The Glycemic Index Diet for Dummies - Meri Raffetto [150]
Losing 5 to 7 percent of your body weight reduces the risk of chronic illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease.
Estimates from a multistudy report show that if the only change people made was to include five servings of fruits and vegetables in their daily diet, overall cancer rates would decline by 20 percent.
According to an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association, men and women with the highest consumption of fruits and vegetables, a median of 5.8 servings per day among women and 5.1 servings per day among men, were found to have a 31 percent lower risk of suffering from a stroke. One stroke can lead to a host of chronic health conditions (one of which is being at higher risk for having a second stroke).
People consuming four or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day had a decreased risk for coronary heart disease. Those with an intake of at least eight servings a day produced an even greater decrease. Green leafy vegetables and vitamin C-rich fruits and vegetables appeared to contribute most to the apparent protective effect of total fruit and vegetable intake.
The Nurses' Health Study found that women who ate the most high-glycemic foods had a 50-percent greater risk of developing diabetes than those who primarily ate a diet of low-glycemic foods.
Although eating the right amount of low-glycemic, plant-based foods contributes a great deal to your body's wellness and disease prevention, it doesn't do the job alone. Other lifestyle components — exercise, smoking, alcohol intake, sleeping, and stress — matter too. Work on all aspects of your health to feel your best and significantly reduce your risk of developing a chronic disease.
The younger you are, the more important it is to start taking an active approach to your health. Many studies show that long-term dietary and health changes may make a bigger impact than short-term changes. All changes are good and will help you no matter what your age, but starting off when you're younger gives you a leg up!
Fighting free radicals with antioxidants
Free radicals (unstable molecules) form when your body's cells burn oxygen (scientists call this process oxidation). They also form when you smoke and when you're exposed to sun, pollution, and harmful chemicals. Free radicals basically rip through your body and cause damage to your cells, tissues, and DNA, kind of how the Tazmanian Devil (that's right, the old Looney Toons character) used to spin out of control, damaging everything in his path. The damage to your body caused by free radicals may leave you at greater risk for chronic diseases such as diabetes and cancer. What can defeat them? Antioxidants. These puppies save the day by neutralizing free radicals so they can't cause damage.
Have you ever left an apple slice on the kitchen counter and come back an hour later to a brown apple? The browning effect is from oxidation. When you add orange juice to the apple slice, it stays white because it's protected by the antioxidant vitamin C.
Free radicals will form in your body no matter how hard you try to decrease your exposure to the things that cause them. Consequently, your diet is your first line of defense. Luckily for you, many low-glycemic foods are also rich in vitamins that act as antioxidants — vitamin C, vitamin E, and beta carotene.
Before you go out and stock up on vitamins, you should know that supplements may not be the answer. Research on antioxidants and how they work in the body is ongoing. At this point, no one knows how much is too much or how the nutrients work together. Research suggests that there may be a synergy between the different vitamins and possibly other chemicals in food that give your body the antioxidant benefits. Therefore, taking a vitamin C supplement may not provide the same benefit as eating an orange.
Getting as many of your vitamins as possible from food sources is always best. Supplements are exactly that —