Blood sugar levels rise after eating carbohydrates, but how much rise depends on the glycemic index of the food. The glycemic index is a scoring system that compares foods based on how they affect blood sugar levels on a scale of 1 to 100. High glycemic index foods digest fast, causing rapid spikes in blood sugar followed by rapid reductions. The risk of diabetes, obesity, and heart disease can all be raised by sudden changes in blood sugar levels. It follows that avoiding items like soft drinks, candies, and white bread that have a high glycemic index can reduce these risks.
The body’s energy levels are sustained by choosing foods with a low glycemic index to maintain a constant blood sugar level. Energy levels are maintained and the high blood sugar increase and subsequent fast drop are avoided. A constant blood sugar level is particularly advantageous because a drop in blood sugar, which is frequent after a surge, can impair memory and learning.
The body’s level of the “stress hormone,” cortisol, can be lowered by consuming less coffee. A high cortisol level might impair one’s immune system and reduce their capacity to handle stress. Reducing coffee consumption can instantly assist to decrease the negative effects of the hormone because caffeine amplifies these negative effects.
Sever calorie restriction impedes weight loss rather than aiding it, since it prevents the body from burning fat effectively. The body behaves as if it is being starved, as a defence mechanism, and becomes highly efficient at using the energy available to it. It starts to protect any stores of fat and derives energy from muscle and lean tissue instead. This results in muscle loss and, therefore, a lower metabolism, so that fewer calories are needed. This lowered metabolism, in turn, slows weight loss down.
The metabolic rate is affected by the degree of muscle mass – the metabolic rate is higher in those with more muscle mass. Muscle burns many more calories than fat does and losing muscle therefore reduces the metabolic rate and the number of calories burned.
It is important that people maintain a healthy metabolic rate, particularly when they are dieting, and this requires them to both diet and exercise sensibly. Strength-enhancing exercises are particularly effective at increasing muscle mass. For every additional pound of muscle a person develops, the body burns up approximately 50 more calories every day.
