"Bananas and Dates make me sleepy" Michael Arnstein
"I can easily eat 45 bananas a day" Durian Rider
Why the vast difference? Based on the above statements there is obviously somewhat of a difference - is it because we all have a different tolerance to the GI (Glycemic Index) or GL (Glycemic Load) levels in food?
I did an experiment on myself -
Fixed - 3 liters of water daily, exercise fairly the same each week, 10 hours of sleep min.
- One week all bananas and dates (3000cal not including salad) huge salad for dinner
- One week all high water content fruit (3000cal not including salad) huge salad for dinner
- One week with steel cut oats/brown rice/potatoes/lentils/split pea etc (3000cal not including salad) huge salad for dinner.
After most meals I would take blood and calculate blood sugar via a meter....I would also rate my nap needs 15 minutes post meal (1 = ready to roll - 5 = Bed needed now). Some meals would make me tired others would not. My blood sugar levels were always perfect; however, I could not keep my eyes open after certain meals.
I then eliminated every food that made me tired (they happen to be all of the higher GI foods) then presto = feeling great! For me I need lower gi foods (NOT lower carb) lower GI - huge huge huge difference.
Is it possible we all have different Insulin reactions to different foods? For me bananas or a huge batch of grapes would leave me so so tired. A blood glucose reader told me I was perfect - it "lied" - I needed an immediate bed. Lower GI foods left me feeling great.
These our just my observations - what are yours?
NOTE: High vs Low GI - most fruits and veggies are considered low GI compared to typical SAD diets. However, there is still a huge variance between many fruits and veggies.
Permalink Reply by mathyou on Sounds like you did a really good, objective experiment. Thank you for sharing :D
Permalink Reply by KKG on Were bananas the only food that made you super tired? I find that potatos make me really tired.
Permalink Reply by AD on greens a much bigger part of my diet. as an athlete I need lots of carbs - ones that do not put me in the bed though:)
Permalink Reply by Paxkey * on very interesting data.
although not as measurable as your experiment, i am curious about how the body deals with foods that are not natural to the climate and environment where one works and plays.
i suspect that eating foods which absorb the air and soil from a different part of the world may provide an oversaturation of some nutrients while being anemic in providing others.
disharmony and incongruency are less easy to define and measure then your provided criteria but are well worth considering.
Permalink Reply by AD on I use all organic and try to by seasonal - for my experiment that obviously differed a bit.
my data lead me to GI & GL- however, interesting point on local aspects.
Permalink Reply by Nathan on Interesting. I don't really get the same tired feeling but I definitely feel better eating water-rich fruits than dates all day.
Permalink Reply by Dovima on could someone fill us in on what is high GI and what is low GI? thanks
I'm surprised I don't get sleepy from bananas, I do dates. could it be because I usually consume bananas in green smoothies?
Permalink Reply by Macuilxochitl on Also, we're you using the Glycemic Index or Glycemic Load? GI is not accurate.
Permalink Reply by AD on I looked at both - I certainly agree GL is very valuable aspect of my little self experiment. I wouldn't say GI is not accurate and would certainly agree that GL needs to be considered.
Example - watermelon has high GI but low GL based on volume. If I juice watermelon I am out for the count (I can blame GI) however, one piece of water melon is fine though (GL then seems accurate).
So I feel looking at both GI and GL is important.
Permalink Reply by AD on Dovima
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29KdXZH0niA not a fan of Dr. Weil - but he explains GI vs GL
Permalink Reply by Macuilxochitl on Or, to make it short:
Both measure the effect food has on your blood sugar. Low values are good, high values are bad (blood sugar spikes etc.)
With the glycemic load (GL), you can compare the effects of any amount of food: say, 100g bananas vs. 100g grapes.
The glycemic index (GI) is the older method used for calcuation. It assigns a value to every food, regardless of the amount eaten. For example, the GI of:
Carrots = 70
White bread = 70
So, technically, carrots are as harsh on your blood sugar as bread. But of course, what the GI doesn't tell you, as opposed to the GL, is that you needa eat seven times more carrots than bread to get the same effect.
The "proper" GL values for 100g of each food are:
Carrots = 5,6
White bread: 33,5
That's more like it.
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