The Glycemic Diet Index Reveals Some Shocking Surprizes
Why is it do you think that the glycemic index diet has become so popular? Before I answer that I just want to quickly recap, for those that are not familiar with the Glycemic Index, to explain what the index is and how to interpret it.
The glycemic index categories foods into 3 groups that is valued between 0 and 100. These are low, moderate and high GI foods. For low GI foods, a value of 55 or less is given. For moderate GI foods the value is 56 to 69 and for high GI food, it is 70 or more.
These values represents a measure of the effect of carbohydrates on blood sugar levels. Carbohydrates that break down quickly during digestion and release glucose rapidly into the bloodstream have a high GI value; carbohydrates that break down more slowly, releasing glucose more gradually into the bloodstream, have a low GI. It's a concept that was developed by Dr. David Jenkins and colleagues in 1980-1981 at the University of Toronto in their research to find out which foods were best for people with diabetes.
With this in mind it becomes very easy to assess the types of food you eat in relation to its likely response on your blood sugar levels. This is important since science has proved that when blood sugar spikes quickly as a result of eating high GI foods, high levels of hormone insulin is produced to bring your blood sugar back down to normal levels.
Insulin however does 2 things: Firstly, it causes your body to store more fat as it attempts to remove the excess glucose produced from high GI food; and secondly it causes your blood sugar to nose dive (sugar crash) which creates a craving for more high GI foods especially sugary foods. You can then find yourself trapped in a vicious weight gain cycle, which is difficult to break out of even with most of the diets on the market today. You can check out my video for more information on this.
Once you begin to study the glycemic index as an effective means of dieting, you'll notice some surprising findings. I'm guessing that you'll have at least one food in your diet that you consider healthy, but that in reality is causing a surge in unwanted insulin. For example, do you eat rice cakes? They were all the rage about a decade ago because they were sweet yet low in fat. Seemingly innocent rice cakes are actually one of the worst offenders of raising blood glucose and insulin levels with a GI value of 71 out of 100!
How about a bowl of Cornflakes? Shockingly, they have a GI value of 83; Rice Krispies 82 and Golden Grahams 71!
So seemingly many foods that we assume are good for us, usually because these products are marketed to us as being a healthy choice, are in fact a poor dieter's choice.
The popularity of the Glycemic index diet is probably therefore down to its simplicity in allow us to quickly ascertain from the GI value of a food whether it is a good food choice and how often, if at all, we can or should be eating certain foods.
As a general rule you can eat as much and as often as you like, foods that are low GI, and foods that have a moderate GI should be eaten in moderation. High GI foods should be avoided if possible but the extent to which you avoid them entirely depends on a number of factors such as your current state of health and the need to moderate insulin levels, how physically active you are, since people engaged in sport will need to consume high GI products for immediate energy, and so.
As you can see the glycemic index can be a great tool for making wiser choices on what you eat day-to-day and its success can be measured by the tens of thousands of people around the world that are enjoying a much healthier lifestyle and seeing stubborn unwanted weight finally melt away.
The glycemic index categories foods into 3 groups that is valued between 0 and 100. These are low, moderate and high GI foods. For low GI foods, a value of 55 or less is given. For moderate GI foods the value is 56 to 69 and for high GI food, it is 70 or more.
These values represents a measure of the effect of carbohydrates on blood sugar levels. Carbohydrates that break down quickly during digestion and release glucose rapidly into the bloodstream have a high GI value; carbohydrates that break down more slowly, releasing glucose more gradually into the bloodstream, have a low GI. It's a concept that was developed by Dr. David Jenkins and colleagues in 1980-1981 at the University of Toronto in their research to find out which foods were best for people with diabetes.
With this in mind it becomes very easy to assess the types of food you eat in relation to its likely response on your blood sugar levels. This is important since science has proved that when blood sugar spikes quickly as a result of eating high GI foods, high levels of hormone insulin is produced to bring your blood sugar back down to normal levels.
Insulin however does 2 things: Firstly, it causes your body to store more fat as it attempts to remove the excess glucose produced from high GI food; and secondly it causes your blood sugar to nose dive (sugar crash) which creates a craving for more high GI foods especially sugary foods. You can then find yourself trapped in a vicious weight gain cycle, which is difficult to break out of even with most of the diets on the market today. You can check out my video for more information on this.
Once you begin to study the glycemic index as an effective means of dieting, you'll notice some surprising findings. I'm guessing that you'll have at least one food in your diet that you consider healthy, but that in reality is causing a surge in unwanted insulin. For example, do you eat rice cakes? They were all the rage about a decade ago because they were sweet yet low in fat. Seemingly innocent rice cakes are actually one of the worst offenders of raising blood glucose and insulin levels with a GI value of 71 out of 100!
How about a bowl of Cornflakes? Shockingly, they have a GI value of 83; Rice Krispies 82 and Golden Grahams 71!
So seemingly many foods that we assume are good for us, usually because these products are marketed to us as being a healthy choice, are in fact a poor dieter's choice.
The popularity of the Glycemic index diet is probably therefore down to its simplicity in allow us to quickly ascertain from the GI value of a food whether it is a good food choice and how often, if at all, we can or should be eating certain foods.
As a general rule you can eat as much and as often as you like, foods that are low GI, and foods that have a moderate GI should be eaten in moderation. High GI foods should be avoided if possible but the extent to which you avoid them entirely depends on a number of factors such as your current state of health and the need to moderate insulin levels, how physically active you are, since people engaged in sport will need to consume high GI products for immediate energy, and so.
As you can see the glycemic index can be a great tool for making wiser choices on what you eat day-to-day and its success can be measured by the tens of thousands of people around the world that are enjoying a much healthier lifestyle and seeing stubborn unwanted weight finally melt away.
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