Gary Matthews asked:


Have you read about this recently? over the last 30 years, research into food and blood glucose response has completely changed our carbohydrate classification system.

It has been learned that it is impossible to predict the impact on blood glucose levels by certain foods, instead people are fed carbohydrate foods and the response measured.

This response is known as the Glycemic Index (GI), it is a measure of how quickly carbohydrate foods are digested and absorbed, and ranks carbohydrate foods according to their impact on blood sugar (glucose) levels: as indicted by elevated blood glucose.

Foods with a high GI are absorbed quickly into the blood stream and cause a rapid rise in blood glucose levels. While foods with a low GI are broken down more slowly over time and keep blood glucose levels more stable (Remember that low is slow!).

Some carbohydrate foods will maintain your energy levels for hours, while some may cause your blood glucose to rise and fall. Different types of carbohydrate can also affect feelings of fullness in the stomach and this can influence hunger and

your ability to control your body weight.

Why is the GI important?

When our blood glucose levels are stable we have plenty of readily available fuel for the brain and muscles. If our blood glucose levels drop too low (hypoglycaemia) we feel tired, dizzy and generally unwell. If our blood glucose levels rise too quickly a rapid drop usually follows this.

Include low glycemic index foods in meals and snacks to slow the release of glucose into the bloodstream. A low glycemic index snack a few hours before exercise will help maintain your energy levels for more effective training.

After high intensity exercise (strength training) a high glycemic index snack should be consumed within 30 minutes. This will help to replace energy and start the recovery process.

Low-GI foods take longer to digest and help delay hunger pangs that little bit more and thus promote weight loss. So please choose your carbs carefully as this will lower your insulin levels and burn more fat. The secret is to swap high GI foods with low GI foods.

Steps to a low GI diet

* Start with a healthy, well balanced and varied diet based on a good nutrition program. The diet should be low in fats, moderate in carbohydrate and protein. The program should be high in fibre and contain a varied amount of foods to provide the required amount of vitamins and minerals.

* Look at the type of carbohydrates that you consume during the day. Look at the carbs that you eat the most, as these will have the most dramatic impact on your diet.

Try to change the carbs you eat the most with at least one low GI one. (Replace potato with sweet potato, use noodles instead of rice) By substituting half of your daily carbohydrate from high GI to low GI will result in an overall reduction in the GI of your diet.

Reducing the GI in your diet reduces your insulin levels and increases the fat burning apparatus in your body. Try to reduce the high GI’s in your diet by substituting them with low GI’s.

Regular consumption of low GI foods increases the feelings of fullness and satisfaction and so prevents weight gain. Try taking in six small meals a day of healthy low fat low GI foods to prevent overeating at meal times and control appetite.

Remember, that it is also important to look at the calories in food to. Rice and bread might be low in fat but when your body is burning the carbohydrates in these foods it doesn’t burn as much fat. So if you are on a low fat diet, you wont lose as much weight if your calories are still high.

Have a look at the table below for the different GI food ratings.

Low GI ()

Grapefruit (26)

Pineapple (66)

Cornflakes (80)

Baked Beans (15)

Raisins (64)

W/M Bread (72)

Lentils (29)

Sweet corn (59)

Brown Rice (80)

Peanuts (13)

Potato Chips (51)

Carrots (92)

Soy Beans (15)

All bran (51)

Baked Potato (98)

Compare these two menus and try to adjust your diet accordingly.

High GI Menu

Breakfast: 40 Grams of cornflakes with milk. Two slices

of whole meal toast with margarine and jam.

Snack: Two sweet biscuits with a white coffee.

Lunch: Ham and salad whole meal Roll with an

apple.

Snack: Four crackers with cottage cheese and chives

Main Meal: Serving of Roast chicken with a large baked

potato and peas. Small piece of cake.

Low GI Menu

Breakfast: 40 Grams of bran with low fat milk. Two slices

of low GI toast (Try Burgen) with margarine

and jam.

Snack: Two oatmeal biscuits with a coffee (Low fat

milk).

Lunch: Ham and salad Roll (Low GI bread). Soft-serve

vanilla yoghurt with toasted muesli sprinkled

on top.

Snack: Two bananas.

Main Meal: Serving of Roast chicken with a small baked potato and peas. Two scoops of low fat ice cream with half a cup of canned peaches.

Chicken, beef, fish, eggs, nuts, and avocados contain very little or no carbohydrates. These foods if eaten by themselves will not have much effect on your glucose levels and are very low GI.

lcoholic beverages especially wine are also low GI so can be included in your diet but remember to count them in your daily caloric intake.

In conclusion low GI foods are ideal for losing weight due to the slow absorption from the stomach. Low GI foods also help to keep blood sugar levels more stable and this has an effect on reducing sweet cravings.



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Tarja Anchor asked:


Both the Glycemic index (GI) and the Glycemic load (GL) rankings of carbohydrates are based on the effect they have on the body when they are converted to glucose as they enter the bloodstream.

Glycemic index ranks how quickly sugar (glucose) enters the bloodstream after a particular carbohydrate is eaten.

Glycemic load takes into account not only how quickly a certain food is converted into sugar in the body but also how much glucose a particular carbohydrate contains.

Nutritionists have divided the Glycemic index into three distinct modules: low, medium and high. The categorization is determined by application to a scale from zero to one hundred – based on the effect each food has on blood sugar levels. For analytical purposes, the scale identifies low glucose content as up to 55, medium as 56 to 70 and high glucose levels are 70 and above. The lower the Glycemic index evaluation, the slower the rate glucose is absorbed by the bloodstream.

The Glycemic index of any food is limited for evaluation purposes because rather than determining exactly how much sugar a particular food contains, its focus is on the rate of sugar absorption by the blood. In order to determine the true nutritional value of any food the Glycemic index should be considered along with its Glycemic load.

A prime example of this is carrots if their nutritional value is rated solely on the Glycemic index, it appears that carrots contain high glucose content (rated around 74), and should be avoided if one is attempting to restrict glucose ingestion. However, when carrots are evaluated with a combination of both Glycemic index and Glycemic load, one finds that although the levels of glucose found in carrots is absorbed quickly by the bloodstream (GI), the actual amount of sugar in carrots is relatively low (GL) and so they are a nutritional asset. Pasta on the other hand has both a high GI and GL rating and as such has far less nutritional value.

Nutritionists advocate a diet based on consumption of foods with a low Glycemic load because studies have determined that these foods are great contributors to loss of waistline fat (the most dangerous fat content) because low Glycemic load foods seem to be able to not only satisfy hunger urges for longer periods of time, they also seem to mobilize the bodys fat burning capabilities.

Refined carbohydrates, such as those found in white bread and other processed foods have been identified as nutritional culprits because of their ability to elevate blood glucose levels at a faster rate, thus contributing to additional strain on the body. Foods with the right combination of Glycemic index and Glycemic load, such as legumes and whole grains are able to be absorbed by the body more slowly and do not have such a detrimental affect on the bodys ability to absorb and distribute glucose.

Making informed decisions on your diet should be done by evaluating both the Glycemic index and Glycemic load of your carbohydrate choices. By replacing processed and refined carbohydrates like those prevalent in white bread and snacks with fruits and low-starch vegetables, whole grains and beans you will be offering your body foods that are nutrient rich and can assist in slowing digestion while moderating blood sugar levels.



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