insignificant drawback from the high glycemic index of the carrot. Even though the entire diet taken as a whole happens to have a low glycemic index, eating lot of high micronutrient containing vegetables is the most effective way and the healthiest way to lose weight because it removes food cravings and the drive to overeat. The high phytochemical index is the main factor curtailing overeating, not the glycemic index of this diet.  

Recently, a systematic review was performed of published human intervention studies comparing the effects of high- and low-GI foods or diets on appetite, food intake, energy expenditure and body weight. In a total of 31 short-term studies.  The conclusion was that there is no evidence that low-GI foods are superior to high-GI foods in regard to long-term body weight control.   More carefully performed research done recently compared the exact same caloric diets one with a lower and one with a higher glycemic index and demonstrated that lowering the glycemic load and glycemic index of weight reduction diets does not provide any added benefit to energy restriction in promoting weight loss in obese subjects.

The important point to remember is that a diet with a high micronutrient density already has a favorable glycemic index, but it also is low in saturated fat, high in fiber, rich in phytochemicals, and naturally alkaline.  In other words, instead of focusing on one aspect alone consider all the positive features of what makes a diet-style disease protective.  When you do this all popular diets look just second-rate and this fusion idea is just watering down the healthiest and most effective diet-style to be politically correct.  Eat For Health results in people losing weight more effectively than gastric bypass and it is the most effective weight loss methodology ever recorded in the medical literature.

Joel Fuhrman is a board certified family physician specializing in nutrition and the author of Eat To Live and Eat for Health.  Visit him at  www.drfuhrman.com

 

REFERENCES

Grundy SM, Cleeman JI, Merz CN, Brewer HB Jr, Clark LT, Hunninghake DB, et al. Implications of recent clinical trials for the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III guidelines. Circulation 2004;110:227-39.

American Dietetic Association. Hyperlipidemia medical nutrition therapy protocol. Chicago: American Dietetic Association, 2001.

U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Behavioral counseling in primary care to promote a healthy diet: recommendations and rationale. Am J Prev Med 2003;24:93-100.

Sarter B, Campbell TC, Fuhrman J. Effect of a high nutrient density diet on long-term weight loss: a retrospective chart review.  Alt Therapies in Health and Medicine 2008;14(3):51-53.

Zone Diet: Best Food Combinations That Give You Energy And Keep You Full

We've been talking a lot about Weight Watchers, Eat To Live and Nutrisystem lately but as I was making a video about satisfying snacks, I recalled how the Zone Diet, with its fat/protein/carb ratio, has great ideas for food combinations that will make you feel full.  Here's the video:

We know a lot of people at PEERtrainer use the zone diet for "the unlimited energy it gives you" as well as the "the feeling of appropriate protein, carbs and fat for a meal". Another member said "it teaches a quick way to balance foods and if I'm not balanced, I literally cannot workout." A ton of professional athletes are zone devotees and Jennifer Aniston has often credited the zone publicly for her sleek look.  They have a great page that totally explains how it works.

If you don't have time to cook, they have amazing snacks, bars and other foods with the "perfect zone" combination that you can grab quickly and at least know you're eating something good that will give you energy.

Man Who Lost 80 Pounds Using Weight Watchers- Got Some Detail On His Experience

Ok- I mentioned a few days ago that a friend knew a guy who lost 80 pounds on Weight Watchers and that we were going to get his story. We got it and here are the questions we asked. I also have some thoughts, and they are not so PC and totally generalizing, but I think probably true. Questions in bold, answers short and sweet.

 

1) Did he do the meetings or just do ww online? -- went to meetings 

 

2) Who recommended the diet to him -- wife 

 

3) Did he find the online tools helpful -- somewhat, the tools were not conveniently available 

 

4) how did he perceive the cost vs the result -- I thought the cost was reasonable but that may be because the result was good 

 

5) How hard was it and how long did it take? -- not too hard; my eating habits were so poor that small changes made a big difference. it took about 8 months 

 

6) Has he made permanent changes in his diet and how hard is he finding it to keep it off? --Yes changes are permanent. I pay a lot of attention to what I eat and what is in what I eat. Never did that before. Keeping it off has not been difficult. But I still have more to lose.

 

So this really got me thinking on something totally controversial, but I have to say it. 

 

Controversial Comment #1--Men are from Mars, Women Are From Venus.  Men are more logical and women are more emotional. As you see in these comments there is no major drama in his story. It is very simple- he was overweight because his "habits were so poor." Weight Watchers said- ok, try these new habits. He did. Problem solved. 

 

This is brings me to Controversial Comment #2-- this guy had no excuses and took total responsibility. His weight was nobody's fault but his, it was not a result of some external force. There was no going on about he gained weight because of things being hard at work or really any excuse at all.

 

If you are a guy and need to lose weight, think about the controversial comments. Can you follow directions? Do you understand the concept that you are responsible for your actions? Can you follow through and persist with a plan?

 

You might be like the guy who could only lose weight on Nutrisystem, where they just sent you the food. No shame in that. Just think about what kind of person you are right now. As you become the person you want to be, then your diet will change. You will incorporate concepts of The Zone Diet. Lots of professional athletes do btw. You will get to know Joel Fuhrman and embark on a path of nutritional excellence.

Maybe you will even make so much progress that you will run a marathon.

But.....If you are a guy and you need to lose weight and you can follow directions, you'll find it easier than you think to lose weight. You need to make some distinctions and make some choices that seem hard at first, but will get easier. Frankly, most guys are used to making some hard choices.

At PEERtrainer we have created a very simple guide and system that helps you make some of these changes. It is called the "Cheat System" and it is something you download for free. 

Here is an email from a guy we were just sent. What is interesting is that he first downloaded it and dismissed the advice. Then he went back in, started to do it it and is having success:

"I looked at your system a few weeks ago when it first came out and the second I saw the left side column, I dismissed it. Even though I had already on my own been dramatically increasing the salad and vegetable intake. I was losing weight, it was very simple, but the daily diet was very rigid and had certain rules that if broken meant no weight loss for a day or two. This had worked once before very well but the boredom finally took its toll.

With much respect for Peertrainer, I took another look and realized everything I was doing already fit the cheat system, just not the best choices, so I took a leap of faith. It took 3 or 4 days to educate myself and turn my wife's kitchen into a farmer's market (which I though was very cool). I also learned how to chop, use a rice cooker (quinoa), craft salads from lots of fun green stuff, steam vegetables, use all those funny little cans of spices in addition to salt and pepper, etc.

I'm having a great time... never knew who bought all that stuff in the vegetable department except apples and oranges. Finally, I put it all together and now feel like I know what I'm doing. Weight loss is back on track. 

I am so glad I decided to download the Peertrainer Cheat system and glad I was able to get beyond my traditional thinking.

Good luck and thanks for doing what you're doing.

P.S. I was recently in the San Francisco Bay area and needed to go to the store and not knowing the area wound up in a large Asian market. I knew it was different because half the store was devoted to greens and vegetables. The customers, mostly Asian, were all thin-active looking people and most were buying greens. Now I understand why."

Why This Email Is So Interesting

One thing that this email shows is that this guy thought he was doing the right thing. When he opened up his mind to a new idea, he found some success. At PEERtrainer over the years, we have observed that when people are more flexible in general, good things happen. If you are doing the same thing and not getting a different result, obviously you need to do something differently.

The second interesting thing is that he cites oranges and apples as the produce he was familiar with, and is now familiar with the full range of vegetables. After you sign up for the Cheat System, we also follow up with some awesome recipes from time to time. A recent one is "Asian Fusion Chicken Salad." Delicious!

Finally, what an interesting comment about the visit to the Asian market. As part of our "PC" culture we are sort of taught to not acknowledge our differences. Or at least not actively point out ways in which we are different. (It seems like comedians are the only ones who are "allowed" to talk about this.)

 

I have also created a video for this:

 

How Hard Is The New Weight Watchers Momentum Program To Do?

One thing we focus on a lot in our Tip Of The Day coaching newsletter is to work at not being overwhelmed, and finding ways to prevent getting overwhelmed in the first place. Someone emailed me in response to my post about early reviews of the new Weight Watchers Momentum program and said that it sounded like a lot of work.

They pointed out how the new plan was described as being a "big program" and you have to "learn a whole new pattern." So I emailed my mom to ask her about this question or concern. Here was her response: 

"There's a set pattern to Weight Watchers.  They unfold the program in a way that doesn't put too much on your plate at one time.  They don't disclose core options until you're solidly in the plan.  The reason for this is that if you get too much information to memorize too early, you get discouraged and give up.  Also, it gives you a chance to learn the points to all the foods you normally eat. "

This makes a lot of sense, pacing the program in this way. And this is also very consistent with what you see on the Weight Watchers site itself. Many people start the program, figure out the best way to get started, or decide if it is for them at all by doing their free online assessment. They have three of them to do to calculate your BMI, assess your health.

The most interesting of these three tools is a "readiness" assessment, where they ask you a series of questions that scores how successful you are going to be on the program. The reality is many people are just not ready to lose weight, make the commitment. Weight Watchers understands this whole process, and really helps to maximize your odds of success.

I also asked her about energy- because she always mixes in elements of The Zone Diet to feel healthy. I will address that in a different blog post, because I am getting some questions about good diets for athletes. It used to be the case that Weight Watchers was really geared towards people just losing weight, and if you were active and only needed to lose 10 pounds you needed to mix in elements of other diets. This is really how I started to develop the whole idea of "Diet Fusion"- watching her mix and match these diet approaches in an almost scientific manner.

This is also how I realized that the ideal diet for someone is something totally personal. We work with people in our Tip Of The Day email coaching program to help trigger questions so that they themselves can find out what diet works for them. That program is free so please sign up! And a great place to start in this whole process is with the tools on the WW site. Especially the readiness quiz- that is really cool.

Discussion of this post continues in the PEERtrainer Community!