Energy Bars: Glycemia and Insulemia Essay -- Health Nutrition Diet Ex

Energy Bars: Glycemia and Insulemia   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Today many people are substituting normal meals with energy bars in hopes of losing weight. These energy bars seem to be an easy way to diet without having to hunt down the proper nutritional meals; the meal is already prepared for you in the bar. There are a few questions being raised about this method of dieting however. The issue addressed in this paper is the use of energy bars that either have low carbohydrate levels or that use lower glycemic index carbohydrates. The idea behind using an energy bar of this type for dieting is to lower the levels of insulin in the blood, reduce cholesterol levels, and prevent the drop in blood glucose that is thought to be associated with feeling hungry. Insulin is a hormone that is produced by specialized cells on the surface of the pancreas called pancreatic islets or Islets of Langerhans. It causes changes to occur in the plasma membrane of the cell that cause the cell to pull in glucose from the blood stream. The hormonal counterpart of insulin is glycogon, which serves to promote the rele...