Why Is Eating Low Carb A Really Smart Idea?

Why is eating Low Carb a smart idea?

Ever had a large plate of lemon rice or pasta with tomato sauce for dinner, or a bag of potato chips or a couple of samosas for a snack, only to feel hungry a couple of hours later? 

This is because they are all high on carbs (from being processed by removing the bran and fiber component), they digest fast and release quickly into your bloodstream as glucose. While raising your blood sugar quickly, they are still only temporarily filling. 

Especially if you are diabetic, your cells do not receive much energy even from that huge flow of blood sugar, because your body is not naturally producing enough insulin or if you have insulin resistance. This is what is called a blood sugar spike. 

It is typically followed by a relative crash because this time around it is “ghrelin” that is spiking Ghrelin is simplistically called the hunger hormone. This makes you feel very hungry, and if you proceed to eat simple carbs again, the whole cycle of blood sugar spike and crash just repeats itself all over again.

The reality of life is that carbs are cheap and mostly come in lovable and tempting forms. But carbs just don’t love us back! :( 

The solution?

Eat a meal or a snack that is low in carbs and high in protein, fiber as well as good fats. Fat and proteins digest very slowly and fiber also helps you feel satiated for longer. This leads to a lasting sense of fullness, without spiking your blood sugar.

For the same reasons, it is not wise to focus only on the number of calories. Instead, it is the quality of calories that you are eating that matters the most. A small bag of chips could be lower in calories and still lead to the sugar spike and crash cycle. A handful of nuts could be higher in the number of calories and will certainly not spike your blood sugar. 

At Artinci, our entire product development approach follows this basic principle. All our ingredients are carefully selected to be low GI, low Carb, and higher on good fats and protein, to ensure no blood sugar spikes and to provide you a lasting satisfaction from a healthy, well-made, and well-balanced dessert/snack. 

What is insulin resistance? 

Insulin is a hormone that helps the body keep its energy in balance, so it doesn't have too much sugar in its blood. Sometimes, the body can't understand the messages from insulin, which is called insulin resistance. This can lead the pancreas to work harder to make more insulin. If nothing is done, over time the pancreas can't make enough insulin and too much sugar can stay in the blood, which can cause prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.