By Emma Weitnauer
Being healthy and feeling great every day requires energy. You need energy to get through your work day, to care for your family and to participate in activities you enjoy. Every individual has different energy requirements. People who are highly active, have physical jobs or are athletes need more energy than less active people or people with sedentary jobs.
Balanced and nutritious eating, providing your body with carbohydrate, protein and fat, gives you the fuel for energy.
To maintain good health your energy intake (the food you eat) needs to meet your energy demands. If your intake exceeds your energy output you risk body fat gain, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels or high blood-sugar levels, which may lead to problems such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
If your energy output is greater than your intake you can achieve fat loss. But if your body demands much more fuel than you are giving it you could experience fatigue, headaches, poor concentration, poor co-ordination, malnutrition… the list is long.
We want to find a balance between energy in and energy out. We can find this balance through good food choices and appropriate amounts of exercise.
Food choices
To make things simple for ourselves, the food we choose should be every-day foods that are easy to buy and easy to prepare. The National Health and Medical Research Council has published some dietary guide- lines for Australian adults. The focus of these guidelines is variety, eat plenty of: fruit and vegetables; nuts and seeds; lean meats, fish and poultry; high fibre, wholegrain cereals (including bread, rice and pasta); and low-fat dairy foods. And of course, drink lots of water.
Carbohydrate foods
Carbohydrates are your body’s main source of energy. You need carbohydrates just to function. When eaten, carbohydrates are turned into glucose in your bloodstream, which is then used by your brain and muscles or it is stored in
your liver and muscles as glycogen (fuel for later).
Carbohydrate foods are ranked according to their effect on blood sugar levels – their Glycemic Index (GI). Foods with a high GI break down and release glucose into the bloodstream quickly, causing blood sugar levels to rise rapidly. Foods that break down slowly and take longer to be absorbed have a low GI, giving you longer-lasting energy and keeping blood
sugar levels more stable.
Low GI foods tend to be more satisfying, so you are less likely to over eat or munch on less nutritious snacks during the day.
Low GI foods have been shown to help reduce the risk of heart attack, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes
and help body fat loss.
A low Glycemic Index ranking is less than 55; intermediate is 55-70 and anything more than 70 is rated high.
Your first step on the energy pathway through balanced, nutritious eating is choosing carbohydrate foods with a low GI (see box).
Find out about your next step (as well as some great low GI meal ideas) in our next issue….
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