Better Call Saf (Registered Dietitian)

Similar to the GI we can divide food based on GL that can be: LOW:  under 10 MEDIUM: 11-19 HIGH: over 20   In the previous post we discussed about the GI - Glicemic Index and you might have noticed that sometimes could be confusing and has some flows : - It doesn't consider a portion of that food , so is just giving a generic number to it and sometimes is not that accurate - An example is: watermelon which appears to have a high GI but is actually not becuase it reaches that level only with a very large portion  - GI is a good way to make quick food choices but GL is more accurate and is the next step for a better understanding on what kind of food choices to make - The preparation and other ingredients change the GI for example fibers or a longer cooking method will lower the GI level from the one you will see reported officially There are many tables you can find online basically for any kind of food and here some: http://dietdatabase.com/glycemic-index-and-glycemic-load

  GI stands for Glicemin Index  This is used to measure how a specific food intake is going to rise your blood sugar levels The point is that having a low GI or slow release carbs will help to keep this level low and avoid having peaks with your glucose and therefore the hormones produced by the body during a peak of sugar in your blood The benefits is not a simple weight loss, this plan has a wide range of positve aspects including: - Lower the cholseterol levels  - Reducing the risks of heart diseases - More energy during the day thanks to the slow release of it  - Reducing the risk of developing Diabetes, or keep that under control if already diagnosed Anything that has a GI level can be classified in: LOW GI - under 55 MEDIUM GI -  56-69 HIGH GI - over 70 I will provide a list of food for each of these levels, to have an idea of what to reduce and what to prefer, for any particular ingredient you can also check this trustable source: https://glycemicindex.com/ Things to consider: -

  As the name says a meal replacement is supposed to be a subsitute of one of your main meal, but why would you have that and what are the possible advantages? ADVANTAGES Depending on your personal lifestyle and the dietary targets you are trying to achieve, a meal replacement could be a good idea if you can benefit from one of the following : - Low calories but high in protein: The ingredients to be used for a meal replacements are endless which means you can keep the calories low for any weight loss purpose but keeping the protein high to not lose muscles  - Time saving: Preparing something like a shake cuould take litearally few minutes when the ingredients are already selected and is way better than skipping a meal and avoid long gaps, especially when very busy during the day  - Nutrients: Being able to select the ingredients including supplements/fibres/protein can help to easily achieve the achieve any specific requirements and at the same time avoiding extra calories or an

  Time to time I will provide some quick and easy snack alternatives to have more varieties in your diet and at the same time having a healthy option to use, at the bottom of this post you will find more links with other snack ideas in case you are interested  Snack alternative: Rough Oatcakes  Nutrional Value per 1 Oatcake   Calories : around 50 depending on the brand Fat : around 2gr but saturated fat are less than 1gr Protein : 1.2 gr Carbohydrate : 5.8 gr Fibers : around 1gr Benefits: High in Fiber Easy to consume with a varieties of other ingredients  No artificial flavours or hydrogenated fats  Very low in sugar and fat Things to note: - Originally from Scotland, Since there are  many variations and brands it's a good idea to check the ingredients to make sure is 90% or over wholegrain - Extremely versatile you can find the right combination with the other ingredients you are using and choose a different texture: Rough  Fine Crunchy  -  Vitamins and Minerals are very low in t

  Gut Microbiota how important it is and how to "reset" it, keep it healthy and functional Intro: To understand how important the microbiota is, we are talking about  trillions of bacteria  able to produce hormones and regulate different functions in our body We need to consider that in these trillions  they are not all the same  bacteria and to make it simple a good functional microbiota should have over the 75% of "good"  bacteria against any other type to make sure the ratio to be beneficial for us  Imbalance occurs when the good bacteria have a percentage decreasing with time compared to the overall amount bacteria, harmful one included, so the  ratio needs to be balanced  once again to benefit from it Some symptos and complications related to an unbalanced ratio are: - Upset stomach: gas, heartburn or bloating are more common - Constipation/ Diarrhoea  - Unintentional weight change - IBD (irritable bowel disease) - IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) Why is that ? S

Salt, valid alternatives to use instead, to decrease your sodium intake and to still enhance the flavours of your food Overview: Is it commonly known that a high Salt (Sodium Chloride) intake is linked to different side effects, first of all high blood pressure which sometimes doesn't show clear symptoms but in the long term can increase the risks of heart diseases  The only bright side of using this is how improves the taste of our food 10 gr of Salt contains around  4 gr of Sodium so a teaspoon of 6gr of Salt is the equivalent o f 2.4 gr of Sodium , which should be actually the maximum daily intake  So what if we can find something that still improve the overall taste but with a low amount of Sodium ? Easy to find salt alternatives  (available online and selected stores  I will provide the link as well) - NOSALT sodium free alternative  https://www.amazon.co.uk/NoSalt-Sodium-Free-Salt-Alternative-11/dp/B000H185N6/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=Flavor+Mate+No+Salt+Seasoning+Ble