Insulin Management for Optimal Body Composition Changes - Part 1
April 06, 2005
By: Charles Poliquin

Insulin is the only hormone we have control over. Endogenous production of reproductive is much more challenging. Yet when controlled it can shred up a physique and pack on lean tissue. My male clients will attest to this, it is rather simple to stay at 6% bodyfat or less when you manage your insulin wisely. In this section we will look at the steps to control insulin from low cost to the more expensive. Sure telltales of poor insulin management is the ratio of the skinfolds subscapularis and supra-illiac in relation to the reference fold, the triceps.

Step 1
Choose your carbs wisely.
Most of the World population is carb intolerant. Only 25% of the population is carb sensitive. The most important type of carbs to eliminate for carb intolerant individuals are grains, particularly the ones containing gliadin. More often than enough, our clients who are carb intolerant lose impressive amounts of bodyfat by adhering to a gluten free diet. That means eliminating all wheat containing products, even soy sauce. Be careful of so called low carb products, for example one of Dr.Atkins low carb pancake¹s mix primary ingredient. is gluten, which the most common food allergen. Yet gluten is a protein but a very strong allergen.

Step 2
Choose your carbs wisely part 2.
Complex carbohydrates is an outdated concept like the VHS tape. Carbohydrates are now rated on their ability to raise glucose levels (glycemic index) in the two or three hours after eating.The glycemic index is about foods high in carbohydrates. Foods that are high in fat or protein don't cause your blood glucose levels to rise in a significant manner.Most people still think that it is plain table sugar that diabetics need to avoid. A few years ago experts used to say that, but the glycemic index shows that complex carbohydrates, like baked potatoes, can be even worse. To find out the glycemic index of a food go the excellent website http://www.mendosa.com.When selecting carbohydrates, use carbohydrates with a glycemic index below 50.

Step 3
Choose your protein wisely.
One of the reasons why bodybuilders and fitness bunnies have a hard losing fat is that they make a poor selection of protein. Eating egg whites and low fat fish are some of the dumbest practices by fitness enthusiast. One will drop bodyfat faster if they eat whole eggs and stick to fattier fish because the blood sugar will stay more stable, hence, less insulin response.

Step 4
Make the right choice when supplementing protein.
While whey is a great anti-catabolic food and a fast protein for post-workout recovery, it is a poor choice for in-between meals protein snacks. Using whey-only protein often creates a crush in most people¹s blood sugar, which results later in a resurgence of cortisol (with its well-know side effects). Best in between meals shakes should have casein and whey together. The casein is digested slower and provides a time release form of protein. I prefer powders that contain Omega-3 so that the insulin load is even lower. At the PPC we use the Infusion protein made by SAN as we found it superior to just whey protein in controlling glycemia.

Step 5
Stay away from meal-replacement packets.
I am not keen on meal replacement packets. They often are vitamin-mineral fortified so improperly formulated that they are in neuro-toxic due to too elevated manganese levels, or pro-oxidant because of unnecessarily high copper/iron contents. Because of the added vitamin-minerals, they often need to be sweetened, which defeats the purpose by raising the glycemic index of the meal replacement powder. Most of them have plenty of malto-dextrin in it to mask the taste of the vitamins, the drawback being that it raises the glycemic load of the product.

In part II we shall look at choosing the right fats for insulin management.

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