Did you know this? I didn't!

Still at Dr. Weil's Nutrition and Health Conference here in Phoenix. Yesterday I learned something new at a session on glycemic response presented by Dr. Louise Gagne.  Most of the lecture covered familiar territory...how refined carbohydrates like white bread and sweets cause a sharp rise in blood sugar, the negative effects of blood sugar spikes on the body, and how to choose low glycemic foods for better health. Dr. Gagne had a list of tips for reducing the glycemic load of your diet:

1. Avoid foods made with white flour and sugar.

2. Eat protein and/or fat with carbohydrates to slow the digestion.

3. Eat foods high in soluble fiber. (See also this recent post.)

4. In any given category of foods, eat the ones with a lower glycemic load. (You can find the estimated glycemic load of any food here on Nutrition Data, or search for foods by eGL using the Food Category Explorer.

But here's one I didn't know:

5. Drizzle lemon or vinegar over some part of the meal.  Apparently, these acids can significantly slow the uptake of sugars in the foods you eat them with.

More to come...