"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 Chris Califano on June 27, 2012 at 4:14am

AD That's an interesting point. A little overt fat in the diet may actually be a good thing. Perhaps it slows the insulin response just enough to reduce spikes. Of course, we all must adjust/ experiment to find the ideal ratio, but I'l bet it is relatively the same for everyone; everything else equal.