This glycemic index system of measuring the effect the carbohydrate content of certain foods has on blood sugar levels was developed in the 80s by Dr. David J. Jenkins, a nutrition professor at the University of Toronto. The system was developed to help diabetics manage their diets and their weight.
I know what your thinking: But I’m not diabetic! Unless of course, you are. In either case, what I have to say is worth a listen.
Whether you are a diabetic or not, the low glycemic diet is great for shedding those extra pounds and controlling blood sugar levels.
The Glycemic Index (GI), is nothing more than a way of measuring the effect the carbohydrate content of certain foods affect your body. Specifically, it determines how these impact your blood sugar levels, which in turn affects how much energy you have, your mood, and yes, your weight.
This is good news. This is very good news, because it means if you are on one of those skimpy, carb restrictive diets, the range of things you can eat, just got a whole lot bigger.
The advantage of the GI Diet is that it involves a very simple eating plan composed largely of lean meat, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. The things your parents said were good for you, they were right!
Glycemic Load and How it Differs from Glycemic Index
Knowledge is key when choosing a diet plan, so the “fad diet effect” can be avoided. Some people have problems understanding the glycemic index for a few reasons.Firstly - It's not perfect.
Keep in mind that the index is calculated on approximately 50 grams of food. Certain foods people will eat much less. For this reason, it is an indicator and not an absolute, when choosing foods. Secondly it may underestimate the effect certain high carbohydrates have on blood sugar levels while giving undue credit to low carbohydrates.
The difference
The glycemic index measures how fast foods are digested by our system and how fast they are converted into glucose or simple sugar. The glycemic load is the measurement of how much carbohydrate there is per serving size of food. Because both the amount and the type of carbohydrate are needed to predict blood glucose responses to a meal.
The glycemic load needs the help of the glycemic index in order to make an accurate calculation. The glycemic load, therefore cannot function without the measurement supplied by the glycemic index. Although differing in function, they work together in helping to provide a formula to measure healthy portions of food per serving and by giving us an accurate idea of how to identify bad carbs from the good ones.
In other words, the glycemic index in itself provides us great information, but in practicality, it really does not do much for us in terms of determining the quantity of food to eat. The glycemic load accounts for the number of grams of carbohydrate per serving, combined together with the glycemic index, gives us a real life tool to make healthier choices for food intake.
Here is a good book I found: The Low Glycemic Diet. It will answer all your questions and more....
Will a low Glycemic diet?
* Reduce the risk of getting heart disease
* Increase energy and metabolism
* Create delicious meals you can easily and quickly make
* Fight off the affects diabetes
* Moderate and control blood sugar & insulin levels
* Promote Weight loss
If you are looking for a very powerful diet plan, the low glycemic diet is IT!
Click here for The Low glycemic Diet on Barnes and Noble
More interesting reading from John Matonis, the author of The Low Glycemic Diet
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