Glycemic Index

THE GLYCEMIC INDEX

Unless you are diabetic, you probably don’t pay much attention to the glycemic Index, or the effect that sugar plays on your overall health.  For most of us, controlling blood sugar takes a back seat to controlling dietary fat.

It is hard for us to relate blood sugar to our expanding waist or the mid-afternoon drop in energy that makes us crave that chocolate bar or bag of chips.  But our blood sugar levels are indeed playing a role in contributing to our weight and that drop in energy that sometimes makes us irritable.

You are more likely to experience irritability due to low blood sugar if you routinely eat high-sugar or refined carbohydrates, like chips, chocolate and cookies.  These types of foods are addicting and once you make them a staple in your diet, you will become dependent on them to make you feel “normal.”

Now let’s consider a way to take back control of those cravings and give you improved health and a better waistline!

The glycemic index classifies food by how high and how long it raises your blood glucose level (i.e., the food’s glycemic response).  Foods that are digested quickly and rapidly, raise blood glucose levels and have a high GI.  Foods that take longer to digest and therefore, slowly increase blood glucose levels (stimulating less insulin) have a low GI.

Foods with a low glycemic index, (55 and below), produce a minimal increase in blood glucose, insulin, and lipoprotein lipase (an enzyme that promotes fat storage).  These foods promote fat burning in your body.

Think of it this way; when your blood sugar rises, from that sugary snack, you stop burning fat because your body is busy trying to remove the high amounts of glucose/sugar, in your blood and has switched into storage mode.

Glycemic Index Key Points:

The smaller the number, the less impact the food has on your blood sugar.

The higher the number, the more impact the food has on your blood sugar.

  • 55 or less – low or good
  • 56 to 69 – medium
  • 70 or higher – high or bad

For a diet with a lower glycemic load eat:

  • More whole grains, nuts, legumes, fruits, vegetables without starch, and other foods with a low glycemic index
  • Fewer foods with a high glycemic index like:
    • Potatoes
    • White rice
    • White bread
  • Less sugary foods like:
    • Candy
    • Cookies
    • Cakes
    • Sweet drinks & sodas

* You can still eat foods with a high glycemic index.  Just enjoy them in smaller portions, and offset them with nutritious, low glycemic index foods when you do.

Special Considerations:

  • Fat, fiber, and acid, (such as lemon juice or vinegar), lower the glycemic index of a meal.
  • The longer you cook starches like pasta: the higher their glycemic index.
  • Ripeness:
    • The glycemic index of fruits like bananas goes up as they ripen (become sweeter).
  • Other foods eaten at the same time:
    • Combining a high glycemic index foods with low glycemic index foods, (or adding fat fiber) brings down the glycemic index of the meal.