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Glycemic Index Facts & FAQs |
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o Why some foods does not appear in GI list?
Following foods contain no carbohydrate, or so little
that their GI can't be tested as GI is a measure of carbohydrate quality,
not quantity:
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There is some variability in the GI for the same
foods.amylose,
amylopectin. Sometimes GI testing groups are not experienced using venous
blood which gives more variability than capillary blood. Some
manufacturers may change the formulation of their product by reducing the
fat content for example. GI values of some foods has been tested on diabetic
patients and may be higher than that seen in the normal population.
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o Should diabetics
avoid High GI vegetables?
- Definitely not, because, unlike potatoes and cereal
products, these vegetables are very low in carbohydrate. So, in spite of their
high GI, their glycemic load (GI x carb per serve divided by 100) is low.
Vegetables contain only small amounts of carbohydrate but loads of
micronutrients and should be considered as "free foods". Eat them all you
like!
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Glycemic Load builds on the GI to provide a measure of
the total glycemic response to a food or meal. Glycemic Index states quality
of a food while Glycemic Load, GL, implies quantity.
- Glycemic Load builds on the GI to provide a measure of the total glycemic response to a food or meal
- Glycemic load = GI x amount of carbohydrate (grams) divided by 100
- Example: 50 grams, one
serve, of Mexican peanut (GI = 23):
GL= (23 x 4.5 grams carb/serve*)
/ 100 = ~1
* 5o grams
of Mexican peanut contains 4.5 grams carbohydrate
- Each GL unit equals to glycemic response of 1 gram glucose
- A typical daily diet has almost 100 GL units (range 60 - 180)
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Glycemic Load Per Day |
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< 80 |
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> 120 |
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- Glycemic Index, GI, is a scale for classifying carbohydrate-rich foods.
Alcoholic beverages contain very little carbohydrate thus there is no GI
scales for Beverages. Same story applies for
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o Why the GI of potato chips or French fries is
lower than baked potatoes?
- Large amounts of fat in foods, French fries for
instance , tends to slow the rate of stomach emptying and therefore the rate
at which foods are digested leading to a falsely low GI rank. Consume
preferably foods that contain good fat, avocadoes, nuts and legumes. Leave
foods containing saturated fat for special occasions, cakes and biscuits.
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- Although in a
high carb/low fat diet, even if your goal is to reduce the overall GI.
Exchange high GI breads and potatoes for lower GI alternatives.
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- Asian foods like
Indian dahls, stir-fries with rice, sushi, noodles are all vermicelli noodles
prepared from rice or mung beans
and low GI rice such as basmati. In case of lactose intolerance live
cultured yoghurts and lactose-hydrolyzed milks are useful.
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- beans,
lentils and other legumes all among the lowest GI foods.Quorn is also a great meat
substitute with no GI as it has almost no carbohydrate (2 g/100 g). Legumes
should be a daily part of any vegetarian diet for protein. Almost all
the low GI foods are suitable as part of a vegetarian diet.
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See also: |
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Low
