"Bananas and Dates Make Me Sleepy" Michael Arnstein

"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.

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Permalink Reply by Jamie T on June 5, 2012 at 5:46am

I sometimes feel tired after eating, I think it depends on how much I eat at one meal though. The bigger meals are generally the ones that tire me out, I just put it down to needing more energy to digest it. I never actually need a nap though, I just feel a little tired for about half an hour to an hour.

What I do get with bananas a lot though is my mouth feels coated & dryer than it does normally. Even when I have them in a smoothie usually with at least a litre of water in the smoothie I still feel like my mouth is dehydrated & my tongue feels coated.

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Permalink Reply by Oliver Brg on June 5, 2012 at 6:35am

Does anybody have data about the difference of fruits in GI and II (InsulineIndex) if that's what it's called in english.

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Permalink Reply by ORGANIC811LFRV on June 5, 2012 at 6:40am

The 80/10/10 book has a section regarding this whole topic.

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Permalink Reply by AD on June 6, 2012 at 10:06am

Yeah - Doug covers all these topics. I have a great deal of respect for Doug. I question everything I read - not just Doug's work. That way if I prove it for myself I have a greater understanding from the actual experience. I agree with much of 80/10/10 - I question not enough discussed about insulin resistance, amylase & brain size different between Bonobos and Humans.