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CNN Live At Daybreak
Many New Diet Plans Say Hold Carrots, Bananas
Aired February 05, 2003 - 06:52 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: We want to talk health now. Just when you thought fruits and vegetables were key to staying slim, many new diet plans say hold the carrots, hold the bananas.
So what's up with that?
Lisa Drayer of Dietwatch.com is live in New York to show us the connection between something called the glycemic index and those all too familiar hunger cravings.
Explain, please.
LISA DRAYER, NUTRITIONIST: Absolutely. That's why, Carol, many diet plans, including Sugar Busters and the Glucose Revolution, tell us to avoid carrots as well as corn and even baked potatoes because these foods, because they have a high glycemic index, also known as G.I.
Now, the higher the G.I. value of a food, the more quickly it gets broken down in the body and the faster the rise in blood sugar. But, this causes the body to release more insulation, causes the sugar to go down, but then we start feeling hungry. In other words, our sugar spikes then crashes and before we know it, we're craving the cookie jar.
COSTELLO: Oh, OK.
So does it matter how much you eat of this stuff?
DRAYER: Absolutely, and that's one of the flaws with the G.I. theory, is that it doesn't consider calories. So, for example, if you're following a diet based on G.I. theory, carrots and even bananas would get tossed, yet premium ice cream and chocolate peanut M&Ms would get the green light.
COSTELLO: Oh, come on.
DRAYER: It's ridiculous, what I call a diet disaster. Also, the G.I. theory doesn't consider portion size, so even, let's say, if you chose spaghetti over baked potatoes because spaghetti has a lower G.I., if you ate too much, you would gain weight.
COSTELLO: I'm speechless. I am.
DRAYER: I know.
COSTELLO: I really am. DRAYER: Exactly. Also, we tend to eat combinations of foods, which produce a different G.I. than eating any one food by itself. So, for example, if we had carrots in a salad with low fat dressing, this would produce a different G.I. than if we ate the carrots by themselves.
COSTELLO: OK.
DRAYER: So the bottom line is don't judge a food only by its G.I. value. Do watch your weight.
COSTELLO: OK, so if you are following this diet, this so-called diet, though, which foods should you avoid? Which have the high glycemic index?
DRAYER: Well, at the top of the list is carrots at 95, then baked potatoes at 93, jelly beans at 80, white bread 77, a ripe banana at 70 and then...
COSTELLO: Oh...
DRAYER: Yes, as you see, it gets lower. And then sweet corn 55, spaghetti 41 and premium ice cream 37, and those chocolate peanut M&Ms at 33. Very high in fat, that's why the G.I. is so low. But not good for our waistline.
COSTELLO: OK, so on a scale of one to 10, how do you rate these kinds of diets?
DRAYER: Oh, gosh, I would say a five.
COSTELLO: OK.
DRAYER: It has some merit, but not much.
COSTELLO: But not up there.
DRAYER: Exactly.
COSTELLO: Lisa Drayer, thanks for clearing things up for us.
We appreciate it.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired February 5, 2003 - 06:52 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: We want to talk health now. Just when you thought fruits and vegetables were key to staying slim, many new diet plans say hold the carrots, hold the bananas.
So what's up with that?
Lisa Drayer of Dietwatch.com is live in New York to show us the connection between something called the glycemic index and those all too familiar hunger cravings.
Explain, please.
LISA DRAYER, NUTRITIONIST: Absolutely. That's why, Carol, many diet plans, including Sugar Busters and the Glucose Revolution, tell us to avoid carrots as well as corn and even baked potatoes because these foods, because they have a high glycemic index, also known as G.I.
Now, the higher the G.I. value of a food, the more quickly it gets broken down in the body and the faster the rise in blood sugar. But, this causes the body to release more insulation, causes the sugar to go down, but then we start feeling hungry. In other words, our sugar spikes then crashes and before we know it, we're craving the cookie jar.
COSTELLO: Oh, OK.
So does it matter how much you eat of this stuff?
DRAYER: Absolutely, and that's one of the flaws with the G.I. theory, is that it doesn't consider calories. So, for example, if you're following a diet based on G.I. theory, carrots and even bananas would get tossed, yet premium ice cream and chocolate peanut M&Ms would get the green light.
COSTELLO: Oh, come on.
DRAYER: It's ridiculous, what I call a diet disaster. Also, the G.I. theory doesn't consider portion size, so even, let's say, if you chose spaghetti over baked potatoes because spaghetti has a lower G.I., if you ate too much, you would gain weight.
COSTELLO: I'm speechless. I am.
DRAYER: I know.
COSTELLO: I really am. DRAYER: Exactly. Also, we tend to eat combinations of foods, which produce a different G.I. than eating any one food by itself. So, for example, if we had carrots in a salad with low fat dressing, this would produce a different G.I. than if we ate the carrots by themselves.
COSTELLO: OK.
DRAYER: So the bottom line is don't judge a food only by its G.I. value. Do watch your weight.
COSTELLO: OK, so if you are following this diet, this so-called diet, though, which foods should you avoid? Which have the high glycemic index?
DRAYER: Well, at the top of the list is carrots at 95, then baked potatoes at 93, jelly beans at 80, white bread 77, a ripe banana at 70 and then...
COSTELLO: Oh...
DRAYER: Yes, as you see, it gets lower. And then sweet corn 55, spaghetti 41 and premium ice cream 37, and those chocolate peanut M&Ms at 33. Very high in fat, that's why the G.I. is so low. But not good for our waistline.
COSTELLO: OK, so on a scale of one to 10, how do you rate these kinds of diets?
DRAYER: Oh, gosh, I would say a five.
COSTELLO: OK.
DRAYER: It has some merit, but not much.
COSTELLO: But not up there.
DRAYER: Exactly.
COSTELLO: Lisa Drayer, thanks for clearing things up for us.
We appreciate it.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
