Battle of the Bulge: Focus on Food Quality

"I was so hungry my hands were shaking," she said with a little laugh. "Low blood sugar, y'know." 

I shook my head. "No. Firstly, if your hands were shaking, it's probably because you don't eat the right foods, and you were in withdrawal. Secondly, 'low blood sugar' is only a problem if you don't eat the right foods.

"If you eat the right foods, you're blood sugar is like this—" I passed my hand horizontally through the air, mimicking a flatline. "But if you eat the wrong foods—" My hand shot up in a diagonal arc. "Dong!" I then send it cascading down. "Dong! Your blood sugar shoots up, then crashes. And you crash." 

Simple starches and sugar do this to your energy levels.

Being as fond of food as I am, I am usually quite meticulous about my meals. But now, with oat bran and butternut squash red lentil soup constantly on the menu, I don't crash and burn if circumstances prevent a less-than-prompt lunch.

She dubiously takes in the information I have imparted. But after a midday meal consisting primarily of sautéed greenery, she grudgingly admits she did not get hungry as quickly as she usually does (I was afraid to ask what had been previously on the menu).

Simple starches as well as sugar provide short bursts of energy followed by sudden lethargy. When consumed on an empty stomach, they launch straight into the bloodstream, causing pandemonium; if one is going to indulge in something of questionable nutritional value, the trick is to schedule it following a balanced meal, when the stomach is already cheerfully occupied and the sugar will be more leisurely processed. 

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