What is GI
GI is the abbreviation for Glycemic Index. GI shows what food can elevate glucose levels in our blood.
Our body’s natural response to food consumption is to produce glucose in our blood. This is another way to say that our bodies raise our blood sugar levels after eating.
According to the effect of food on blood glucose and the food glucose production index (GI), the food can be divided into three grades:
- Low GI food: GI less than 55.
- Medium GI food: GI between 55 and 70.
- High GI food: GI greater than 70.
Diabetics generally eat food in the low GI category that is below 40 GI, and these are generally better foods for you. This is because high GI food raises blood sugar for a short period of time, and will cause the body to produce or need insulin. If your body, successfully produces insulin it will turn the calories you ate into fat. A large amount of insulin can cause blood sugar to drop rapidly, which will make you more hungry and cause you to eat more.
However, low GI food causes slow digestion and absorption of food in the body. And it will keep the blood sugar level relatively stable. Low GI food also causes a longer sense of satisfaction after eating foods and keeps cells from storing fat. The result of eating lower GI food is less overeating and less weight gain.
Who can’t eat too much GI food
A low GI diet is a great idea for everyone, but it is especially helpful for those who: want to lose or maintain weight, are looking to control their weight, have diabetes, and want to improve their skin through their diet.
Factors that affect the GI value of food
There are some factors that affect the GI value of food. For example the fiber content in the food, the physical form of the food (is it solid, liquid, etc.), and the way in which the food is processed (raw, cooked, etc.)
In addition to these factors, GI value differs from person to person because no two bodies are exactly the same. It is important to keep track of how GI levels affect you as you partake in a low GI diet.
GI is not an all-inclusive guide to losing weight. While GI reflects the quality of food and carbohydrates you are taking in, it does not reflect the number of carbohydrates you are consuming. Without this information on food volume, water content, and several other factors GI isn’t very helpful when it comes to dieting. To really take advantage of the information GI can provide you with, it’s important to combine GI with GL.
What is GL
GL is the abbreviation for Glycemic Load, and it is the measure of the quality (the GI value) and quantity (grams per serving) of carbohydrates in food. Basically, GI indicates the rate at which certain carbohydrates in food turn to blood sugar, but doesn’t take into account the effect this intake has on blood sugar. GL covers more of this and takes into account the effects of the sugar index and carbohydrate intake has on blood glucose. GL can actually be broken down into a formula.
The formula is GL= GI* carbohydrates in food/Total amount of food.
With this formula, we can divide GL into three categories. High GL is a GL that is measured at 20 or higher and indicates a large impact on blood glucose. Medium GL falls between the 11 and 19 measurements and indicates a little effect on blood glucose; likewise, low GL is a diet below 10 and indicates a small effect on blood glucose.
What are we supposed to do?
So how can you use this information in a practical way? To begin a low GI and GL diet you should do the following:
Control Calorie Intake
Avoid high-calorie foods because the number of foods that are low calorie and low GL is few. High-Calorie foods can create a large amount of cellulose which will not only affect the GI value but will also expand the intestinal tract. In addition, it will accelerate food emptying, and reduce the time for food to absorb calories in the intestinal tract. This means the food you eat will leave you less satisfied and make you want to eat more.
Always Eat Breakfast
After we sleep all night, our bodies have consumed most of the nutrients we took yesterday. We need to eat a good breakfast to provide our bodies with new nutrients and fuel. Eating breakfast also jump-starts your metabolism and burns fat. It also can reduce your desire to eat unhealthy snacks later in the day.
Pay Attention to Protein
Our bodies need protein to build up our cells and maintain good health. This is especially true for our muscles. High protein diets cause accelerated muscle recovery after exercise, reduce muscle loss, and increase muscle growth. Protein takes longer to digest than carbohydrates and can keep you from overeating because it causes a longer feeling of satisfaction in your stomach.
Eat-In this Order: Vegetables, Soup, Protein, Rice
Losing weight comes down to one very important principle: the lower the calorie density, the less often that food should be eaten first. Foods like vegetables are low in calorie density and high in fiber. Vegetables also provide important vitamins and minerals and contain “phytins,” which help prevent sickness. The best way to cook vegetables is to steam or cook them. You should avoid frying vegetables, but if you are going to fry use less oil to do so.
Follow up your vegetables with soup. Soup will help give you a fuller feeling after eating vegetables. However, you do not have a lot of thick or creamy soup. Clear broths are the best choice to maintain health.
After you have consumed these two things you can move onto proteins. You need some high protein food to meet your daily needs, but these foods should not be fried because this will increase the number of calories you consume. High proteins are best steamed or stewed.
Finally, finish off your meal with some rice. This is a habit in many Asian households, but eating rice at the end of a meal is less common in other cultures. Rice can raise blood sugar and the GI level of rice is relatively high. Eating rice at the end of your meal can delay your rise in blood sugar, and will keep you from being hungry all the time. You also need a certain amount of starch in your diet, and rice is a great way to provide that. You can even get lower-calorie rice-like grain rice and brown rice.
Something to say….
Watching your GI food intake is a great way to lose and maintain weight, have a satisfying diabetic diet, and improve your complexion. It is especially helpful to combine GI with GL to have a clearer and more comprehensive view of your diet. Now that you know what those two things are, it’s time for you to implement that knowledge into your diet to create a healthier, happier you.
