Although many use the glycemic index as a diabetes management tool, the information it provides can benefit most anyone. One way to use information from the glycemic index, says the Mayo Clinic, is to assist you in developing healthier eating habits. Once you understand how the glycemic index works, you can use it as another tool to help you make better food choices. As an example, consider glycemic index and other nutrition information relating to a whole grain called amaranth.
Identification
Amaranth is a seed plant introduced to U. S. farmers in the 1970s. Although some countries use amaranth as a landscaping plant, an edible herb or as forage for hogs, the Thomas Jefferson Agriculture Institute states that U.S. growers plant amaranth for its food value. After harvest and processing, the most common use for amaranth is as a commercial flour additive, says the TJAI. You can also find amaranth seeds in natural food stores, according to Michael T. Murray, Joseph Pizzorno and Lara Pizzorno, authors of "The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods." A common use for amaranth seeds, says Murray, Pizzorno and Pizzorno, is as a flavor enhancer in whole grain and stir-fry dishes or as a thickening agent in soups or stews.
Nutrition
Amaranth is an easily digestible source of high quality protein as well as a good source of fiber, unsaturated fat and a number of vitamins and minerals. Included in this list, say Murray, et al., are the vitamins C, B2 and folic acid as well as the minerals calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, potassium and zinc.
Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load
With a glycemic index of 97 and a glycemic load of 21, amaranth is a high glycemic food. The glycemic index uses a scale that starts at zero and goes to 100 to rate the effect a carbohydrate has on blood sugar. The lower a food rates, the lower its effect. Foods that rank from 70 to 100, notes the Mayo Clinic, are high glycemic foods. The glycemic load considers both the glycemic index and the amount of carbohydrate per serving to give a more accurate account of the effect a food will have. Foods that rate 20 and above have a high glycemic load.
Significance
Because amaranth digests easily, it reaches your bloodstream quickly, causing blood sugar levels to spike. In response, either your body produces insulin, or you inject it to facilitate glucose absorption into body cells and tissues. As the Mayo Clinic notes, a sharp rise in blood sugar, followed by an equally sharp fall causes wide fluctuations in blood sugar levels. If you already are diabetic, this can make managing blood sugar levels more difficult and if you do not already have diabetes, this can lead to the onset of diabetes type 2.
Considerations
You can modify the high glycemic effect of amaranth and still reap its nutritional benefits by using flour that includes amaranth as an additive. According to Murray, Pizzorno , et al., a flour mixture of 25 percent amaranth and 75 percent whole wheat has a glycemic index of 66.7 and a flour mixture of 50 percent amaranth and 50 percent has a glycemic index of 75.5. The glycemic load of each combination decreases as well. The 25:75 combination has a glycemic load of 9.8 and the 50:50 combination has a glycemic load of 11.3.
References
- Mayo Clinic: Glycemic Index Diet: Losing Weight with Blood Sugar Control
- Thomas Jefferson Agriculture Institute: Grain Amaranth -- A Lost Crop of the Americas
- "The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods"; Michael T. Murray, Joseph Pizzorno, Lara Pizzorno; 2005
- The Healing Gourmet: Healing Food
- University of Wisconsin Center for Integrative Medicine: Glycemic Index
- Mendosa: Glycemic Index
