Aspartame is marketed under a number of different names, some of them including Equal, NutraSweet and Candarel. Due to the bad reputation of aspartame, the producer is planning to rebrand it to “AminoSweet”.

Even though Aspartame was previously listed by the Pentagon as a biochemical warfare agent it has been allowed into food because of financial pressure.

Some of the side effects aspartame can cause is headache, changes in vision, convulsions and seizures, hallucination, nausea and vomiting, joint pain, sleep problems, anxiety, depression, as well as many other problems.

It also contribute to many chronical illnesses such as AIDS, ALS, alzheimer’s, brain lesions, dementia, epilepsy, hearing loss, hormonal imbalances, hypoglycemia, memory loss, multiple sclerosis (MS), neuroendocrine disorders and parkinson’s.

Source: Aspartame: What you don’t know can hurt you

Glycemic index is a ranking of how much different carbs affect your blood glucose level. The quicker the carbohydrates can be absorbed by your body, the higher the GI of the food is. The index value is found by giving test persons 50 grams of carbohydrate from a certain food and comparing it to the effect 50 grams of glucose has on the blood sugar. Foods containing only fat and proteins therefore have no glycemic index. Fiber, which is a type of carbohydrate, cannot be digested by the body and therefore does not affect your blood sugar.

Examples of foods with a high GI are white bread, sugar, potatoes and instant white rice. Most vegetables and many fruits have a low GI.

Glycemic load takes both the GI of a food, the amount of carbohydrates the food contain and the amount of that food you eat into account. A food can have a high GI, but a low amount of carbohydrate pr 100 grams compared to other foods. Therefore the GL is more interesting as it tells you something about the total load on your blood sugar.

When your blood sugar increases, your body has to produce insulin to absorb the glucose into your cells. Therefore, the higher glycemic load, the more insulin your body must produce. This is negative for your health and the cause of obesity.

This all may sound a little complicated, so don’t let it confuse you too much. I will cover more practical information and tips in other articles.

Atkins learnt that eating refined carbohydrates such as sugar and flour was the main cause of obesity in western society. When reducing the intake of high carbohydrate foods the body’s metabolism switches from using glucose as energy to burning stored fat. This is called ketosis and happens when insulin levels are low. Carbohydrates increase the glucose level (bloodsugar level). Therefore the body must produce more insulin the more carbs you eat and your body will not be able to use stored fat as fuel.

The Atkins diet restricts net carbs which is carbohydrates that can be digested. Net carbohydrates can be calculated by subtracting fiber from total carbohydrates.

The Atkins diet consists of four phases: induction, ongoing weight loss, pre-maintenance and maintenance.

Induction

The induction phase is the most restrictive phase of the Atkins Nutritional approach and it is recommended to stay in this phase for two weeks. The carb intake is limited to 20 net carbs pr day, which causes the body to enter ketosis.

Ongoing weight loss

During this phase the daily carbohydrate intake is increased by 5 net carbs pr week until you find your “Critical carbohydrate level” for losing weight and your weight is 4.5 kg (10 pounds) away from your target weight.

Pre-maintenance

The carbohydrate intake is increased by 10 net carbs pr week to find the maximum amount of carbohydrates you can eat before you start gaining weight.

Maintenance

In this phase you use what you’ve learnt in the previous phases to maintain your weight.