Never Underestimate the Value of a Low Glycemic Diet

A Menu for Weight Loss:
Transitions and a Low Glycemic Index lifestyle

The glycemic index of food is a ranking of foods based on their immediate effect on blood glucose (blood sugar) levels. Carbohydrate foods that breakdown quickly during digestion have the highest glycemic indexes. Their blood sugar response is fast and high. Carbohydrates that breakdown slowly, releasing glucose gradually into the blood stream, have low glycemic indexes. 5

An awareness of foods' Glycemic Index can help you control your blood sugar levels, and by doing so, may help you prevent heart disease, improve cholesterol levels, prevent insulin resistance and type-2 diabetes, prevent certain cancers, and achieve or maintain a healthy weight. A substantial amount of research suggests a low GI diet provides these significant health benefits. So, it's worth taking a look at the basic principles of a low GI way of eating. 6

Carbohydrates that break down rapidly during digestion releasing glucose rapidly into the bloodstream have a high GI; carbohydrates that break down slowly, releasing glucose gradually into the bloodstream, have a low GI. For most people, foods with a low GI have significant health benefits. 1

The usefulness of glycemic load is based on the idea that a high glycemic index food consumed in small quantities would give the same effect as larger quantities of a low glycemic index food on blood sugar. For example, white rice is somewhat high GI, so eating 50g of white rice at one sitting would give a particular glucose curve in the blood, while 25g would give the same curve but half the height. 2

A lower glycemic index suggests slower rates of digestion and absorption of the sugars and starches in the foods and may also indicate greater extraction from the liver and periphery of the products of carbohydrate digestion. 3

Between the two high-carbohydrate diets, lowering the glycemic index doubled fat loss - this effect was strongest in women. Participants on the high-protein, high GI diet was equally effective for fat loss as the high carbohydrate, low GI diet, the two had diverse effects on LDL (bad) cholesterol - the high protein, high-GI group showed increased levels of LDL or 'bad' cholesterol, while there were significant reductions in those on the high carbohydrate, low-GI diet. However those on the high-protein, low GI diet did not experience the same rise in total LDL cholesterol suggesting the importance of low GI foods alongside a high meat intake. 4

The current validated methods use glucose as the reference food, giving it a glycemic index value of 100 by definition. This has the advantages that it is universal and it results in maximum GI values of approximately 100. White bread can also be used as a reference food, giving a different set of GI values (if white bread = 100, then glucose ? For people whose staple carbohydrate source is white bread, this has the advantage of conveying directly whether replacement of the dietary staple with a different food would result in faster or slower blood glucose response. The disadvantages with this system are that the reference food is not well-defined, and the GI scale is culture dependent. 7

In short, the goal should be to build a good plan including the low Glycemic Index foods. This way, hunger is minimized, and there is less tendency to "cheat" or overeat. Consequently, you can continue to lose body fat or maintain your weight - once the excess pounds have been lost. 8
Low glycemic index foods generally have less of an impact on blood glucose levels. People who eat a lot of low glycemic index foods tend to have lower total body fat levels. 9

References

1. en.wikipedia.org
2. en.wikipedia.org
3. en.wikipedia.org
4. http://www.sciencedaily.com/
5. http://www.becomehealthynow.com/
6. http://www.whfoods.com/
7. en.wikipedia.org
8. http://www.becomehealthynow.com/
9. diabetes.webmd.com

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