Fat, Not Sugar, Causes Diabetes  

According to a statement by the American Diabetes Association, “…there is little evidence that total carbohydrate is associated with the development of type 2 diabetes.  Rather, a stronger association has been observed between total fat and saturated fat and type 2 diabetes.”10 Multiple studies have shown an inverse relationship between the amount of carbohydrate consumed and the development of diabetes.11 Populations of people worldwide who eat diets centered on high glycemic index carbohydrates, like rice for rural Asians, and potatoes for people in Peru, are essentially free of diabetes.12,13

Position statement of the American Diabetic Association14

“In subjects with type 2 diabetes, studies of 2–12 weeks duration comparing low glycemic index and high glycemic index diets report no consistent improvements in HbA1c, fructosamine, or insulin levels. The effects on lipids from low glycemic index diets compared with high glycemic index diets are mixed.”
 

The reasons why carbohydrates benefit diabetics have their roots in our fundamental metabolism.  As far back as 1936 Harold Percival Himsworth reported that the ability of insulin to lower blood sugar was improved by eating carbohydrates.15  In contrast, fats in the diet paralyze the activity of insulin, cause insulin resistance, and cause the blood sugars to rise.11  All these changes, combined with the resulting obesity from eating fatty foods, encourage the development of type-2 diabetes. For people now following the Western diet, a change to a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet slows progression to diabetes.16,17  This same diet will cure type-2 diabetes.18-20 

You Should Be a Seeker of Healthy High GI Foods

The primary purpose of eating is to replenish energy—this is most efficiently accomplished thorough the assimilation of carbohydrates—high GI starches and vegetables do this most rapidly.  Carbohydrates from our foods pour into our bloodstream to become blood sugars.  The brain, nervous system, red blood cells, and kidney cells use only sugar for fuel (under duress the brain can burn fat). Twenty percent of the body’s daily calorie intake goes to the brain, which means a lot of carbohydrate must appear in the bloodstream after eating for this organ to perform efficiently.   This is one reason low-carbohydrate diets, such as the one recommended by Atkins, are associated with problems of brain function.21

“Carbohydrate loading” is a technique of eating which is employed by all winning endurance athletes. Carbohydrates, stored as glycogen in the muscles and liver and later released into the bloodstream, provide immediate energy for the whole body during a race. For the most efficient means of replenishing spent glycogen reserves, athletes have learned to choose foods that have a high GI.22,23  Selecting foods with a high GI is just as sound advice for anyone yearning to be strong and energetic throughout the day—not just for athletes.

Little Attention Should Be Given to the GI

Glycemic index is just another way to describe a functional affect of foods on the body.  Many popular diets, in particular those which promote high protein, high fat—meat and dairy—eating have placed the GI above all else in their plans to help you lose weight.  To ignore the overall qualities of food is unwise.  The high GI carbohydrates found in foods like a potatoes or carrots do not make them any more unhealthful than do the simple sugars found in fruits make them unhealthful.  

Nutrition-savvy people already know the general concept that legumes, whole grains, fruits and vegetables are good foods.  In the whole scheme of the nutritional needs of people the importance of the rate of absorption of carbohydrates (the GI) is overrated and frequently leads the poorly-informed consumer to make bad food choices.