There’s a simple way to lower the GL of your diet – and that is to not eat! Obviously, you’ll make no insulin, have no blood sugar spikes, and burn some fat. You’ll also trigger the body’s cellular cell repair programme called ‘autophagy’.
But here’s a way to do it that’s actually doable. It’s called 18:6 intermittent fasting.
What it means is that you have an 18 hour window where you either eat nothing, or eat no carbs. The easier way is to do the latter, and start your day with a ‘hybrid latte’.
Basically, have your dinner at a set time, such as 6 or 7pm. Now, you’re not going to have a meal or snack until 18 hours has passed eg 1 or 2pm the next day. You can think of this as ‘brunch’.
Inevitably you’re going to wake up and become hungry at some point in the morning. One option, as mentioned above, is to have what’s called a Hybrid Latte. This is a shot of coffee (or decaf) made with a cup of 100% carb-free almond milk such as Alpro, added into a high-speed blender such as a Nutribullet. You can use any 100% carb free nut milk but you must check that the small print on the label says 0gm carbs/sugar. You also add a spoonful of sugar and added oil free almond or peanut butter, which gives you fat and protein and virtually no carbs. You can also add half of teaspoon of cinnamon, a teaspoon of pure cacao powder (chocolate with no sugar) for taste. There’s one more magical ingredient called C8 oil – use one teaspoon to start with building up to one tablespoon.
C8 oil is the exact type of fat, usually derived from coconut oil, from which the body and brain can make ketones, the brain’s favourite fuel. Read the Report in your Library: Why C8 oil is the best brain fuel.
Starting with the Hybrid Latte, which you can have hot or cold (or even ‘deconstructed’ with the ingredients on their own), you won’t experience significant hunger but will get the advantage of an ‘accelerated’ low GL diet. Some people do this a day or two a week, others every day. The choice is yours.
Now you’ve learnt a) how to eat a low GL diet; b) how to experiment with a very low carb ‘high fat/ketogenic’ diet; and c) how to 18:6 as often as you want.
You are now officially a master of your blood sugar control and, with that, taking a big step towards dementia-proofing your diet.