Are you confused by the talk about the
glycemic index and how important it is? I know I was. It took a lot of reading and research to even come up with some idea of what the big deal was. When I post articles, it is mostly for people who just want it in terms they can understand without having to read through a medical dictionary to 'get it'. I believe in just putting it all out there when I finally have enough information to say something so here goes. By the way, please jump in if you have anything to add to the subject or if you think you can help clarify it.
The glycemic index (GI) ranks food on a scale of 0 to 100 according to how much the carbohydrates in those foods raise your blood sugar after you eat them compared to a reference food. The current reference food is glucose and it is given a standing GI of 100.
Low glycemic foods are called
slow carbs and raise your blood sugar only a little in a constant and steady manner. They provide balanced, long lasting energy and leave you feeling fuller for a longer time between meals.
High glycemic foods are called
bad carbs and raise your blood sugar quickly which provokes an unhealthy insulin response. They provide only short bursts of energy followed by a dramatic energy crash.
Low glycemic foods have a GI of 55 or less. Medium glycemic foods have a GI of 56 to 69. High glycemic foods have a GI of 70 or more. The Glycemic Load is the most practical way to apply the GI to diet, and is easily calculated by multiplying a food's GI (as a percentage) by the number of net carbohydrates in a given serving. Glycemic Load gives a relative indication of how much that serving of food is likely to increase your blood sugar levels. Most nutritional experts consider Glycemic Loads below 10 to be low and above 20 to be high. Low Glycemic Load meals are often recommended for diabetic control and weight loss.
GL = GI/100 x Net Carbs
(Net Carbs are equal to the Total Carbohydrates minus Dietary Fiber)
Looks easy right? Well, the problem is that to calculate the Glycemic Load, you must first determine the food's GI, which can only be done by human testing. Only a limited number of laboratories perform these tests so GI data is only available for a small percentage of the foods that we eat. We, as home chefs, have no way to determine the Glycemic Load for any of our own recipes. We need a way to estimate the Glycemic Load when the GI is unknown.
In a nutshell, the GI measures the speed with which the carbohydrate in a given food is digested therefore it also measures the speed with which the carbohydrate it contains hits the blood sugar. If you would like to see a list of the GI of many of the foods you eat, you can click on the link below and scroll to the bottom of the section,
"Revised International Table of GI Values". On the left, you will see
"view this table" and you can click on one of the options provided.
Glycemic Index Table
The Glycemic Index, let's discuss it
May 12 2008, 01:43 PM
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