If you frequently enjoy processed foods, white rice, doughnuts and a daily candy bar, you might be eating a high-glycemic diet. The glycemic index scale, or GI scale, ranks foods by the way their carbohydrate content reacts in your digestive system and the effect the food has on your blood sugar level, according to the "Gale Encyclopedia of Diets: A Guide to Health and Nutrition."
The Glycemic Index
Foods low on the GI scale---those with a rank of 55 or less---have the least impact on your blood sugar. Mid-range GI foods receive a ranking between 55 and 70. If you're consistently eating foods with a GI ranking over 70, you're eating foods high on the glycemic index.
Function
Foods high in carbohydrates often rank high on the glycemic index, according to WHFoods.com. High-glycemic foods break down quickly in your digestive system, flooding your bloodstream with glucose and resulting in a blood sugar surge. Alternately, low-GI foods digest slowly, releasing only gradual amounts of glucose into your blood.
Health Risks
Eating a diet of high-glycemic foods may increase your risk of developing some diseases. A 2004 study, conducted at the Department of Medicine at Children's Hospital in Boston, compared rats fed a low-GI diet with rats fed a high-GI diet for 18 weeks. It found that the rats that ate a high-GI diet became obese while the other rats did not. Controlled testing on humans is necessary.
Consistently high blood sugar levels may also put you at risk for developing heart disease, diabetes, kidney disorders and vision problems, according to WHFoods. Additional risks include an increased appetite and insulin resistant disorder.
Fiber/Meat
Foods that are high in fiber may rank lower on the glycemic index because fiber slows digestion. Although fiber is a carbohydrate, it is nondigestible, so it doesn't promote surges in blood sugar. Meat, poultry, eggs and seafood do not appear on the GI scale because they contain no carbohydrates. High-protein/low-carb diets like the Atkins Diet are low-glycemic diets because dieters eat liberal amounts of meat and restrict carb intake.
High GI Foods
Foods high on the glycemic index include rice, bread except multi-grain bread, couscous, potatoes, yams, corn and cornmeal products, millet, barley, buckwheat, oatmeal and processed foods made from these ingredients, according to WHFoods.
References
- "The Gale Encyclopedia of Diets: A Guide to Health and Nutrition"; Jacqueline L. Longe; 2008
- World's Healthiest Foods: What is the Glycemic Index?
- PubMed: Effects of Dietary Glycaemic Index on Adiposity, Glucose, Homeostasis, and Plasma Lipids in Animals
