The Glycemic Index Diet

The glycemic index (GI) is a system of numerically ranking the carbohydrate containing food based of their rate of digestion and absorption, and their resultant effect on blood glucose levels. Though the GI system was originally developed to provide dietary assistance to people with diabetes, its knowledge has proved to be useful in many other ways.

It is a well-known fact that both, insulin secretion and its resistance, have an impact on body weight regulation. Keeping this fact in mind, one can conclude that glycemic index has a further and optimistic role to play in the success of hypo caloric diets, designed for weight loss and weight maintenance.

The supporting idea behind the low GI diet is that with a low carbohydrate intake the blood insulin levels also tends to remains low. Thus promoting satiety and increased used of body fat as fuel, resulting in weight loss. To achieve this, a selective intake of carbohydrates is recommended rather than total elimination. While on a GI based diet, one is motivated to include carbs that take longer to digest and so  serve as a steady energy source. This kind of diet goes beyond calories and challenges the way we look at food. It focuses on the way our food gets digested and metabolised thereby having a positive impact on our body weight and our relationship with food.

By using a glycemic index list, we can easily manage the calorie intake either by selecting a low GI food or by balancing the total GI value of the meal by combining the high GI foods with the ones that have a lower GI count.

The carbohydrate containing foods are compared with glucose as the reference, which has the GI value of 100. 

The glycaemic index of foods are categorised as:

Low GI – 1 to 55

Medium GI – 56 to 69

High GI – 70 and above

There are several factors that may affect the GI of foods, such as :

Physical form: fruits and vegetables have a higher GI value as compared to their juices.

Fiber content:  with increase in the fiber content, the total GI value also increases.

Preparation method: use of fatty or sugary ingredients increases the GI value. On the other hand, for some foods like pasta, the GI value increases as the cooking time is prolonged.

Ripeness: raw fruits and vegetables have a higher GI value, but it gradually decreases as the food ripens.

Other ingredients: use of high GI ingredients increases the overall GI value of the meal, it is therefore recommended to balance the intake of a high GI food with the one that has a lower GI score.

Since various factors have an impact on the GI value of foods, it is important to make use of the knowledge provided by the glycemic index list to make necessary adaptations and derive maximum benefits from ones food choices.