GOOD NEWS TO MY SUPPORTERS: Thanks to your support, I won Task 1: “Feed the Office” challenge with 253 unique entries! That’s 1/3 of the total companies we’ve recruited in all. I’m overjoyed!!!!! Currently, I’m leading by 10 points in Judges’ Choice. 
I’m happy to receive messages from the companies that are enjoying the free treats; I’m very glad to share this great offer through this contest. As for those who have not received nor been contacted by the coordinator, please bear with us. The distributor will make sure that everyone will receive their free SOYJOY bars by this month.
Right now, I’m waiting for the results for Task 2. So at the meantime, I’m going to share with you what I’ve learnt about GI and SOYJOY in this “What Say You” challenge. As this is a part of the contest criteria, I think it is also a great opportunity for all of us to learn more about not just the SOYJOY bars but also the food that we’ve been eating. I hope that you can continue to support me so that I can win the Judges’ Choice category and visit Japan this August!
Without further ado, here’s what I’ve learnt…
If you’ve seen SOYJOY ads or have tried SOYJOY, you might have noticed that “Low GI” is indicated on its print. But what the heck is it? Well, GI is an acronym of Glycemic Index. This is a measurement of food based on their immediate effect on blood glucose (blood sugar) levels. During digestion, carbohydrate foods that break down quickly have the highest glycemic indexes. This causes our blood sugar to respond fast and high. On the other hand, carbohydrates that breakdown slowly, release glucose gradually into the blood stream, have low glycemic indexes.
“Low glycemic food plans are not based on starvation or deprivation. Eating is a part of our lives and we should not have to sacrifice tasty foods in order to stay healthy.”
Benefits of low GI diet:
- Helps to balance blood glucose and insulin levels
- Reduces excess body fat levels
- Increase sports / daily performance
- Reduces hunger and keep you fuller for longer
- Reduces blood cholesterol levels and lower the risk of heart disease
- Improves diabetes control
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Snacking on high GI food during late pregnancy may lead to heavier baby with increased risk of childhood obesity.
- Over-consumption of high GI food has been linked to food cravings and disordered eating patterns. This is a result of repeated surges and fall in blood-glucose aka “Sugar spikes”.
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SOYJOY is recommended to be part of an overall healthy diet. 2-3 SOYJOYs a day can be worked in as snacks or as part of a meal.
For me, my body has a high metabolism rate. This makes us snack frequently because our body constantly need the energy to keep me going. Without knowing what GI-type of food that I’m eating, it is easy for me to get a rush of energy which followed by an energy lull regularly which will affect my day-to-day performance. Before I learn about GI, I actually snack on mashed potatoes too. My body craves for carbos naturally and since gaining weight is not quick for me, I dig in to whatever my body craves for. I think this also applies to people with normal/slow metabolism rate. Sometimes, we just give in to what we feel like eating. :/
As for people who is looking at losing weight, we tend to associate that to starving ourselves or eating diet food that tastes so disgusting. Most of the time, they just want to keep a low calories and low fat diet. However, if you consider the GI of food too, it will be more effective for you to stay healthy while losing the excess weight. If you eat high GI food, your body will use this energy first rather than other stores of energy like body fat. Because of the readily available energy in your blood from high GI food, it makes it harder to lose weight. On another hand, low GI diet gives you the same amount of energy and you’ll feel less hungry to snack.
As for people with family medical history of diabetes, high blood cholesterol levels and heart disease, it is all the more important for them to keep a watch out of what they or their family members are eating. I think that being aware about the GI of the food we eat is important regardless of our body size, age or health conditions. It’s not rocket science to eat smart!
Here’s a tip:
Mixing low GI foods with high GI foods lowers the GI of the whole meal, so this can make it much less restrictive than other diets. It’s not about eating meals that consist of food that are all low GI. Do take note that low GI does not always mean low fat, so it is advisable to watch the fat content in your meals too!
Sometimes, you don’t need a food-geeky reason involving GI to eat SOYJOY. You may be just looking at having a healthy snack to keep away the afternoon slump in school or at work. SOYJOY is an unique combination of whole soy, real fruit and other all-natural ingredients baked in oven and it comes with different flavours to suit your liking. For me, I choose to have SOYJOY as one of my snacks because it contains whole soy and I loveee soy.
Benefits of Soybean:
- Packed with protein, fiber and omega-3 fatty acids
- Low in saturated fat and cholesterol free
- Rich in bone-building calcium, zinc, magnesium and iron
- Only plant-based protein with all the essential amino acids
- Contains isoflavones, which have antioxidant properties
- May lower LDL cholesterol
“Every SOYJOY® bar begins with high-quality, non-genetically modified whole soybeans. Unlike other soy products that use highly processed soy protein isolates, the whole soy ground into every SOYJOY® bar keeps the rich fiber and heart-healthy soy nutrients intact.”
Eat smart and take care of your body! 
References:
http://www.becomehealthynow.com/article/carbs/8/
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090414084625.htm
http://www.nutricoach.net/low_gi_foods.html
http://www.glycemicindex.com/
http://www.soyjoy.com/
http://www.carbs-information.com/health-effects-high-glycemic-value-carbs.htm
Credits:
Photos by Denice Lim
Every other things by me!
Let me know what do you think about my sharing, or you could even tell me about your first experience eating SOYJOY bar; which flavour do you like the best or dislike the most? What kind of high GI food do you indulge in?
Do you think it is important for you to be concern about what high/low GI food are you taking?
Here’s how you can help me for this challenge: Comment on this blog entry! Every unique comment (BEFORE 15 JUNE) will earn me 1 point. 
Tell me what you think!
