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Website Source

Website 1

http://primusweb.com/fitnesspartner/library/weight/0698metabolism.htm

Cloe, Renee. "Dieting and Metabolism" The Fitness Jumpsite

Article Source

Article 1

http://www.nutritionj.com/content/8/1/5

Radulian, Gabriela. Rusu, Emilia. Dragomir, Andreea. Posea, Mihaela. "Metabolic Effects of Low Glycamic Index Diets" Nutrition Journal 2009, 8:5 doi:10.1186/1475-2891-8-5

Reviewer: Nicole H. 20092

Main Focus

Overall, this article presents how eating low glycaemic index foods, such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains, can greatly improve metabolism and hunger while a e poor cardiovascular and health effects associated with high glycaemic index foods. This change in nutritional lifestyle is being explored for use in combating the growing numbers of obese Americans.

New Terms

glycaemic-index: Is generally, a measure of the effects of carbohydrates on blood sugar levels. A high GI refers to carbohydrates that are quickly digested and release glucose rapidly into the bloodstream. A low GI refers to carbohydrates that are broken down slowly and steadily and release glucose gradually into the bloodstream. More specifically, GI refers to the incremental area under the blood glucose curve following ingestion of a fixed portion of food, expressed as a percentage of the corresponding area following an equivalent portion of a referen glucose or white bread.(source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycemic_index)

obese: A medical condition that effects health adversely, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems due to an accumulation of excess body fat. A body mass index (BMI) of greater than 30 kg/m defines people as obese.(source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity)

atherosclerosis: A condition in which fatty material, such as cholesterol, collects along the walls of arteries, due to inadequate removal of fats from the macrophages by high density lipoproteins. This fatty material thickens and hardens and may eventually block the arteries.(source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atherosclerosis)

Hyperinsulinaemia: Excessively high blood insulin levels that may be the result of a variety of conditions such as obesity and pregnancy.(source: http://www.mondofacto.com/facts/dictionary?hyperinsulinaemia)

Dyslipidaemia: An abnormal concentration of lipids or lipoproteins in the blood. Often occurs as an elevation of lipids in the blood due to diet and lifestyle.(source: http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Dyslipidaemia)

Hyperglicaemia: Is high blood sugar. It is a condition unt of glucose is found in the blood plasma. Chronic hyperglycemia is the defining characteristic of diabetes mellitus.(source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperglycemia)

Cytokines: Polypeptide regulators and signaling molecules, secreted by cells of the immune system, used in cellular communication to carry effects between cells: (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cytokine)

Thrombolytic: The breakdown or lysis of blood clots by pharmacological means. Also referred to as clot busting. (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thrombolysis)

Summary

Obesity has become a major problem in the United States, as over 30 million people have become clinically obese. This extremely high weight many Americans have been reaching is leading to increased health issues such as hypertension, type 2 diabetes, hyperinsulinemia, dyslipidemia, and atherosclerosis for our population. In response to this life threatening problem, diets have begun to be implemented in efforts to decrease the rate of obese people. While low energetic, low-carbohydrate and high protein diets have been introduced into the market of weight loss, they have also been discovered to be for many, not sustainable in the long term due poor adherence.

By decreasing the glycaemic index of foods ingested, people can lower the levels of glucose in their blood. Low GI foods slow gastric emptying and food absorption. Not only does this delay the return of hunger, it also very much decreases the rate at which glucose enters the blood, thereby lower its insulin levels. With this diet, the dangerous implications of high blood insulin on the cardiovascular system are greatly decreased. Low GI foods may even proactively decrease inflammation and also increase thromb hich can break apart clots and plaques formed in the body, greatly improving their cardiovascular health.

Overall, this article presents how eating low glycaemic index foods can greatly improve metabolism and huger while also decreasing many of the poor cardiovascular and health effects associated with high glycaemic index foods.

Relevance to a Traditional Metabolism Course

This article speaks much to the effects of high blood glucose on blood insulin levels and what this can do to the body. This greatly applies to the Biochemistry Metabolism course discussing how the fed state, evident from high glucose levels, causes an increase in insulin release and a decrease in glucagon levels. It also refers to how the fed state increases the synthesis of the storage molecule glycogen from glucose polymers. It also states that during the fed state fatty acids are not broken down, but also formed from glucose. In the article rease in fatty acids, insulin and glycogen contributes to cardiovascular problems and weight gain, but this ideal also applies closely to our coursework in which we discussed the consequences of high blood glucose in the fed state, on hormone levels and enzyme activity involved in glycogen and fatty acid metabolism.