Understanding the glycemic index (GI) is important for those who wants to lose weight or lower the risk of cardiovascular disease. This article explains how the glycemic index works, and what you should know about GI.

The glycemic index (GI) is a way of rating carbohydrate foods according to how quickly the carbohydrates are broken down into glucose, and thus how quickly that glucose enters the bloodstream. The reasoning behind this is that carbohydrates that enter the bloodstream quickly raise blood sugar levels rapidly, causing a spike in energy, that is followed by a drop after the effects of insulin are triggered.

Insulin is one of the hormones that help regulate blood sugar levels, and tries to keep them stable. When too much glucose enters the bloodstream at a time, the body reacts by releasing insulin to remove some of that glucose back out of the blood and into our cells. Its simply a way of keeping the balance. However the effect is that when all the glucose we just ate, in the form of carbohydrates, is removed from the bloodstream, we feel tired and hungry, often craving more carbohydrates. Thus a cycle is created, where we eat more than really necessary.

Not all carbohydrate containing foods are created equal, they are rated from a scale of 1 to 100 according to their effect on our blood glucose levels. A score of 100 is the highest, and this is akin to eating glucose in its pure form. A score of 55 or lower means a food is classified as having a low glycemic index. Thus, it theoretically breaks down in the body more slowly.

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When the summer time comes and the heat is on, one favorite thing that most people want to beat the heat is to get a smoothie. You may try to lose weight, but you should not miss out because there are any healthy options to have your home-made smoothies. Yes, you can make your own weight loss smoothies at home.

From a health point of view, blended smoothies are great for a concentrated meal that’s ready in a minute. You can combine a variety of fruit with some water, possibly add some dates or genuine maple syrup and make a delicious smoothie that can be enjoyed anytime as a healthy meal while on your weight loss program.

Actually, this may be a better choice than juicing as you will also get the fibre, which is an essential nutrient present in our fruits and vegetables for several reasons and in regards to losing weight, the fibre will serve as intestinal brooms to push all unwanted debris out.

I listed some weight loss smoothies recipes below for you to try at home. I think they are creative ways to enjoy the proper diet and not entirely miss out on pleasuring ourselves occasionally. You can always experiment to find tasty recipes as well, but here are some to get you started.

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There are the countless diet products lining store shelves and being advertised on television nowadays, hence people forget that the most effective way to lose weight is simply to exercise and eat healthy. However, natural diet products can help a person get to their ideal weight such as water, goji berries, acai berries, green tea, whey, etc. The benefits of water and goji berries for weight loss have been discussed in previous articles. In this article, we want to explain more about green tea and whey.

The Benefit of Green Tea

Green tea is famous for its medicinal benefits. Most Asian countries use it and other places around the globe are following suit. Aside from its well-known benefits, green tea can also help a person reduce weight.

Drinking green tea is also a safe way to get rid of those pounds. Unlike other herbal products, it doesn’t contain ephedra (which increases heart rate and blood pressure).

Instead, green tea contains high concentrations of catechin polyphenols, which work with other chemicals to intensify fat oxidation and thermogensis (in which heat is created in the body to burn fuels like fat). Moreover, green tea causes the release of carbohydrates to slow down and thus, prevents sharp increases of insulin in the blood.

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Goji berries have been known as the Asian herbal medicine in China, Tibet and India for thousand years. Goji plants are found in the subtropical regions of China, Mongolia and Himalayas in Tibet. Goji berries are usually sold dried with the shape and texture like raisins, but the colour is bright red. They have a very little yellow seed inside.

In valleys of Tibet and Mongolia there is a special berry that the locals use and cherish so much that they honor it in special celebrations that last two weeks each year. The Tibetan variety of Lycium now known as ‘Goji’ is considered to be the Mother of all Lyciums! It grows in very remote unpolluted hills and valleys of Tibet and Mongolia, in soil so rich in nutrients that the berries are exploding with this special nurturing vitality.

Goji berry is the commercial name that refers to this Tibetan variety of Lycium berry that is indigenous to the Tibetan and Mongolian regions. Local harvesters are cautious to distinguish the Goji berry from its distantly related offspring, the Chinese Wolfberry (Lycium barbarum), pointing out that whilst the later evolved over centuries from the Tibetan Lycium berry variety, its nutrient makeup differs considerably, as do the regions and conditions within which these two different berries are growing.

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