Fitness

Many studies have been made of the factors influencing the level of blood sugar. In one such study/ for example, 200 volunteers ate various types of breakfasts; each individual’s blood sugar was determined before the meal and hourly for three hours afterward. After black coffee alone, the blood sugar decreased, and the volunteers experienced lassitude, irritability, nervousness, hunger, fatigue, exhaustion, and headaches; the symptoms became progressively worse as the morning wore on. Two doughnuts and coffee with sugar and cream caused a rapid rise in blood sugar, but the amount fell within an hour to a low level, again resulting in inefficiency and fatigue. A basic breakfast was selected because it was typical of the morning meal eaten by millions of Americans: a glass of orange juice, two strips of bacon, toast, jam, and coffee with cream and sugar. The blood sugar rose rapidly but fell far below the pre-breakfast level within an hour and remained below normal until lunch time. The next breakfast was the same except for the addition of a packaged cereal; again the blood sugar rose, fell quickly, and remained below normal all morning. A fifth breakfast was the basic one plus oatmeal served with sugar and milk; the blood sugar rose rapidly but fell more quickly and to a lower level than after any other breakfast studied. Then 8 ounces of whole milk fortified with 2% tablespoons of powdered skimmed milk was drunk with the basic breakfast of orange juice, bacon, toast, jam, and coffee. After this meal the blood sugar rose above normal and stayed at approximately 120 milligrams throughout the morning; unusual well-being was experienced. Two eggs were then served instead of fortified milk; again a high level of efficiency was maintained. The last breakfast was the basic one with eggs or fortified milk and larger amounts of toast and jam; efficiency stayed high once more.
These scientists then studied the effect of the different breakfasts on the well-being of the volunteers throughout the afternoon. Persons who had eaten the different breakfasts were given lunch: a cream cheese sandwich on whole-wheat bread and a glass of whole milk. Blood samples were taken at hourly intervals. In an cases the blood sugar increased soon after lunch. Persons who had eaten eggs or fortified milk for breakfast showed a high blood sugar all afternoon. When the breakfast allowed blood sugar to be low during the morning, the increase after lunch rose to the level of cheerfulness and efficiency for only a few minutes; then it fell to a low level which lasted throughout the afternoon. Your selection of food at breakfast, therefore, can prevent or produce fatigue throughout the day.

A similar study was made at Harvard University by Doctor Thorn 2 and co-workers who determined blood sugar levels for six hours after meals high in carbohydrate (sugar and starch), fat, or protein. A high-carbohydrate breakfast consisted of orange juice, bacon, toast, jelly, a packaged cereal, and coffee, both with sugar and milk. The blood sugar rose rapidly but fell to an extremely low level, causing fatigue and inefficiency. A packaged cereal eaten only with whipping cream formed the high-fat breakfast, after which the blood sugar increased slightly, then remained at the fasting level throughout the morning. The high-protein meal consisted of skimmed milk, lean ground beef, and cottage cheese; the blood sugar rose slowly to the high level of 120 milligrams and reraained there throughout the entire following six hours. To determine the effect of different types of food on energy production, metabolism tests were taken at frequent intervals. The metabolism, or energy production, increased only slightly after the meals high in fat or carbohydrate. After the high-protein meal, however, the metabolism rose more quickly than did the blood sugar and stayed high throughout the entire six-hour study period.

Studies similar to these have been conducted in many universities. The results have been consistently the same: wellbeing and the level of efficiency experienced during the hours after meals depend upon the amount of protein eaten; the meals which produced a real zest for living also contained some fat and a certain amount of carbohydrate. It is only when there is a combination of sugar, which is the source of energy, and protein and fat, which slow digestion, that sugar is gradually absorbed into the blood, and energy is maintained at a high level for many hours.