Determining Glycemic Index
The Glycemic Index for a specific food is determined by several factors. Foods that are high in fiber, fat, and protein are digested slowly, which gives them a low GI score. Glycemic Index is also affected by the cooking techniques. Food that is heavily processed or heavily cooked will have a higher GI score because it is already somewhat broken down.
Glycemic Diet and Diabetes
People who follow low glycemic diets and adhere to glycemic tips tend to have lower and more stable blood sugar levels. The GI diet tends to be high in fiber, which helps to slow down digestion. This helps to prevent spikes in blood sugar that can be dangerous for diabetics. In general, low GI foods help to regulate blood sugar levels because they are digested slowly.
Glycemic Index
Glycemic index, or GI, is a ranking system for carbohydrates based on their effect on blood sugar. The more quickly a carbohydrate breaks down, the higher its glycemic index. Foods are rated on a scale of 0 to 100. For weight loss, diabetes management, and for some low carb diets, it is advised to choose foods with a GI of less than 55. Foods with a GI between 56 and 69 break down at a moderate rate but if they are nutritionally valuable, you can have them in moderate amounts. Foods with a GI of greater than 70 break down very quickly and can cause health problems on the long run.
Fiber and the Glycemic Diet
Fiber plays an important role in the low Glycemic Index diet. Foods that are high in fiber are more difficult for the body to digest. This gives high fiber foods low GI scores. High fiber foods help to reduce the amount of fat absorbed by the body. In this way, high fiber foods provide calories with excellent GI scores and also reduce the rate of fat absorption.
Low Glycemic Diet and Atkins Diet
The Glycemic diet and the Atkins diet are often erroneously compared. While the Atkins diet focuses on reducing the number of carbohydrates ingested, the GI diet focuses on ingesting foods with low GIs, no matter what their carbohydrate content. GI dieters actually end up ingesting more carbohydrates, as they focus their eating on fruits, vegetables, and high fiber foods.
Different GIs?
Glycemic Index shows how fast a food influences your blood glucose levels. The faster the influence the worse for your body, so you should eat foods with lower GI.
Glycemic load is the amount of carb grams appearing in your blood after you ate a certain amount of a certain food. This is of course a better technique but also a much more complicated since you have to not only know your foods but also watch grams of them.
Hypoglycemia and Diet
Hypoglycemia is a medical condition in which people have unstable blood sugar levels that at times can become too low. People who suffer from hypoglycemia should be ready to have a high GI food fast at any time. The Glycemic index diet relies on foods that keep blood sugar levels stable but low GI foods are not helpful duirng blood glucose level falls.
Low Glycemic Impact Diet
A low glycemic diet centers around foods with low glycemic index. The Glycemic Impact Diet is based on low GI foods. The idea behind GI dieting is to choose carbohydrates that are more difficult for the body to digest. This causes an increase in metabolic rate, which increases the number of calories burned. It also makes you feel fuller, longer, making it easier to reduce calories. Lastly, a GI diet often involves foods high in fiber which helps to reduce the amount of fat absorbed by the body.