How to choose foods

Foods should be identified by their glycemic index and glycemic load – and not only calories, which are, instead, physiological parameters that pertain to the quality and quantity of foods. In practice, these two parameters provide a real indication of the effect of a certain food and its quantity in the body once consumed.

For example, a meal composed of food with a high glycemic index and consumed in large quantities, or even with a high glycemic load, means that it contains a lot of carbohydrates. These will pass quickly into the bloodstream and will be assimilated just as quickly. The process causes the body to store a lot of energy which, when taken in excess in a single meal, will be accumulated as fat, thus increasing the fat mass.

For example, 1 g of carbohydrate and 1 g of protein both provide about 4 calories. However, their effect in the body is very different, as each stimulates the synthesis of hormones with different actions: carbohydrates, when ingested, stimulate insulin, the hormone of storage; very different is the result of proteins intake, which instead stimulates glucagon, the hormone of mobilization, which in turn has an opposite effect to insulin.