Recently you may have heard about the Glycemic Index and wondered what is it and is it something you should care about it. Many food brands now advertised themselves as ‘low GI‘ and tell you that it provides energy that can last for very long time. Now you can find GI diet, GI recipe books, GI magazines and many more. So Now question is What is Glycemic Index and why people consider low GI as good indicator that food is healthy.
What is Glycemic Index?
The Glycemic Index is a rating system from 0 to 100 that ranks how quickly the body converts carbohydrates into glucose. Only those food which have Carbohydrate can have a GI Ratings. So a Food with GI greater than 70 will be digested quickly and hence body will absorb it faster, causing the very fast increase in body blood sugar level which is usually followed by again a very fast drop in blood sugar levels. On Other hand A Low GI foods, which has Glycemic Index is less than 55, is digested and absorbed by your body very slowly and hence your blood sugar rise slowly and maintain at that lower for long time. This means you will be full of energy for a long time.
What is GI?
GI or glycemic index is a rating system from 0 to 100, based on the effect that a food has on blood sugar levels when it is eaten. Only foods containing carbohydrates can have a GI rating, as carbohydrates are broken during digestion to their simplest form, sugars. High GI foods with ratings of 70 or more are those which are digested and absorbed quickly, causing a rapid increase in blood sugar, usually followed by a substantial drop in levels. Low GI foods, with a rating less than 55 on the other hand, are absorbed and digested more slowly and therefore cause a more gradual rise in blood sugar levels that is maintained over a longer time frame.hydrates into glucose.
Should I Care About GI?
Yes you should care about GI. It is a very important factor which can affect your blood sugar level. A high GI food will energy faster and quickly increases the blood sugar level. Soon it will be followed by a sudden drop in blood sugar level, which will make you hungry again and you will soon carve to eat again. Whereas a low GI food will keep you energized for a longer period of time because blood sugar is maintained at a constant for a longer time.
The GI of the food you eat is important for everyone. Quick rises in blood glucose levels, such as those produced by high GI foods, can cause us to feel hungry again soon after eating. This is due to the rapid drop of the blood sugar after the initial peak. Low GI foods however, can keep you full for longer, as your blood sugar is maintained at a constant level over an extended period of time, So you get constant energy.
Sportsperson should also consider the Glycemic Index of food they are eating. In Training period or at competition They should eat low GI food or High GI food which can help in keeping their blood sugar level at a healthy constant level. They may need to eat a High GI food just before competing or in between the competition, so that they can quickly replenish their blood sugar level.
Why low GI Diet is Good For You?
Its been scientifically proven that low GI diet provides many benefit your heath. It helps you in controlling your weight, as it makes you less angry and control your food appetite since it maintain your blood sugar level at a constant level. So you eat less, means you will not gain weight and also due to less appetite you will stop carving for sugar foods.
A low Glycemic Index diet helps in reducing the Insulin resistance. When you take high GI diet, your blood sugar level increase above normal level very fast. So body produces insulin to reduce the blood glucose level and finally your insulin resistance increases. That means that your blood sugar level will always be high, which is not healthy at all and it can damage your vital organs and blood vessels and in turn you will get Type 2 Diabetes. So to stay healthy, We recommend you stick to low GI diet.
Which Food have low Glycemic Index
So now you know that low GI food is good for health and now you want to know what food with low Glycemic Index I should eat. Well it is very easy to find the food with low GI or High GI but we normally eat mixtures of foods and hence its sometimes very difficult to determine in that case. Please note that the food which have a very high fat will mostly have a low GI index since fat helps in increasing the digestion time. Food such as Chocolate or Ice-cream also have a low GI but they are not considered as a healthy food. So you should learn to read the nutrition label of your food.
For best effect to your body, you should always go for Healthy Food with low GI, which will help in keeping your blood sugar at constant level and your will feel less hungry and more energized for longer period of time. It also helps you in losing weight.
We hope that this article helped you in understanding Glycemic Index and why you shoudl care about it. Please do visit our website for more nutrition related facts.