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Are G.I. factors tested on healthy people valid for use in people with diabetes?

Yes, there are several studies which show a good correlation between values for the same foods obtained in healthy people and people with diabetes (type 1 and type 2). This is no surprise because the degree of glucose intolerance is allowed for in the calculation of G.I. factors.

Do low G.I. foods need to be eaten at every meal in order for people to see a benefit?

No, because the effect of a low G.I. food carries over to the next meal, reducing its glycaemic impact. This applies even when the low G.I. meal is eaten for dinner. Its effect carries over to breakfast the following morning. But, it is sensible to try to eat at least two low G.I. meals each day.

One study gave carrots a G.I. factor of 95. Does this mean that a person with diabetes shouldn’t eat carrots?

The quantity of carrots that gives the 50 grams of carbohydrate portion (as required in standardised G.I. factor testing) is enormous because it contains only about 7 per cent carbohydrate. In fact, about 700 grams of carrots were tested. This is much greater than the amount you would normally eat (about 100 grams).

Even with a G.I. factor of 95, a normal serve of carrots would contribute only a small amount to the rise in blood sugar. Carrots and other foods like tomatoes, onions and salad vegetables that contain only a small amount of carbohydrate should be seen as ‘free’ foods for people with diabetes.

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Degree of obesity. There are a number of physiological factors—e.g. the ability to oxidise fat in response to exercise, and different muscle fibre types12—which distinguish the obese from the merely overfat, or the lean. These are also known to affect the fat loss response to exercise. Due to physiological factors that have either caused or resulted from obesity and which are as yet largely unknown, those prone to weight gain may have a greater craving for fatty foods after exercise and may store fat more readily than those not disposed to overfatness.

Exercise responses can also be quite different. Because of the lower levels of aerobic capacity and different rates of substrate utilisation in the more obese, long duration activity and increased ‘incidental’ exercise at a much lower intensity than is used for the leaner and more fit is recommended for optimal fat burning. There is a case for regarding the morbidly obese as a different population to normal and overfat people in their responses to exercise. The physiological changes that occur with this type of obesity are most likely to be genetically based or associated with long term obesity, and this may provide dues as to the type of exercise and dietary prescription required for optimal fat losses in the future.

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The location of fat on an individual’s body is partly due to genetic influences, but is also idiosyncratic. Some people store fat on the upper body, some on the lower body; some get fat around the neck first, some around the arms and chest. In general, men store fat around the waist or abdomen, and pre-menopausal women store fat around the hips and buttocks. These are the typical android (apple) and gynoid (pear) shapes that distinguish men and women. A third, generally ‘big all over’ shape, is the ovoid (fruit box) form of overfatness. This is often more characteristic of those with a genetic predisposition to obesity.

An analysis of national figures in the United Kingdom shows that while the ‘apple’ and ‘pear’ are the majority shapes of males and females respectively, around 14 per cent of men may be fat and pear-shaped and 27 per cent of women fat and apple-shaped. This is perhaps not unexpected with women because at menopause they lose the benefits of the female hormones, particularly oestrogen, which maintain female fat in the lower body (hips, thighs and buttocks) for reproductive purposes, and they begin to store more fat on the upper body, like men. Increases in abdominal fat in men and women differ with age. Women, in general, tend to store more fat around the lower regions until they reach menopause. Then they put it on like men. Men, on the other hand, generally increase their abdominal stores linearly with age from around 25 years on.

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A German doctor has discovered that in certain countries, where pumpkin seeds are eaten regularly and in great quantity, there is virtually no incidence of enlarged prostate or other prostate troubles. Dr. W. Devrient states that enlargement of the prostate gland indicates that the gland is trying to make up for the diminished production of the male sex hormones as a result of advanced age. Pumpkin seeds contain nutrients which are essential for reproductive functions.

Pumpkin seeds are extremely rich in powerful nutritive factors: about 30 percent protein, 40 percent unsaturated fatty acids, plenty of B-vitamins, lots of phosphorus, iron, and zinc. What is the powerful substance in pumpkin seed that has such a rejuvenating effect on sex life? No one seems to know. Dr. Bela Pater, of Klausenburg, believes that pumpkin seeds contain a “plant hormone which affects man’s hormone production in part by substitution, in part by direct proliferation.” But whatever substance it is, the fact remains that, as of today, pumpkin seeds are the only effective nutritional remedy for prostate trouble—and completely harmless, too.

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What causes the galea to become thick? Why do men become bald but not women?

Dr. Engstrand stated that the thickening of the tendinous scalp membrane is effected by the male sex hormones. He indicated several other possible causes for this condition, but the main cause is hormone stimulation. Men with a generous sex hormone production have a greater chance of losing their hair. This explains the typical male pattern of baldness: bald head but otherwise vigorous secondary male sex characteristics—thick, fast-growing beard and abundant hail’ growth on the other parts of the body.

A hereditary tendency is also indicated. Not only is there a great variety in the quantity of sex hormones produced by different men, but even the amount of blood which each individual, anatomically speaking, has available for his scalp, varies considerably from man to man and is hereditary to some extent. Also, Dr. Engstrand stressed the fact that hormone production and stimulation can vary to a great extent during different periods and various ages of the same individual. In addition, excessive hair loss can be influenced by such factors as nutritional deficiencies and prolonged mental or emotional stress. Mental stress causes tensions in the muscle tissues of the scalp and the neck and thus constricts the blood vessels.

How Dr. Engstrand’s theory was proven

Dr. Engstrand developed a special surgical method which he calls The Radical Scalp Operation According to Engstrand. The operation is aimed at relieving the pressure in the scalp by making several incisions in the galea. It is a simple operation without hospitalization which takes about 50 minutes to perform. Dr. Engstrand has performed over 1,000 such operations and reports quite remarkable results. In the most favorable group of patients, between 70 and 80 percent experienced increased hair growth within six months to a year. Even in completely bald areas—in the recessed temples and at the crown of the head—his method has brought new hair growth in 40 to 50 percent of the patients, provided that the baldness was of a shorter duration than five years.

Thus, Dr. Engstrand has definitely proven that loss of hair and baldness is indeed caused by impaired blood circulation. Whether or not the surgical approach is the right and most effective way to increase blood distribution to the hair follicles remains to be seen. In accord with the spirit of this book, which is basically a self-help book, I am inclined to think that there are easier ways than operations to stimulate the increased blood flow to the hair roots. I am referring to the nutritional approach. And in this regard I have very exciting news for you.

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