Glycemic Index
The glycemic index (GI) measures how quick various foods increase your blood sugar. On the glycemic index scale, food ranks between 0 and 100. Pure sugar or glucose has an index of 100. Food with a glycemic index of 29 boosts blood sugar only 29% as much as pure glucose. On the other hand, food with a glycemic index of 95 acts like pure glucose. In other words, the lower a foods’ GI, the slower your blood sugar could spike after eating that food.
The lower a food’s GI, the slower blood sugar rises after eating that food. Usually, foods that are higher in carbs have a higher GI. Foods high in fiber or fat have a lower GI.
GI will tell you how high your blood sugar could rise with eating a certain food. It does not, however, tell you how high your blood sugar will rise after eating a certain food. This is where the glycemic load comes into play.
Glycemic Index ranges:
- Low glycemic index (GI of 55 or less): Most fruits and vegetables, beans, minimally processed grains, pasta, low-fat dairy foods, and nuts.
- Moderate glycemic index (GI 56 to 69): White and sweet potatoes, white rice, couscous,
- High glycemic index (GI of 70 or higher): White bread, most crackers, bagels, cakes, doughnuts, croissants, most packaged breakfast cereals.
Glycemic Load
Now, to make this article more interesting, let’s throw in glycemic load (GL).
Eating healthier carbs can help you control your blood sugar along with a host of chronic conditions that come with having uncontrolled blood sugar.
GL gives you a more accurate picture of how food impacts your blood sugar levels. As you read earlier and warrant repeating, GI tells you how high your blood sugar could rise, and GL tells you how high your blood sugar will indeed rise after eating a certain food.
The glycemic load is based on the glycemic index, but use standard portion size rather than 100 grams of carbohydrate. Use this formula to calculate the glycemic load of your food:
GL = (GI x the amount of carbohydrate) divided by 100. See example below:
Therefore, if an 8-ounce glass of skim milk, which contains 12 grams of carbohydrate, has a glycemic index of 46, the glycemic load is: 5.52 and is low.
GL = 46 x 12 ÷ 100 = 5.52
The ranking for glycemic load is as follows:
- Low = 10 or less
- Medium = 11-19
- High = 20 or more
Most fruits, for instance, have a high GI, but low GL.
To get a clear picture of the effect of food on your blood sugar, download the comprehensive International Tables of Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load Values. On that chart you will find the GI and GL of thousands of foods to assist you in controlling your blood sugar and master your A1C.
Remember, the lower the glycemic load for food, the lower the rise in blood glucose after it is eaten.
Forgive me for not getting to sugar alcohols this week. I did not finish the research. Look for that topic next week. Let me know how you feel about this newsletter.
HWB
