Home
>
Weight Loss
>
What is the Glycemic Index?

What is the Glycemic Index?

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.

----------------------------------------------------------
Simple steps to a low GI diet.
----------------------------------------------------------

Step No 1

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.

Step No 2

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

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

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

Gary Matthews is a fitness trainer from "down under" who has been coaching clients from athletes to bodybuilders for two decades. You may contact Gary directly at gary@maximumfitness.com and visit his website at gary@maximumfitness.com

bedroom cleaning professionals Bannockburn ..

In The News:

Despite the benefits, residential power saver programs come with several potential drawbacks and concerns that have been raised by both customers and experts.

The Blackdot AI tattoo machine is quiet. It's steady. And according to early users, it hurts a lot less.

Attackers have started to exploit the very signals that users assume will keep them safe when it comes to add-ons to improve productivity or entertainment.

Located on Cerro Pachón in Chile, the world's most powerful digital camera is set to transform how we see the universe.

The innovative DQ Tower stands 28 feet tall with 420 square feet of living space, featuring floor-to-ceiling windows and premium amenities in a prefabricated design.

A new mmWave imaging system allows warehouse robots to scan and create 3D models of objects inside sealed containers, potentially revolutionizing shipping processes.

Family fraud endangers seniors when relatives exploit their trust, but removing personal data online and monitoring identity can prevent financial harm to aging parents.

A study analyzing 500,000 customer service interactions shows chatbots struggle with complex issues while human agents excel at matching customer communication styles.

Aigen's Element robot uses solar power and AI to provide farmers with a sustainable alternative to herbicides, working efficiently in cotton and soy fields.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Cybercriminals accessed Medicare data of more than 100,000 Americans by creating fraudulent accounts, prompting CMS to deactivate accounts and issue new Medicare cards.

China's battery swap technology from CATL lets electric vehicle owners exchange batteries in under two minutes, with plans to expand to 1,000 stations across 31 Chinese cities by 2025.

Analysts at Silent Push have uncovered a widespread scam that uses counterfeit retail websites to steal the credit card information of online shoppers.

Chrome users need to update their browsers immediately as Google addresses a critical vulnerability that hackers are actively exploiting. Additional security measures are recommended.

A study found teens glance at phones for dangerous two-second intervals while driving, using devices primarily for entertainment, texting and navigation despite crash risks.

Security researchers uncovered a flaw in Windows 11 that allows attackers to disable Secure Boot using Microsoft-signed tools, requiring manual updates to protect against bootkits.

Carnegie Mellon's noninvasive brain technology allows users to move robotic fingers by thinking about the motion, offering new possibilities for people with motor impairments.

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) adds an extra layer of protection to your accounts. Instead of relying only on a password, MFA requires you to verify your identity using two or more methods.

Scientists from Duke, Harvard, and the University of Otago have unveiled a game-changing tool called DunedinPACNI. It uses a single AI brain scan to reveal how fast a person is biologically aging.

A disturbing wave of fake agent phone scams is sweeping across the United States, catching people off guard and draining their savings.

Emojis aren't just playful add-ons; they're powerful tools for building stronger connections in our increasingly digital world.

Google has taken a major step toward the future of clean energy by partnering with Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), an MIT spin-out working to build one of the world’s first commercial fusion reactors.

If you create and share art online, you might have seen messages warning that Facebook's parent company, Meta, claims the right to use or even sell anything you post, whether it's pictures, poems, or artwork.

Cybercriminals hit Qantas in a major data breach that exposed information from up to six million customers.

What is the Glycemic Index?

Weight Loss