Great way to lose weight, control heart problems and diabetes.
Plan healthier meals utilizing the Glycemic Index
The Glycemic Index (GI) is a unique system that gives values to carbohydrates such as breads, fruits and vegetables so that you can understand how rapidly a carbohydrate turns into glucose. Learning about the foods that contribute to excessive sugar circulation in your blood stream will assist in better understanding the foods that can benefit or work against the body.
Blood sugar must be maintained at a certain level, the brain signals the pancreas to release insulin, in order to breakdown food and bring the blood levels down to normal range by then converting excess sugar to fat.
Carbohydrates that break down quickly during digestion are given higher glycemic values (indices), while others that breakdown slowly receive lower glycemic values (indices). Once understood and put into practice, you may choose to not go back to eating the same way as before, but instead, properly monitor the nutrition intake in order to prolong the onset of diabetes.
Foods that break down rapidly:
Remove white breads, sugars.
Reduce or remove starchy vegetables: potatoes, corn, peas, various beans, winter squash, plantains, and yucca.
Reduce or remove certain fruits: Oranges, Pineapples, Bananas and other citrus foods, Apples, Pears, Peaches, Grapes, Strawberries, Blueberries, Cherries
Avoid eating foods with the following added ingredients: Fructose, Maltose, Sucrose, Corn Syrup and Gluten. It is highly advised that ALL food ingredients are reviewed before purchasing, including nuts and seeds.
Foods that break down slowly:
Whole grains and varied vegetables.
Add in fruits that are sour to taste: Apricots, Plums, Kiwi, Raspberries, juice of fresh Lemon or Limes sprayed onto meats, fish, poultry.
Add to juice of lemon to drinking water.
Add Cardio Exercise to your daily routine; heart rate should increase by 80% over normal resting heart rate and maintained for 30 minutes.
What is the glycemic load (GL)?
- The Glycemic Load (GL) is then defined by the total amount of carbohydrate contained in a specified serving of a particular food.
- GL = GI x grams of carbohydrate per serving/100
| Glycemic Index (GI) Range | Glycemic Load (GL) Range | Glycemic Load per Day |
| Low GI = 55 or less | Low GL = 10 or less | Low GL < 80 |
| Medium GI = 56-69 | Medium GL = 11-19 | High GL > 120 |
| High GI = 70 or more | High GL = 20 or more |
It would be ideal to stay on a low glycemic diet which reflects eating food with a value given under 55. With a total low glycemic load of an optimal value of 80-120 per day.
CALCULATING A GLYCEMIC LOAD
Glycemic Load = Glycemic Index x Available Carbs (grams)/100
Example
Glycemic Index (GI) of 1 cup of banana is 51.4 (or 52)
Carbohydrate content of banana 45.5 ( 51.4 GI – 5.9 fiber = 45.5 carbs)
Glycemic Load = 52 GI x 45.5 Carbs/100 = 24 GL
Glycemic Food Index and Load provides a thorough list of foods with the Glycemic Load number to assist in making a more clear choice for your meals.
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Foods that lead to a higher Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load Value
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| Food |
Glycemic Index
(Glucose=100) |
Serving size
|
Carbohydrate per serving (g)
|
Glycemic Load per serving
|
| Dates, dried |
103
|
2 oz
|
40
|
42
|
| Cornflakes |
81
|
1 cup
|
26
|
21
|
| Jelly beans |
78
|
1 oz
|
28
|
22
|
| Puffed rice cakes |
78
|
3 cakes
|
21
|
17
|
| Russet potato (baked) |
76
|
1 medium
|
30
|
23
|
| Doughnut |
76
|
1 medium
|
23
|
17
|
| Soda crackers |
74
|
4 crackers
|
17
|
12
|
| White bread |
73
|
1 large slice
|
14
|
10
|
| Table sugar (sucrose) |
68
|
2 tsp
|
10
|
7
|
| Pancake |
67
|
6″ diameter
|
58
|
39
|
| White rice (boiled) |
64
|
1 cup
|
36
|
23
|
| Brown rice (boiled) |
55
|
1 cup
|
33
|
18
|
| Pasta, semola/white; boiled 10-15 min |
44
|
1 cup
|
40
|
18
|
| Pasta, semola/white; boiled 5 min |
38
|
1 cup
|
40
|
15
|
| Pasta, whole wheat; boiled |
37
|
1 cup
|
37
|
14
|
| Rye, pumpernickel bread |
41
|
1 large slice
|
12
|
5
|
| Oranges, raw |
42
|
1 medium
|
11
|
5
|
| Pears, raw |
38
|
1 medium
|
11
|
4
|
| Apples, raw |
38
|
1 medium
|
15
|
6
|
| All-Bran™ cereal |
38
|
1 cup
|
23
|
9
|
| Skim milk |
32
|
8 fl oz
|
13
|
4
|
| Lentils, dried; boiled |
29
|
1 cup
|
18
|
5
|
| Kidney beans, dried; boiled |
28
|
1 cup
|
25
|
7
|
| Pearled barley; boiled |
25
|
1 cup
|
42
|
11
|
| Cashew nuts |
22
|
1 oz
|
9
|
2
|
| Peanuts |
14
|
1 oz
|
6
|
1
|
It is important to follow the glycemic load if you have been identified with insulin resistance, pre-diabetes, diabetes or need to lose weight.
REFERENCES
GI and GL Range Values. Chart provided by: University of Michigan
Glycemic Index Chart provided by the University of Sydney, Australia
http://www.med.umich.edu/umim/clinical/pyramid/grains.htm
http://www.glycemicindex.com/
http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/foods/grains/gigl.html
http://www.nutritiondata.com/topics/glycemic-index
http://www.sharecare.com/question/is-insulin-resistance-diabetes
Eat Know How 