Dear Caring Medical,
Do you agree with the low glycemic diet? I started this diet to lose weight and increase my energy, but after trying it, I felt less energy than from before and I’m not losing any weight! Is the Hauser Diet any different from the low glycemic diet? Which foods should I be eating?
Dear reader,
The Low Glycemic diet eliminates eating highly processed carbohydrates such as soda, bread, pasta, and desserts. These foods are high in sugar. Instead, you’ll eat high amounts of protein, proper fats and complex carbohydrates. Chicken, fish, turkey, beef, low-fat cheeses, nuts, eggs, and tofu are essential to this diet. This diet is similar to Lion Diet that includes a high intake of animal protein and good fats. The low glycemic diet will also lower blood glucose levels. So if you are diabetic, insulin resistant, or have high cholesterol/triglycerides, this diet may be good for you. We agree that sugar and simple carbohydrates do not support your health and may cause many health problems like heart disease, high cholesterol, hyperglycemia, diabetes, and weight issues. However, the low glycemic diet is not for everyone. Only certain individuals should be on a high protein and high fat diet. Here is why….
Who will this diet work for?
Not all diets work for everyone. People who will not do well on Lion Diet and Otter Diet, which are similar to the Low Glycemic Diets, are people who oxidize food very slowly and/or have alkaline blood types. These people need to eat more carbohydrates and less protein and fats than other people do. If a person is slow at oxidizing food and they were following the Low Glycemic diet, which is high in protein, they could very well start gaining weight. They also will not feel their best, and most likely experience low energy levels. If a person is fast at oxidizing food and they have an acidic blood type, then a low glycemic diet such as Lion and Otter diet would be the best diet for them. Before starting any diet, it is best for you to get tested so you know what kinds of foods your body needs and does not need. Don’t just start on the newest fad diet – it could be the opposite diet you should be following and cause your body more health problems and weight gain.
Here at Caring Medical we have laboratory testing called Diet Typing, and with a doctor’s examination, they can pinpoint if a low glycemic diet will work or not work for you. Since we are all individuals we all need an individual diet for our body chemistry. How could one diet work for everyone? Diet Typing will test for insulin levels, how fast you process foods that you eat, and your Blood pH that will show if your blood is acidic or alkaline. After taking this test, the doctor can determine whether you need to be on a low carbohydrate diet or a high carbohydrate diet and put you on the corresponding Hauser Diet 1 through 5 (Lion, Otter, Bear, Monkey, or Giraffe). This test is the best way to know what foods you need more of or less of to increase energy your levels, stay in great health, and/or lose weight.
A case study:
A patient came in. He wanted to lose weight and start eating healthier. He had been following the low glycemic diet for about a month since he heard that foods high in sugar were unhealthy and a lot of people seemed to be losing weight from this diet. At the start of the low glycemic diet he had lost some weight, but he felt like the diet was not working anymore and he was gaining weight again.
Diet Typing was ordered and his test results came back as a slow oxidizer and his Blood pH was alkaline. He was definitely not on the right diet. The reason for weight loss at the beginning of the low glycemic diet was because of water loss, not fat loss.
The patient started gaining back the weight he had lost on the low glycemic diet because he was eating lots of protein and he is a slow oxidizer. He should have been on a Monkey or Giraffe diet instead of a Lion or Otter (low glycemic diet). Monkey and Giraffe Type diets are for people who are slow oxidizers with alkaline blood types. He was on the wrong diet, and because of that, he gained more weight and did not feel very well. Since the patient has started on the Monkey Diet, he has been eating according to his Diet Typing, feeling more energized and losing pounds.
Simple and Complex Carbs
You know, there are a lot of low glycemic diets in the media these days. We agree that a low glycemic diet is right for certain individuals, but wrong for others. The Lion Diet is an extremely low glyceminc diet and our Otter Diet is a moderately low glycemic diet. We recommend these diets for individuals that are fast oxidizers. For other individuals, such as slow oxidizers, Bear Diet, Monkey, or Giraffe are more appropriate, and their diets should consist of a higher percentage of carbohydrates.
There are two kinds of carbohydrates out there, simple carbohydrates and complex carbohydrates. Simple carbohydrates are what people need to watch out for! They contain the sugar that will turn to fat or cholesterol, once processed by your body. Sugar is often what causes weight gain and other health risks. However, sugar in simple carbohydrates has been known to cause diabetes, hypoglycemia, cancer, high blood sugar, and heart disease. Since simple carbohydrates are filled with sugar, this increases your insulin levels. When insulin levels raise high, this increases your chance of heart disease, high cholesterol, and diabetes.
These days, sugar seems to be everywhere. Food companies put sugar in everything to make you want more of the food. Simple carbohydrates are your white breads, white pastas, white rice, desserts, cookies, pizza, pastries, soda, fruit drinks, fruit juices, etc. The Lions, Otters, Bears eliminate simple carbohydrates from your diet, and replace them with smaller amounts of healthier complex carbohydrates. Individuals on Monkey and Giraffe Type Diets are allowed to have a higher percentage of complex carbohydrates in their diets because they oxidize food slowly and their bodies can handle more glucose. The reason why the Hauser diet replaces simple carbohydrates with complex carbohydrates is because complex carbohydrates are filled with nutrients that your body needs. Complex carbs include brown rice, whole grain bread, high fiber cereal, corn tortillas, oat meal, and legumes.
In conclusion, no matter which Hauser diet you type out to be, whether it be a low glycemic diet or a high glycemic diet, we believe that the carbohydrates you eat should be complex in nature for optimum health.
