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What is the Glycemic Index?

Glycemic IndexThe Glycemic Index or GI is the measure of carbohydrate quality and the effect this has on your blood sugar levels. A ranking system best describes how much carbohydrates (sugars and starches) that are in individual foods that affect the blood glucose levels. Foods that contain carbohydrates and break down quickly during digestion, for example white bread, have the highest GI values, meaning that the blood glucose response is fast and high, where the foods that contain carbohydrates that breaks down slowly and releases glucose gradually into the bloodstream include legumes, barley and pasta, and these have low GI values. The low GI foods allow you to feel full for longer and helps you to achieve and maintain a healthy weight and it will also provide you with more energy throughout the day.

GI is a tool that helps you choose the right type of carbohydrates; a low GI food contains carbohydrates that have less effect on your blood glucose levels and the ideal low GI is 55 or less; a high GI food contains carbohydrates that have the greatest effect on your blood glucose levels and a high GI is 70 or more; a very important point to remember is that the GI compares foods not per 100 grams of food but per gram of carbohydrate.

The way blood glucose and GI work together is the amount of glucose or sugar in your blood and this will change throughout the day depending on what your meals include and with this in mind, it can have an intense effect on your health, how hungry you are, and your mood. The carbohydrate content determines the way your body responds to meals that you eat, both the quantity and quality of carbohydrates in the food influences the rise in your blood glucose.

Following are a few examples of foods that are low in GI:

  • Pasta
  • Sweet potatoes and yams
  • Barley
  • Breakfast cereals that include oats and bran
  • Nearly all fruits are acceptable, two that are higher in GI are pineapple and watermelon
  • Green leafy vegetables
  • Beans, lentils, peas etc

Key points to remember when maintaining a low GI diet is to avoid certain foods like sugar, white bread products, most cold cereals, baked potatoes and a few other foods that effect your blood glucose levels to rise too fast and too high.

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