8. Carbohydrates: The Good and the Bad
After you determine the amount and type of healthy carbohy-
drates you can tolerate it’s likely that these types of foods will remain
a part of your diet. When choosing carbohydrate foods it’s important
to realize that not all are created equal. Some carbohydrates are more
natural than others, thus the response they evoke in the body is less
dramatic. In general, the more highly processed the carbohydrate
food, the worse it is for you. Highly processed carbohydrates gener-
ally have a higher glycemic index than those that are processed less
or not processed at all. Most commercially processed bread, bagels,
rolls, cereals and other grain products, and those containing sugar,
are so highly processed with virtually no nutritional value they can
only harm your body and brain, impairing human performance. This
does not mean you can’t enjoy eating — in fact, there are many ways
to create gourmet meals, including desserts, which are not only deli-
cious but healthy.
So what carbohydrates should you eat? At the top of the list of
unprocessed carbohydrates is fruit. In addition to containing vita-
mins and minerals, fruit also contains important phytonutrients.
Though fruit is a carbohydrate food, the glycemic index of most fruit
is low to moderate because fruit contains substantial amounts of fiber,
and because fruit sugar, or fructose, has the lowest glycemic index of
all sugars. Most fruits contain a combination of fructose and glucose,
and those with the most fructose have a lower glycemic index. At the
low end of the glycemic index are cherries, plums, grapefruits, apri-
cots, cantaloupe, berries and peaches. Apples, pears and baby
bananas have a more moderate glycemic index, with grapes, oranges
and large bananas scoring higher. Pineapple, watermelon and dried
fruits are among the highest-glycemic fruits and should be eaten
sparingly, if at all. Most people who are CI can tolerate some amount