Glycemic Index vs. Density of Carbs

Thanks, Dave.

Evidently the GI of carrots is a theoretical one, which is interesting and probably relates to the question of my post. They have been rated at a sugary 100 by some and then about 50 by others.

One carrot supposedly has only 30 calories, but 7 grams of carb, then all of that's bound to fiber. I'm interested in carbs that give me a slow trickle of energy, but not too much energy. Wonder if it's safe to conside a carrot as having only half its actual carb value (3 or so grams instead of 7)?

Dave

Hey Guys,

Got this:

"Low carb stupidity #12

Believing that carrots are fattening because they’re high on the glycemic index and because a popular fad diet book says so.

Low carb intelligence

Have we lost all vestiges of common sense? With an average carrot clocking in at 31 calories and 7.3 grams of carbs, do you really think that this orange-colored, nutrient-dense, low-calorie, all-natural, straight-out-of-the-ground root vegetable is going to make you fat? (if so, you are in "carbohydrate kindergarten.")"

From:

http://www.fitness-model-advice.com/smart-low-carb.html

Dave

Hey dave, I remember reading (don't ask me where, since I was a preop and now as a post op...i've read hundreds of articles about nutriton and such.....so I just rely on my rain man memory to recall it), that while raw carrots have a high glycemic index, it is not comparable to things such as cookies and cake (basically unprocessed sugar) because of the fiber content.  It would actually take a few lbs of raw  carrots to raise your blood sugar the same amount as 1 cookie.    So it's like comparing apples and oranges. In terms of "diet"...I honestly don'****ch my carb intake with the same intensity as I did as a new post op.  Close to goal....it's not a huge issue for me.  But as a new post op, I did avoid raw veggies and fruits  that were higher in natural sugars.   I'd total them in my daily carb intake, which I tried to keep under 100 grams a day for the first 6 months.  Again, at this stage of the game it's a non issue, but in general my advice to new post op DSers has been to keep track of your carb intake, and include veggies as part of your total carb intake.  Of course, they should subtract out the fiber content of the veggies from their total carb intake to get a net carb value...kind of like atkins.  I know from reading things like the zone, and the sugar buster diet, and atkins......veggies and fruits with high sugar contents are avoided because they throw a person out of ketosis.   Even though they are natural sugars, they do suppliment the bodies sugar stores.   It will cause the liver to stop burning ketons (sp?)...and essentially stop or slow down weight loss on those particular diets, which do not have "calorie limits" but rely heavier on tricking your body into going into starvation mode. Scott