The sugars in the foods you eat enter your bloodstream at different rates, depending on the composition of the food and the type of sugar it contains. The glycemic index is a numeric scale to measure how quickly a specific carbohydrate-containing food gets into your blood and how high it raises your blood sugar level. Wheat crackers are rich in carbohydrates, and their glycemic index may influence whether or not you include them in your diet.
Glycemic Index
The glycemic index works by comparing a specific food to glucose in the effect it has on your blood sugar. The higher a food's glycemic index, the more rapidly it elevates the level of sugar in your blood. A score of 70 or higher indicates a food with a high glycemic index, compared to glucose's score of 100, while those scoring lower than 55 are low-glycemic index foods. However, the glycemic index alone does not necessarily illustrate the effect a food has on your blood sugar. Glycemic load, which accounts for the amount of available carbohydrate in addition to a food's glycemic index, is a more accurate assessment of how quickly a carbohydrate-containing food spikes your blood sugar level. For glycemic load, a score of 10 or less is low while 20 or more is high. Wheat crackers contain glucose-rich starch and have a low to medium glycemic index and glycemic load.
Wheat Crackers
The nutritional value of wheat crackers depends to some extent on the qualities of the wheat flour used to manufacture them. Refined grains, including wheat, have the germ and bran portions of the seed removed, and the bulk of a grain's nutrients resides in these parts of the seed. By contrast, whole grains consist of the intact seed. Although the majority of a grain's nutrients stems from carbohydrates, whether wheat crackers consist of refined grains or whole grains affects the glycemic index and load. The Glycemic Index Foundation of the University of Sydney reports that wheat crackers have a glycemic index of 67 and a glycemic load of 9, while whole-wheat crackers have a glycemic index of 36 and a glycemic load of 11. However, the whole-wheat crackers tested also contained pumpkin, which may have affected the results.
Significance
The glycemic index and glycemic load of the foods in your diet may play a role in your health. Frequent consumption of foods that spike your blood sugar may raise your chances of developing diabetes, cardiovascular disease or obesity. Furthermore, including low-glycemic index foods as a consistent part of your nutrition plan may help guard against macular degeneration, colon cancer and infertility. Whole-wheat crackers may be a moderately healthy choice when choosing snack foods.
Considerations
Whole-grain foods, such as whole-wheat crackers, tend to be higher in fiber than highly processed grains, and the more fiber in a food, the lower its glycemic index tends to be, according to the Harvard School of Public Health. Additionally, the fat in wheat crackers may help slow the rate at which its sugars are absorbed into your bloodstream.
