re: OT Healthy eaters: Sweet Potatoes vs Potatoes. Brown rice vs white rice

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how about putting that in terms for us who only took Bio 1&2

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Glycemic index is how easily your body converts a food to blood sugar. Foods that are easily converted, can spike your blood sugar because of how rapidly they are coverted. This can create a roller coaster effect in your energy and more importantly your insulin levels. Many people believe this can create "syndrome X" and might even be responsible for the diabetes and obesity "epidemic".

Foods with a low glycemic index are converted more slowly and can keep your blood sugar and insulin levels more consistent.

This is one of the reasons people recommend "whole grains", due to its fiber content (which can not be digested), but I think people have been done a disservice by the lack of a full explanation. Whole grains are better for you than processed (i.e. white), however, they still have a very very high glycemic index. Whole wheat bread has a higher glycemic index than table sugar!! They are touted as "healthy" when in fact they should more properly be described as "healthier than processed grains".