What To Eat When

You have to eat as if your life depends on it because it DOES!

Yes, it is that simple – we eat food, so our body can make glucose from the food we eat, and then that glucose is burned for energy, so we can survive.

Yet, it is teeny-tiny more complicated than that and let’s see why.

Our bodies work well when the amount of energy provided is the same as the amount of energy needed. When the body receives more glucose than it can use though, it builds up and a glucose spike happens.

Then, the pancreas sends a hormone known as insulin into the body in order to store glucose throughout the body and protect it (protect the body I mean).

The first place where the body stores the glucose is the liver which turns glucose into glycogen. And that is good. The second place is our muscles. And that’s even better. The problem is that these storage units fill up rather quickly. In the end, the remaining extra glucose turns into fat. That’s not so good.

What else is not so good is that too much insulin, caused by frequent glucose spikes, too often can make our bodies insulin resistant. Insulin resistance means that the pancreas has to produce more and more insulin to get the job done. The problem is that having high insulin makes us more likely to suffer from high blood pressure, type-2 diabetes, cancer, infertility, heart disease, etc.

To be totally honest, glucose spikes aren’t the only bad guys that can cause elevated insulin levels. For instance stress can, too. The stress hormones, cortisol and epinephrine, both increase blood glucose and increase insulin resistance.

What to do?

Let’s return to what we really can do to flatten our glucose curves, which would mean that our bodies will not need that much insulin, which is good for our health in the long run. I will use the book Glucose Revolution written by the French biochemist Jessie Inchauspé and go through some of her expert advice.

What I know from my experience, before I even read Jessie’s book, is that if you combine foods rich in fiber (such as vegetables) with foods rich in carbs (such as bread, potatoes, rice), the carbs are absorbed slower and we do not feel hungry for a longer period – and that apparently is a result of the fact that we do not experience a glucose spike. Combining foods rich in protein with foods rich in carbs has a similar effect.

Jessie’s Hacks

Jessie explains that glucose spikes are a result of our food choices and more importantly in what order we consume the foods we choose.

So, Jessie’s Hack #1 is that if we eat the foods rich in fiber first, then foods rich in protein and fat second, and the foods rich in cabs and sugars last, whenever this is possible, we will experience less glucose spikes.

That happens because foods rich in fiber slow down the breakdown and absorption of any other foods taken after them, which flattens our glucose curves. The whole mechanism is explained in the book.
Consecutively, Hack #2 is – “Add a green starter to all your meals” (or whenever possible) – meaning, have some salad first or green veggies.

As for how long before the other food we should eat the green starter – Jessie says that we don’t have to wait at all, but if we do wait – to try to keep it less than two hours. Otherwise – we will need another green starter.

What is a green starter? Any vegetables qualify: broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, eggplant, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, pulses (like beans, lentils, peas) and even grilled zucchini and grated carrots.

That naturally leads to Hack #4, which is to go savory for breakfast – choose a salad, meat, eggs, veggies, cheese, omelets, and so on, instead of smoothies, cereals and sweet buns. It kind of makes sense.

But what if we want something sweet?

Here comes Hack #6 – “Pick dessert over a sweet snack”. If we want something sweet – we should eat it as a dessert, after a meal, rather than a snack on an empty stomach.

Now, what if we want a snack? Hack #9 states that if we want a snack – to go savory: replace sweet snacks with carrots, cucumber (or other veggies) combined with some cheese, a slice of ham, or peanut butter. These savory snacks will give us steady energy.

What else can give us steady energy is explained in Hack #10 – “Put some clothes on your carbs”. Why? Eating carbs on their own leads to a glucose spike because they are absorbed fast. Very soon after the spike, there will be a drop in your glucose level and you will be hungry again, and again.

That’s why when you eat carbs, add fiber, protein and fat to them. For example, you can combine fruit with yoghurt or Skyr, eggs, cheese, nuts. Whenever it is possible, follow Hack Number 1 and eat carbs last.

Unless, you want that doughnut, or cake, or chocolate right now! Hack #7 – “Reach for vinegar before you eat” – deals with this sort of cravings.

Jessie says to mix a tall glass of water with a tablespoon of vinegar (preferably apple cider but any could do) and drink it either less than 20 minutes before, or during the course of, or less than 20 minutes after eating the glucose-spiking food.

Why vinegar? It contains acetic acid, which temporary inactivates alpha-amylase, that’s the enzyme in our bodies that turns starchy foods (containing carbs) into glucose. As a result, sugar and starch are transformed into glucose more slowly, hence – no glucose spike.

If you remember from Hack #1, “Eat foods in the right order” – fiber also has this effect on alpha-amylase, which is one of the reasons fiber helps flatten our glucose curves, too.

Furthermore, once acetic acid gets into the bloodstream, it penetrates our muscles, and it encourages our muscles to take glycogen faster than they usually would, which in turn leads to more efficient uptake of glucose, so – no glucose spike.

Hack #7 is useful not only when you eat sweet snacks on their own. You can use it before any meal but, in my opinion having a drink of vinegar very often isn’t the best thing to do. A better option is to eat first a green starter (containing fiber) with some olive oil and vinegar (containing acetic acid). That’s what I call 2 in 1!

Now, let’s jump straight into Hack #8 – “After you eat – move”. Within 70 minutes after a meal if we exercise, or just walk for at least 10 minutes, we will lessen the side effects of whatever we just ate. Seventy minutes is around the time when the glucose spike reaches its peak. If you want to hit the gym after a meal, that’s going to help even more.

Here comes my favourite part – resistance exercise (weight lifting) has been shown to decrease the glucose spike by up to 30 per cent and the size of further spikes over the following 24 hours by 35 per cent. This means that whenever we train – it’s good for us!

Wait, it gets even better – when we move – walk or lift weights, we flatten our glucose curves without increasing our insulin level – just as was the case with vinegar. While usually our muscles need insulin to stash glucose away, if our muscles are currently contracting, they don’t need insulin to be able to uptake glucose.

So, what to eat when then?

When?

We should psread protein intake evenly throughout the day (20 -30g per meal), and it is extremely important to take some before and after a workout. However, the carbs are also important because they are an essential source of energy for training.

Whereas protein is important for muscle building and repair, carbs replenish the muscles glycogen stores during and after a workout and they give us energy, therefore they are also a must.

What I would suggest is to eat some 20-30g protein (for example Skyr) and fruit (like half a banana or an apple, or a few grapes) an hour before and half an hour after gym. Avoid fats intake around a workout because they slow the metabolism of protein and carbs.

One thing to clarify – if you want to lose more weight, keep some longer window without consuming carbs after training – for example do not eat them for an hour after a workout. However, after that, it is good to eat a combination of slow carbs and protein, which will help the muscles recovery.
If you don’t eat anything for, say, a couple of hours after a strength workout, you will lose more weight, because your body will burn more fat, but it will also burn some muscle.

It’s best to try to eat around 4 – 5 times per day – two of the meals could be around your workouts.

What?

As a protein source – eggs, quark, cottage cheese, lean beef mince, chicken, turkey, beef, oily fish (also rich in Omega 3), Greek yoghurt. On the other hand, oats, soya beans, peas, beans, peanut and almond butter also contain protein, which is best absorbed if combined with vegetables or dairy products.

As for carbs – I recommend rice, potatoes, oats, brown bread, quinoa, buckwheat, dark chocolate (75 or 80% dark). Almond and peanut butter are rich in good fats, and also plant protein – just be careful with the portion sizes – they are rich in calories, too.

Regarding fats, I recommend healthy fats like those found in avocados, nuts and seeds, olive oil, fatty fish (like salmon, trout, and sardines) containing Omega-3 because they can aid in our hormone production and regulation, helping to mitigate the peri-menopausal and menopausal side effects and promote overall hormonal balance.

Veggies should be present in your plan as well – tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, spring onions, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, green beans, corn, etc.
Do not forget fruit– apples, bananas, blackberries, oranges, strawberries, raspberries, cherries, watermelon, melon, etc.

Cut down on sugar, sunflower oil, soft drinks, processed foods which are rich in transfats. Instead, you could try stevia, olive oil, foods rich in Omega 3 and supplements with Omega 3. Add protein to every meal and whenever it is possible – a green starter, with some vinegar in it.

As Jessie says vinegar and exercise will enable you to eat your cake and have health, too.

Try to eat 80% clean – 20% durty – we need a sustainable long-term plan, not #theperfectplan 🙂.

The whole video regarding glucose spikes and what to do to flatten them is here:

More information about creating a nutrition plan (and a workout plan).