At MCF, we find the best tips for you to have beautiful skin all year round. Today we are interested in the sugars to use to benefit from a smooth and beautiful skin.
What is Glucose?
It is the main source of energy for every cell in the body. Besides sugary foods, there are other sources like fruits, vegetables, and grains.
Once ingested, all carbohydrates pass into the blood in the form of glucose and cause an increase in blood glucose or blood sugar levels.
How to know your glycemic index?
It can be in different ways either high, medium or low:
- L’GI is low if it is less than 55, this is the case for fresh fruit, yogurt or legumes
- L’GI is average between 55 and 70, as for carrots or pineapple.
- LGI is high if it is above 70, such as bread, potatoes, most cooked cereals, breakfast cereals and many baked goods.
All of these carbs do not have the same function and we need both… but in different proportions, it would take 80% low or moderate GI foods for only 20% high GI foods.
What is the best glycemic index?
Low GI foods are easier foods to live with for metabolism and for beautiful, healthy skin than high GI foods. These cause blood sugar levels to spike and cause the body to make more insulin (the hormone that regulates blood sugar).
What does this cause?
This reaction increases the risk of reactive hypoglycaemia which then leaves you just as tired and leads to a cascade of biological reactions whose impact on stress, inflammatory phenomena, particularly in the skin and skin infections is harmful.
What can we refer to?
There are very comprehensive GI tables established by scientists to ensure you make the right choices. Implementing a low GI diet is however very complicated, especially since the notion of GI is far from perfect.
Indeed, the effects on blood sugar also depend on the amount you consume. For example, mashed potatoes and bread both have a high GI, but obviously eating a single slice of bread won't have the same effect on blood sugar as eating a whole plate of mash potatoes.
Moreover, a food is rarely eaten alone, it is only one of the components of an entire meal. If the rest of the meal contains a lot of fiber it will slow the emptying of the stomach and the absorption of carbohydrates.
What are the good reflexes to keep?
This is why it is best to adopt a few good reflexes to keep in mind on a daily basis:
- Choose fresh and raw foods to prepare yourself and eat vegetables at will (their GI is always low and they also have many benefits for healthy skin). As a general rule, the more a food is processed by the food industry, the higher its GI.
- Ban refined grains and prefer semi-complete or complete cereals richer in fiber which slow down the rise in blood sugar.
- Privilege basmati rice (moderate GI) with round rice
- Think of legumes whose GI is always low and high in fibre: chickpeas, dried beans, lentils, split peas, etc.
- Beware of puffed rice cakes, yet made from brown rice: their GI is one of the highest.
- Limit the potatoes : whatever their type of cooking, their GI is high, but that is not a reason to deprive yourself of it. Accompanied by a good portion of vegetables, they become quite acceptable. The other possibility is to serve them once cooled, their internal structure changes and lowers the GI. With a vinaigrette to spice up the potato salad, the GI will be even lower. Indeed, an acidic ingredient (lemon, vinegar, pickle, etc.) lowers the GI of the dish.
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