The Glycemic Index Diet for Dummies - Meri Raffetto [5]
Introduction
Carbohydrate-bashing is all the rage these days. In fact, it often seems like you can't have a casual conversation without someone mentioning he's trying to eat low-carb, complaining that she's addicted to carbs, or whining about how he can never eat potatoes. Somehow carbohydrates are "bad," and anyone who overindulges in anything that contains even a whiff of carbohydrates is equally "bad." It's as if carbs have become their own food group to be avoided!
The thing is, the human body requires carbohydrates to function. Foods contain carbohydrates for precisely that reason. So clearly society needs to get beyond the simple bad carb/good carb classifications and figure out exactly what type of carbohydrate-containing foods help promote health and improve energy levels.
In short, the glycemic index and glycemic load are all about choosing carbohydrate-containing foods wisely and putting them to work for you. This book, in turn, is all about showing you how to use the glycemic index and glycemic load to your advantage in your quest for weight loss and everyday health.
About This Book
If you want to lose weight and improve your overall health, then The Glycemic Index Diet For Dummies is for you. This book offers a wealth of information about both the glycemic index and the glycemic load to help you incorporate greater amounts of low-glycemic foods in your lifestyle. In the following pages, I give you specific tips and suggestions on how to choose lower-glycemic foods whether you're grocery shopping, eating out on the weekend, or enjoying a family vacation or holiday. I even include tasty, simple-to-prepare recipes that use low-glycemic foods and throw in a list of low-, medium-, and high-glycemic foods that you can use as a quick-reference tool.
Whether you're reading this book because you don't know anything about the glycemic index and want to find out more or you're already using the glycemic index to make smarter food choices, consider The Glycemic Index Diet For Dummies your trusty resource for adopting a healthier lifestyle.
Conventions Used in This Book
It's a common misconception these days that carbohydrates, or carbs, are their own food group. However, that's simply not the case. They're actually calorie-containing nutrients found in food. Most food groups contain carbs; the only ones that don't are meat (including fish and poultry) and fat sources (think oils and butter). So when I refer to carbs throughout this book, I'm referring to the nutrient your body uses to create energy, not a made-up food group.
Following are a few additional conventions I've used that you should be aware of:
Whenever I define a word (or put emphasis on a certain word or phrase),I use italics.
Keywords and the specific action steps in numbered lists appear in boldface.
Web sites appear in monofont; no extra spaces or punctuation have been added, so type 'em exactly as you see 'em.
Foolish Assumptions
I wrote this book for the people who want to lose weight and maintain that weight loss long-term while still enjoying good-tasting food. I also wrote this book for people who have a family history of diabetes or heart disease and want to take steps to improve their health now, before they begin experiencing medical problems. (Note: If you already have diabetes or heart disease, you can use the information throughout this book to take control of your health and improve how you feel on a day-to-day basis.)
Because you're reading a book about food, I'm taking a leap here and assuming that you enjoy eating. Well, you're in luck! This book includes not only dozens of recipes to help satiate your taste buds but also the reasons why these recipes were selected and what they're going to do for you.
What You're Not to Read
One of the fun things about a For Dummies book is finding all the extra information that you can skip over if you're not interested or don't have time to check it out. Sidebars (indicated by the gray boxes) and text marked with a Technical Stuff icon are included to enhance