What is the glycemic index? Definition, foods, and more

The glycemic index is a scale that ranks the number of carbohydrates in foods from zero to 100, indicating how quickly a food causes a person's blood sugar to ... Glycemicindex:EverythingyouneedtoknowMedicallyreviewedbyDeborahWeatherspoon,Ph.D.,R.N.,CRNA—WrittenbyZawnVillinesonJuly4,2019WhatisGI?GIscoresLowGIfoodsHighGIfoodsSummaryTheglycemicindexisascalethatranksthenumberofcarbohydratesinfoodsfromzeroto100,indicatinghowquicklyafoodcausesaperson’sbloodsugartorise.Foodshighontheglycemicindex(GI)cancauseharmfulbloodsugarspikesinpeoplewithdiabetes.HighGIfoodsalsomakeitmorechallengingforapersontomaintainahealthyweight.ThisiswhysomepeoplewithdiabetesuseGItoplantheirmeals.Anutritious,balanceddietincludesawiderangeoffoods,soapersonisnotlimitedtoconsumingjustlowGIfoods.However,knowingwhereaspecificfoodrestsontheGIcanhelpapersonmakehealthfulchoices.Inthisarticle,learnmoreaboutGI,aswellasabouthighandlowGIfoods.WhatisGI?ShareonPinterestApersoncanrefertoafood’sGIscoretoseehowquicklyitwillraisetheirbloodsugar.TheGIprovidesinformationabouthowthebodydigestscarbohydratesusingascoringsystemofzeroto100.Puresugarhasascoreof100.Nutritionexpertsusedtoclassifycarbohydratesaseithercomplexorsimple.Forexample,tablesugarisasimplecarbohydrate,whilebeansandgrainsarecomplexcarbohydrates.Whileresearchersoncebelievedthatcomplexcarbohydrateswerelesslikelytocausebloodglucosespikes,furtherresearchfoundthattherelationshipbetweencarbohydratesandbloodglucoseismorecomplex.GIaccountsforthiscomplexitybyrankingfoodsaccordingtohowquicklytheyelevatebloodsugar.ToassessGI,researchersgavevolunteerswithoutdiabetesatestfoodthatcontained50grams(g)ofcarbohydrates.Onadifferentday,theygaveparticipantsacontrolfood,suchaswhitebreadorsugar,thathasthesameamountofcarbohydrates.Theythencomparedbloodsugarlevelsatregularintervalsforbothfoods,whichmeansGIissimplyawaytocomparetheeffectofvariousfoodsonbloodglucose.Thehigherafood’sGIis,themorerapidlyitelevatesbloodglucose.AhighGIfoodcancausebloodsugarspikes,followedbyrapiddeclinesinbloodsugar.Asbloodsugardeclines,apersonmayfeelhungry.EatingonlyhighGIfoodscancauseapersontoovereatsincetheywillquicklyfeelhungryagainaftereating.EatingadietwithalowaverageGImayreduceaperson’sriskofdevelopingdiabetesandheartdisease.Inpeoplewhoalreadyhavechronicconditions,alowGIdietmayreducetheriskofcomplicationsandpreventbloodglucosespikes.GIscoresShareonPinterestWholefruittypicallyhasalowerGIscorethanfruitjuice.TheGIscoresareasfollows:lowGIfoods:55orlessmediumGIfoods:56–69highGIfoods:70oraboveTheGlycemicIndexFoundationsuggestthataimingforanaveragedietaryGIscoreof45mayofferthemostsignificanthealthbenefits.ThisdoesnotmeanthatapersoncanonlyeatfoodswithaGIscoreof45orlower.Rather,apersonshouldbalancetheirintakeofhigherGIfoodsbyeatingfoodswithalowerGI.ItisimportanttonotethattheGIofaspecificfoodisanestimate.SeveralfactorscanaffecttheGIofagivenfood:CookingtendstoraiseGI.ThesametypeofpastawillhavealowerGIifitisaldentethanitwillifapersoncooksittothepointofsoftness.ProcessingtypicallyraisesGI.Forexample,fruitjuicetypicallyhasahigherGIthanwholefruit.RiperfoodsusuallyhaveahigherGI.TheGIofabanana,forexample,willgethigherasthebananaripens.ThefoodsapersoneatstogethercanaffectGI.FiberlowersthetotalGIofameal.LowGIfoodsSomeexamplesoflowGIfoodsinclude:non-starchyvegetables,suchassweetpotatoesandcarrotsbarleywholegrainpastabulgarwholegrains,suchaswholewheatbread,pumpernickelbread,andpitabreadlegumeslentilsmanybeans,suchaslimaandbutterbeansoatbransteel-cutoatmealmueslibrownorwildricemostfruitHighGIfoodsShareonPinterestFoodssuchaswhiterice,whitebread,andwhitepastatypicallyhaveahighGIscore.FoodswithahigherGIinclude:heavilyprocessedgrains,suchaswhiterice,whitebread,andwhitepastapuffedriceinstantoatmealpopcornsaltinecrackerspretzelsstarchyvegetables,suchaspotatoespumpkincornflakesmelonspineapplebranflakesSummaryTheGIcanhelpapersonmakehealthfuldecisionsabouttheiroveralldietandnutrition.Peoplewithdiabetes,thosetryingtoloseweight,andpeopleatriskofheartdiseasecanreapsignificantbenefitsfromalowGIdiet,thoughthebenefitsextendtoeveryone—notjustpeoplewithchronicillnesses.EatingalowGIdietdoesnothavetomeanavoidingallhighGIfoods.Instead,aperson’sgoalshouldbetostaybalancedovertime,withastrongfocusonfiber-richfoodswithalowGI.AdoctorordietitiancanhelpwithplanningadeliciousandnourishingdietthatfeaturesawidevarietyoflowGIfoods.LastmedicallyreviewedonJuly4,2019DiabetesType1Type2Nutrition/DietMedicallyreviewedbyDeborahWeatherspoon,Ph.D.,R.N.,CRNA—WrittenbyZawnVillinesonJuly4,2019LatestnewsCholesterolresearch:Doesindustryfundingskewresults?Dementia:Canprobioticsimprovecognitivefunction?HowCOVID-19ischangingresearchandhealthcareGenitaltouchandthefemalebrain:NewstudyshedslightSpinachteeth,soapycilantro:ThesciencebehindweirdfoodphenomenaRelatedCoverageHowcanyouloweryourbloodsugarlevels?MedicallyreviewedbyMariaS.Prelipcean,MDWetakealookatanumberofwaysforpeopletolowertheirbloodsugarlevels.Optionsincludelifestylechanges,diet,andnaturalremedies.READMOREWhataretheidealbloodglucoselevels?MedicallyreviewedbyDebraSullivan,Ph.D.,MSN,R.N.,CNE,COIAbloodsugarchartcanhelpapersonknowiftheirglucoselevelsarewithinasuitablerange.Ifapersonhasdiabetes,adoctorwillmakeaplanto…READMOREBestfoodsthathelplowerandcontrolbloodsugarMedicallyreviewedbyKatherineMarengoLDN,R.D.Eatinganutritiousdietcomprisingfoodswithlowglycemicindexscorescanhelpmanagediabetes.Learnwhichfoodscanhelpkeepbloodsugarlevels…READMOREThirteenfoodsthatwon'traisebloodglucoseMedicallyreviewedbyPeggyPletcher,M.S.,R.D.,L.D.,CDEAlmostallfoodscontainamountsofsugar.Someisnatural,butsomeareartificalandharmful.Incasesofprediabetes,wherebloodsugarlevelsare…READMOREWhatarethebestlow-glycemicfoods?MedicallyreviewedbyKatherineMarengoLDN,R.D.Theglycemicindex(GI)ranksfoodsbasedonhowtheircarbohydratesaffectbloodglucoselevels.Inthisarticle,welookatsomeofthebestlow-GI…READMORE