What is The Glycemic Index?
In laymens terms; The Glycemic Index is a scale that indicates a food’s ability to raise blood glucose levels within two hours after digestion, the scale ranks food from 0-110.
Definition: The Glycemic Index (GI) is a numerical scale used to indicate how fast and how high a particular food can raise your blood glucose (blood sugar) level. A food with a low GI will typically prompt a moderate rise in blood glucose, while a food with a high GI may cause your blood glucose level to increase above the optimal level.
The glycemic index (GI) is a ranking of carbohydrate foods that individuals with diabetes use to manage their disease. This ranking is based on the rate carbohydrates affect blood glucose levels relative to glucose or white bread. Generally, the glycemic index is calculated by measuring blood glucose levels following the ingestion of a carbohydrate. This blood glucose value is compared to the blood glucose value acquired following an equal carbohydrate dose of glucose or white bread. Glucose is absorbed into the bloodstream faster than any other carbohydrate, and is thus given the value of 100. Other carbohydrates are given a number relative to glucose. Foods with low GI indices are released into the bloodstream at a slower rate than high GI foods.
Objective of Glycemic Index
The objectives of diet management in diabetic patients are to reduce hyperglycemia, prevent hypoglycemic episodes, and reduce the risk of complications. For people with diabetes, the glycemic index is a useful tool in planning meals to achieve and maintain glycemic control. Foods with a low glycemic index release sugar gradually into the bloodstream, producing minimal fluctuations in blood glucose. High GI foods, however, are absorbed quickly into the bloodstream causing an escalation in blood glucose levels and increasing the possibility of hyperglycemia. The body compensates for the rise in blood sugar levels with an accompanying increase in insulin, which within a few hours can cause hypoglycemia. As a result, awareness of the glycemic indices of food assists in preventing large variances in blood glucose levels.
A Low Glycemic Healthy Diet Can Help Protect Against Disease
A healthy eating plan that enables you to maintain a low to moderate Glycemic Index has great potential importance in treating and preventing chronic disease. As we (women over 40) get older, our bodies are more susceptible to chronic diseases. In studies in which persons with type 2 diabetes were given a low GI diet, their risk predictors of heart disease such as total cholesterol and "bad" LDL cholesterol fell. Persons with diabetes, in particular, can reap significant benefits from a low to moderate GI way of eating. In persons with diabetes, an uncontrolled glucose level-which means blood glucose levels are often too high-can lead to severe health complications including heart disease, blindness, kidney failure and limb amputations. Fortunately, an individual with diabetes who controls his or her blood glucose levels most of the time has little risk of these complications. This is true for anybody not just those with diabetes and this is why health professionals like using The Glycemic Index, because it promotes a healthier diet.
The Infamous Sugar Rush
Have you ever noticed that you feel lethargic after eating foods that stimulate a large insulin response, such as donuts or candy? This often happens because too much insulin is produced in response to processed sugary foods, and this excess insulin causes blood sugar levels to drop below normal, resulting in low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) and fatigue. When this happens, people who are unaware that the high sugar food they just ate is the reason for their sudden drop in energy reach for another sweet or high carbohydrate food, which starts the vicious cycle all over again. Once again this is the same effect as using a drug. Plus, you are consuming empty calories that pack on pounds.
How To Follow & Use The Glycemic Index for Weight Loss
Choosing foods according to their ranking on the glycemic index will improve your progress in shedding pounds. So, for weight loss choose foods low to med on the GI scale, the lower the better. The more foods you eat that are lower on the GI scale the more energy you’ll have and for longer, plus the less hungry you’ll feel. This seems easy enough, so why would you pay lots of money for diet program that follows the Glycemic Index. Because, this may seem time consuming and still somewhat confusing you may prefer utilizing the experts and that’s ok if you take that route. This is meant to make you aware of how the experts determine what foods you can eat that will make you feel fuller longer and shed those unwanted pounds. It’s no secret how they do it if they claim to follow a low glycemic diet. I love a structured plan but if I can do it myself I feel I have better control over being able to choose organic and hormone free foods.
The Glycemic Index Scale
GI Scale
High = 70 & up
Medium = 50-70
Low = 50 & under
High Glycemic Foods: Foods that are white tend to have a higher glycemic index. This includes processed foods made with white flour and white sugar. Other high glycemic index foods includes breads, bagels, English muffins, baked potato, and snack foods.
Low Glycemic Foods: Foods high in protein, while not necessarily high in fiber, typically score lower on the glycemic index scale. Low and medium glycemic index foods includes things like beans, oatmeal, and pasta.
The Glycemic Load
The glycemic load (GL) is a relatively new way to assess the impact of carbohydrate consumption that takes the glycemic index into account, but gives a fuller picture than does the glycemic index alone. The Glycemic Load is a classification of different carbohydrates that measure their impact on the body and blood sugar and takes into consideration every component of the food as a whole. A GI value tells you only how rapidly a particular carbohydrate turns into sugar. The glycemic load details the amount of carbohydrates per serving a food contains and its glycemic index. You need to know both things to understand a food's effect on blood sugar. Because the glycemic load looks at both components, the same food can have a high glycemic index, but an overall low glycemic load, therefore these two values are vastly different.
Glycemic Load Scale
The GL scale rates a GL of 20 or more as high, a GL of 11 to 19 inclusive as medium, and a GL of 10 or less as low. Foods that have a low GL almost always have a low GI. The Revised International Table of Glycemic Index (GI) and Glycemic Load (GL) Values—2008 has a definitive glycemic index list and glycemic load list, it includes various brands of food items.
GL Scale
High = 20 & Up
Medium = 11-19
Low = 10 or less
Foods with a low glycemic load keep blood sugar levels consistent, therefore avoiding the highs and lows caused by blood sugar levels that jumps too high and quickly drops, known as the candy bar effect or the sugar rush. A diet focused on foods with a low glycemic load can make it easier to lose weight, avoid diet plateaus and help burn more calories.
It may be tough to figure out if a food has a high or a low glycemic load, but as a general guideline, the more fiber a food has the better. Here is a glycemic load reference list with many common foods to let you know which are low, medium, and high. Remember that the glycemic load takes into effect the glycemic index as well.
Foods with a low glycemic load of 10 or less:
- Fiber-rich fruits and vegetables, like carrots, green peas, apples, grapefruit, and watermelon
Cereals made with 100 percent bran
Lentils
Cashews and peanuts
Whole-grain breads like barley, pumpernickel, and whole wheat
Whole-wheat tortillas
Tomato juice
Milk
Foods with a medium glycemic load of 11 to 19:
Oatmeal
Rice cakes
Barley and bulgur
Fruit juices without extra sugar
Brown rice
Sweet potato
Graham crackers
Foods with a high glycemic load of 20 or more:
Candy
Sweetened fruit juices
Couscous
White rice
White pasta
French fries and baked potatoes
Low-fiber cereals (high in added sugar)
Macaroni and cheese
Pizza
Raisins and dates
Weekly Checklist (Weeks 1-16)
Drink 8 glasses of water every day
Eat a Hearty Healthy breakfast
Get movin’ by walking or aerobics
Eat an Apple or Pear everyday
Say no to your poison, ditch the junk food
Go a little nuts by eating a handful of nuts
Toss Up a Big Bowl of Salad
Take Your Vitamins
Pump It Up!!!
Trade Up Your Drinks
Sprinkle Some Flax on It
Abs are made in the kitchen
Trade Up Your Dairy
Grab a Superfood
Plan Your Healthy Day
Trade Up Your Oil
Eat Lower on The Glycemic Index
Assignment
This weeks assignment is relatively easy. Find a good source that lists the foods on the Glycemic Index along with their GI values. Also, find a good list that contains the Glycemic Load and their values. You can print out the lists to use as a reference when shopping or making meals, or just jot down a few that you already consume and enjoy. Be creative when choosing foods from these lists to help make eating healthy, both enjoyable and sustainable.
References
“The Lowdown on Glycemic Load” By Diana Rodriguez Medically reviewed by Christine Wilmsen Craig, MD
http://www.everydayhealth.com/diet-nutrition/101/nutrition-basics/the-glycemic-load.aspx
The Revised International Table of Glycemic Index (GI) and Glycemic Load (GL) Values—2008 by David Mendosa
www.mendosa.com/gilists.htm
Glycemic Index
http://www.amsa.org/healingthehealer/GlycemicIndex.pdf
The Glycemic Index of World's Healthiest Foods
http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=faq&dbid=32
“Glycemic Index” By Julie Lager The Gale Group Inc., Macmillan Reference
http://ask.healthline.com/galecontent/glycemic-index?o=3986&qsrc=999
What is the Glycemic Index?
http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=faq&dbid=32
Picture Source
Glycemic Index Scale
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSjQ4vUqbv1r3kC6rULc9iWdvVfWnhWQEtwpUNxzKGWNvnn4nH4RoVXTQ
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