A doctor on TikTok has warned that five foods you thought were healthy actually aren’t due to their ability to spike blood sugar levels.
Dr. Mijin Brown, who is on the social media platform Dr. Midge posted a video about the foods to avoid, “at least from an insulin resistance perspective.”
In the video, which has been viewed more than a million times, Dr. Brown explains that fruit juice and fruit may be less healthy than people think due to their high sugar content.
Oat milk, oatmeal and rice cakes also have a “huge glycemic impact” after you eat them, she claims, which can lead to insulin resistance.
The video, which has been viewed more than a million times, features Dr. Brown explaining to her 88,000 followers that the foods can have a ‘huge glycemic impact’ after you eat them, which can lead to insulin resistance.
Eating foods with a high glycemic index can cause blood sugar levels to rise quickly, causing the pancreas to release more insulin and then drop quickly. This can promote cravings and overeating.
Repeating this cycle often can also cause insulin resistance, which means that cells in your muscle, fat, and liver do not respond well to insulin and cannot easily absorb glucose from your blood.
As a result, the pancreas produces more insulin to ensure glucose enters your cells. Blood sugar levels can become too high, which can ultimately lead to type 2 diabetes.
A rise in blood sugar levels over time can lead to plaque in the blood vessels, inflammation and heart and joint problems.
Dr. Brown said: ‘The reason all these foods aren’t that healthy is because they have a huge glycemic impact after you eat them. The greater the glycemic impact, the greater the insulin impact, and that’s not good because it leads to insulin resistance.
“Insulin resistance is the root cause of all the lifestyle-related diseases that most of us suffer from,” said Dr. Brown, and he showed a graph of various conditions, including heart disease, cancer, fatty liver disease, PCOS, erectile dysfunction, dementia, migraines, body fat and diabetes.
The first food Dr. Brown disapproves of his fruit juices. “This one is obvious,” she said.
‘Did you know that some fruit juices contain as much sugar as a can of soft drink? Even the unsweetened variety can contain as much as 26 grams of carbohydrates, which is about six teaspoons of sugar. And all that with very little fibre.’
Next is fruit. “Today’s fruits, and even today’s vegetables, in nature, are nothing like what they were long ago,” she said.
‘Most were small, stringy and not too sweet. But fruit is crazy these days. They are designed to be larger, sweeter and less fibrous, all of which affects our blood sugar levels.’
Some fruits are worse than others, she claimed. Mangoes, pineapples, bananas and grapes are high in sugar and should be considered dessert, she said.
Fruits are high in fiber, which means they take longer to digest, meaning there is a slow release of sugar, which doesn’t spike blood sugar levels.
“Number three: oat milk. One cup of oat milk contains 15 grams of carbohydrates, and we’re not talking about the ones with added sugar.
“Two rice cakes contain only 70 calories, but they also contain 14 grams of carbohydrates and not much fiber at all,” said Dr. Brown.
She added: ‘Not to mention that many of the store-bought brands are made with preservatives, thickeners and emulsifiers, none of which are good for our gut health or our overall health.’
Her fourth food item is oatmeal – “another controversial product that is routinely recommended to diabetics as a healthy option,” she said.
“One of the reasons they probably recommend it is as a source of fiber.” One cup of oatmeal contains about eight grams of fiber, but 62 grams of carbohydrates,” said Dr. Brown. “It’s not worth it, guys.”
If you really want oatmeal, she recommends the Steel Cut brand and “stay away from the instant oatmeal with added sugar and flavors.”
All regular oatmeal is nutritionally rich, containing more protein than most grains and also containing numerous vitamins and minerals. Oats contain a soluble fiber called beta-glucan, which helps promote regular emptying of the intestines.
Her final suggestion was to be careful with rice cakes.
“I think the ‘calories in, calories out’ fans will love this because two rice cakes are only 70 calories, but they also have 14 grams of carbs and not much fiber at all,” she said.
“The only way you’ll be satisfied if you eat two is if you eat more,” she said.
‘Another way to eat these is to add something to them, like avocados or nut butter, to add more fat or protein and a bit more fiber. This should reduce the glycemic impact.’
Fiber helps regulate the body’s use of sugars. It also absorbs water and makes stools larger and easier to pass. A low-fiber diet can lead to constipation and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).