This is a time of nutrition awareness. Gone are the days when people followed diets like lost sheep. While no diet suits every person, knowledge of the body emerges with each new one that appears. The advent of low-carb diets like The South Beach Diet and The Atkins Diet, paved the way for carbohydrates to take center-stage. This breakthrough in awareness, made possible in part, by the development of the glycemic index, took the guesswork out of healthy eating.
Definition
The glycemic index, or GI index, measures and rates how quickly carbohydrates become sugar in your body. The complex carbs generally take a longer time to digest and become glucose, while simple carbs turn quickly to sugar. A value of 60 or above, considered high on the glycemic index means the food turns to sugar quickly. If a food rates 50 or below, it goes through more metabolic steps before it becomes sugar.
Significance
A surge in obesity has affected Americans in the last 20 years. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that, as of 2009, 20 to 30 percent of the population fit their definition of clinically obese. Because obesity correlates with heart disease, cancer and diabetes, the importance of maintaining a healthy body weight appears obvious. The glycemic index identifies the offending foods for you. It also makes sure you will know which low-GI foods you should eat.
Effects
Eating food with a low GI value makes you feel full quickly and for longer periods, so you eat less. Generally, these high-fiber foods have the added bonus of ensuring colon health. Lowering your intake of the high GI foods reduces the spikes of sugar in the bloodstream which then fall and leave you craving sweets. The acidity in sugar creates an inflammatory environment. Providing less sugar for your body robs cancer of the inflammatory conditions it needs to flourish. Understanding the glycemic index can help both the diabetic and the hypoglycemic gain better control over blood glucose levels.
Sample Values
Low GI foods include most vegetables, apples, oranges, plain yogurt, oatmeal, bran, beans and legumes. The mid-range ratings include light cream cheese and lo-fat milk, lo-fat yogurt with sugar, apricots, bananas, mangoes, pineapples, orange juice, whole grain breads, nuts and nut butters. The foods with the highest GI ratings include bacon, sausages, cheese, most cereals, bagels, doughnuts, white bread, fruits canned in syrup, fruit drinks, French fries, butter, hard margarine, tropical oils and vegetable shortening. For a complete listing of values, pocket-size glycemic index books come in handy.
Expert Insight
Rick Gallop, author of "The Glycemic Index Diet," takes the GI index to its simplest form. By categorizing foods by the colors of a stoplight, he uses association to replace figuring and guesswork. Gallop codes the high glycemic-value foods as "red foods." Red means "stop" so you would eat these foods on rare occasions. The yellow foods have medium glycemic values, 50-60. Since the yellow light tells you to use "caution," you can eat these foods in moderation. The green foods have low glycemic values. You get the "go" on this list and you can enjoy them frequently. By familiarizing yourself with which groups various foods fall into, you can simplify the glycemic index and customize your carbohydrate intake.
References
- "The GI Diet Clinic; Rick Gallop; 2008
- Centers for Disease Control: U.S. Obesity Trends; 2009
