"There I was, feeling virtuous about skipping the chocolate croissant and grabbing a rice cake instead. "Look at me making healthy choices," I thought, practically patting myself on the back. Then my friend, who happens to be studying nutrition, nearly choked on her latte. "You know those spike your blood sugar faster than actual candy, right?" I laughed it off at first."
"Here's what blew my mind: rice cakes have a glycemic index of around 82. For context, pure glucose sits at 100, and a Snickers bar clocks in at about 51. Yes, you read that correctly. That supposedly healthy rice cake sends your blood sugar soaring higher and faster than many candy bars. The glycemic index measures how quickly foods raise your blood glucose levels. When I learned this, I had to sit down and reconsider every "healthy" swap I'd been making."
A consumer swapped a chocolate croissant for a rice cake expecting a healthier choice, only to learn rice cakes can spike blood sugar. Rice cakes have a glycemic index around 82, higher than a Snickers bar at about 51 and close to pure glucose at 100. The glycemic index measures how quickly foods raise blood glucose. High-glycemic foods cause rapid blood sugar spikes followed by insulin surges and subsequent crashes, producing hunger and irritability. Marketing emphasizes low calories, fat-free and gluten-free labels, creating a health halo that can hide adverse metabolic effects of certain 'diet' snacks.
Read at Silicon Canals
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]