I find it is much better to allow yourself to have the foods you love but, if they are not good for your weight loss program, you must limit the amount you eat. That way you will not feel deprived.

Luckily, you don’t have to memorize a big list of foods to avoid – I will make this simple for you and tell you to simply avoid the “white” foods.

What are “white” foods?

That’s easy – sugar, white flour, white rice and potatoes.

Sounds easy, right? Except when you think of it, probably most of the things you eat are made from one or more of these ingredients.

Take just about any packaged food in the grocery store and I can guarantee that sugar and white flour are in them.

Desserts, as you know are loaded with sugar and flour.

As you probably already know, you need to be avoiding desserts and sugary foods. I’m not saying you have to give up dessert all together, but instead of having it after every meal, save it for once a week or special occasions. When you do have dessert, have a couple of bites that you really enjoy.

If you are used to eating a lot of sweets, it might be hard for you to break the sugar habit, but once you spend a few days without sweets you will find that you actually stop getting cravings for them and it is much easier to avoid them all together.

When it comes to avoiding white flour, your main culprit is bread. Even if you eat those so-called “healthy” breads you might find the main ingredient is white flour.

You have to be really careful here and read the labels because you can easily be fooled by browner looking bread that is labeled “wheat” bread and made with white flour. What you need to look for is the words “100% whole wheat flour” on the label and make sure the first ingredient in the list is “whole wheat flour”.

You might also try using wraps or pita bread instead of traditional bread – just make sure you go for the whole wheat kind! Of course as a natural health doctor and chiropractor in Jacksonville Beach Florida, I always tell my clients that any grain should be minimized when it comes to losing weight.

If you like to have pasta or white rice with your meals, then you might think about switching to brown rice pasta or brown rice. These are much healthier options and brown rice is really very tasty.

When it comes to potatoes you really need to think about what you put on them and eat them in moderation. Yes, they can be healthy for you if they are baked and you don’t drown them in butter. But, they are very starchy and will raise your blood sugar so it is best to only eat a few mouthfuls and make sure you are having them in a meal with some protein and vegetables.

Now, you might be wondering why you should avoid these foods and the answer is simple – these foods (with the exception of potatoes) are all over processed and have the nutrients stripped out of them. Therefore when you eat them, you are loading your body with empty calories. These foods are high in the glycemic index which means that they will cause your blood sugar to spike up and then to drop leaving you feeling hungry again in short order.

If you would like to learn more about how you can get and stay healthy, go to davenpotnaturalhealth.com to sign up for my free Health Matters Newsletter.

As natural health care provider and chiropractic physician in Jacksonville Beach Fl and Ponte Vedra Beach Florida chiropractor, I see my job as educating, coaching, and nurturing my patients to better health and wellness.

Yours In Health,
Dr. John Davenport
www.davenportnaturalhealth.com

What Is The Glycemic Index?

Basically, the glycemic index is a way to measure the effects foods have on your blood sugar. This is important when it comes to dieting because having an even blood sugar level throughout the day will save you from cravings and excessive hunger.

When you eat foods with a high glycemic index value your blood sugar levels are raised rapidly. Versus when you eat foods with a low glycemic index value, your blood sugar levels are raised at a slower pace.

A rapid rise is usually followed by a crash which means that you feel hungry again. If you have ever eaten a large meal filled with high glycemic index foods and then been hungry an hour or two afterwards even though you stuffed yourself, you have experienced this first hand.

There is a rating of 0-100 placed on foods and that is how the GI is figured and Glucose of course is the highest. There is a glycemic index food list that will give you the foods and there ratings. Let’s go over them and list some food examples. Those that have a rating of fifty five and below are conidered Low GI, fifty five through seventy are considered Medium GI, and those that are seventy and more are considered High GI.

Some examples of foods with a Low GI are: Custard, milk & yogurt, apples & apple juice, oranges, foods with whole grains, cherries, peaches, most beans, peas, and more.

Some examples of foods with a Medium GI are: Bread, banana’s, orange juice, popcorn, pizza, new potatoes, potato chips, raisins, ice cream and others.

Last but not least some examples of foods with High GI are: waffles, pumpkin, popcorn, sports drinks, rice, pretzels, french fries, watermelon and more.

Following the Glycemic Index helps with weight loss. If you eat foods with a Low GI they help you to feel full longer so you eat less. Some dietitians do however feel as though the glycemic index is hard to base a diet off of because it is so different for individuals and hard to keep track of. How ever there are many things to consider when basing a diet on it, such as how different foods react to your body.

If you would like to learn more about how you can get and stay healthy, Click Here to sign up for my free Health Matters Newsletter.

As natural health care provider and chiropractic physician in Jacksonville Beach Fl and Ponte Vedra Beach Florida chiropractor, I see my job as educating, coaching, and nurturing my patients to better health and wellness.

Yours In Health,
Dr. John Davenport

http://www.davenportnaturalhealth.com