Further benefits of low-glycemic index diets

(TESTO IN ITALIANO SOTTO)

Optimizing a diet not only in its calorie intake, but in its macronutrients composition, proportion and absorption speed too, may give us further benefits. A low-glycemic index diet optimizes the energetic metabolism, reduces the catabolism and reduces the need of food too, if compared with a diet containing more high-glycemic index carbohydrates. It is important to underline that this happens despite the diets had similar total energy, energy density, and fiber contents.

This result is pertinent to the expectations, due to the antilipolytic and lipogenetic effects of insulin peak.

This means that we can get important further benefits with a low-glycemic index diet.

COMMENTO IN ITALIANO:
Ulteriori vantaggi delle diete a basso indice glicemico

(e sotto)

Source:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10731495

(Free full text)

1. Am J Clin Nutr. 2000 Apr;71(4):901-7.

Dietary composition and physiologic adaptations to energy restriction.

Agus MS, Swain JF, Larson CL, Eckert EA, Ludwig DS.

Division of Endocrinology, Department of Medicine, Children's Hospital, Boston,

and the General Clinical Research Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston,

MA 02115, USA.

BACKGROUND: The concept of a body weight set point, determined predominantly by

genetic mechanisms, has been proposed to explain the poor long-term results of

conventional energy-restricted diets in the treatment of obesity.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to examine whether dietary composition

affects hormonal and metabolic adaptations to energy restriction.

DESIGN: A randomized, crossover design was used to compare the effects of a

high-glycemic-index (high-GI) and a low-glycemic-index (low-GI) energy-restricted

diet. The macronutrient composition of the high-GI diet was (as percent of

energy) 67% carbohydrate, 15% protein, and 18% fat and that of the low-GI diet

was 43% carbohydrate, 27% protein, and 30% fat; the diets had similar total

energy, energy density, and fiber contents. The subjects, 10 moderately

overweight young men, were studied for 9 d on 2 separate occasions. On days -1 to

0, they consumed self-selected foods ad libitum. On days 1-6, they received an

energy-restricted high- or low-GI diet. On days 7-8, the high- or low-GI diets

were consumed ad libitum.

RESULTS: Serum leptin decreased to a lesser extent from day 0 to day 6 with the

high-GI diet than with the low-GI diet. Resting energy expenditure declined by

10.5% during the high-GI diet but by only 4.6% during the low-GI diet (7.38 +/-

0.39 and 7.78 +/- 0.36 MJ/d, respectively, on days 5-6; P = 0.04). Nitrogen

balance tended to be more negative, and energy intake from snacks on days 7-8 was

greater, with the high-GI than the low-GI diet.

CONCLUSION: Diets with identical energy contents can have different effects on

leptin concentrations, energy expenditure, voluntary food intake, and nitrogen

balance, suggesting that the physiologic adaptations to energy restriction can be

modified by dietary composition.

PMCID: PMC2905862

PMID: 10731495 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Ulteriori vantaggi delle diete a basso indice glicemico

Si è visto che agendo non solamente sulla quota calorica, ma anche sul tipo di macronutrienti ingeriti (rapporto tra di loro e differente velocità di assorbimento), una dieta ipocalorica a basso indice glicemico ottimizza il metabolismo energetico, riduce il catabolismo e riduce il bisogno di cibo se paragonata con una dieta con più carboidrati ad alto indice glicemico.

E' importante sottolineare anche il fatto che le due diete avevano similare contenuto calorico e di fibre.

Risultato pertinente con le aspettative, dato l'effetto antilipolitico e lipogenetico del picco insulinico.

Ciò significa che possiamo ottenere importanti benefici ulteriori da una dieta a basso indice glicemico.