April 15, 2005

A Few Good Carbs: Watching The Glycemic Index

Sick of counting carbs? A steamy, hot bowl of pasta or just a piece of fruit starts to look pretty good after another bun-less burger. If you have these cravings, another trend in dieting may be for you—the low glycemic index (GI) diet.

Not all carbs are evil is the motto of the low GI diet. As a measurement of how quickly a particular carbohydrate is used by the body, the glycemic index is already found on nutritional labels in Europe and Australia, but has yet to be endorsed any American organization. The GI classifies carbohydrates on a scale to indicate which ones are better to consume if you are trying to lose weight.

"That's what's so different about glycemic index," says David Grotto, RD, LD, spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. "It's not low carbohydrate, it's more selective carbohydrate, if you will.

Keeping You Full
Begun as a diet to help people control their diabetes, the general rule of the GI diet is: the higher the glycemic index, the faster a food is metabolized by the body. If a food is digested and broken down by the body quickly, your blood glucose (commonly referred to as blood sugar) levels rise rapidly, leading to a quick insulin response, making you feel tired and hungry sooner. Foods with low GI are metabolized slower, meaning they sit in your digestive track longer and are gradually absorbed by the body. This leads to a more gradual blood glucose increase, keeping your hunger satiated longer.

GI assigns a value to a food based on the average body's metabolism of a simple carbohydrate: usually table sugar or white bread, assigned a value of 100. All other foods are then ranked according to how 50 grams of it, as compared to how 50 grams of sugar or white bread, affects one's blood glucose levels after a period of time. A value below 55 would be considered a low GI; a value from 56 to 69 would be a moderate range; anything above 70 is considered to have a high glycemic index. While such values provide a handy guide, they have not been standardized, so two different charts may show a different GI value for the same food. Check Here to check out the Steviva Brands Glycemic Index.

Don't forget to drink a lot of water while you increase your protein intake. Drinking water flushes fats out of your system as well as increasing your metabolism. Instead of soft drinks or powdered drink mixes that are loaded with chemicals and sugar, I suggest is adding the juice of half a lemon to 32 ounces of water with a sprinkle of Steviva Brand Stevia Powder. Aside from being less than 2 carbs, you will get the health benefits that the stevia provides along with the vitamin C and electrolytes that lemon have. You can substitute limes for lemons if you get bored and break the routine even more by adding a little unsweetened cranberry juice. Click here to order stevia powder.

If any of you have a web site that you would like to promote Steviva Brand products on, we have a great affiliate program that will pay you a 15% commission on every sale. Please sign up here. We have affiliates making thousands per month. Why not join?

If you have questions about our products we highly recommend going to our Frequently Asked Questions pages or searching our resource center. Our resource center contains hundreds of links to a variety of sites that contain information regarding stevia, low carb, health and more. Check it out!

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Thank all of you for your patronage. Have an excellent day.

Thom King
President
thom.king@steviva.com
Steviva Brands, Inc.


Awesome Sugar Free Low Carb Angel Food Cake
Serves: 15
Carbs Per Serving: 3g
Prep Time:<5 minutes

Skill Level: Easy

Ingredients:

Cake:
1 Cup Protein Powder -- Vanilla, Sifted
2 Tsp. Baking Powder -- Sifted
1/8 Tsp. Salt -- Sifted
½ Tsp. Cream Of Tartar
5 Large Eggs -- Separated
2 Tsp. Vanilla Extract
1 Tbs. Lemon Peel -- Finely Grated
1 Tsp. Lemon Extract
½ Cup Heavy Cream
¼ Cup Water
¼ Cup Steviva Brand Stevia Blend

Frosting:
2 Ounces Heavy Cream
2 Tbs. Butter
1 Tsp. Vanilla Extract -- Or Lemon Extract
3 Ounces Cream Cheese
4 Tbsp. Steviva Brand Stevia Blend

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 300f. Spray a bunt pan with cooking spray very well.

Cake:
Sift protein powder, baking powder and salt and set aside.
In a large bowl, beat egg whites with cream of tartar until stiff. In another bowl, beat egg yolks, Steviva Brand Stevia Blend , extracts and lemon peel. Beat in water and cream, then beat in dry ingredients. Fold into whites very carefully, then spoon into prepared bunt pan.

Bake for 45 minutes, then let cool 10 minutes before inverting and removing (This is the tricky part -just do your best)

Frosting: Beat the cream, butter, cream cheese, Steviva Brand Stevia Blend and extracts well. If this is too thick, add more cream, 1 Tbs at a time. Drizzle over cooled cake.

Try All Natural Steviva Brand Stevia Blend and Steviva Brand Stevia Powder!

Two Complete Programs Atkins and South Beach - Our Gift To You!

Overcoming the boredom and lack of variety is perhaps the biggest obstacle you will face in a diet. Well, that is about to change. With this Complete Atkins and South Beach Diet Program, your variety will be vastly improved. You can set up your meals weeks in advance, or you can plan around whatever your local grocery chain happens to have on sale that week, saving you thousands each year on your grocery bill.

Free with any Steviva Brands purchase, you will receive, The Atkins Diet Plan, The Atkins CARB COUNTER and Over 1000+ great recipes. Plus the 4 week South Beach E-Plan, Over 1000+ South Beach Recipes, Glycemic Counter, to keep track of your sugar intake, Substitution Food List & South Beach Shopping List, Helpful Tips and Hints to the South Beach Diet. All Free with any Steviva.com purchase!

All of our products carry a 100% satisfaction guarantee. If for any reason you are not 100% happy with any of our products, send them back for a full refund.

These plans will ALLOW you to eat almost everything you enjoy and will re-introduce you to foods you used to think were not allowed.

The greatest part of this offer is that it will cost you nothing. It is our gift to you for your purchase of any Steviva Brand Product!

For More Low Carb and Sugar Free Recipes Go To Steviva Recipes!


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