Know GI value of your diet to lose weight

I Have found that nutritional wisdom on many matters often gets turned on its head whenever a new study is published.

I Have found that nutritional wisdom on many matters often gets turned on its head whenever a new study is published. In the context of the Glycemic Index (GI),the happening moment occurred in the 80s.

The GI of a food is the measure of the rapidity with which the carbohydrates in that particular food are broken down in the body and then absorbed and released as sugar in the bloodstream. As mentioned last week,the importance of knowing the GI of a meal or a food item goes beyond its obvious benefit for the diabetics.

The GI factor plays a significant role in diets designed to lose weight. In the early 80s,the world of nutrition received a jolt when it was discovered that sharp spikes in blood sugar were not triggered so much by ice-cream and candies as by carrots,honey,potatoes and the processed cereals. This forced a drastic revision in the theory that all complex carbohydrates are automatically better for diabetics.

Getting to know the high GI-value foods is thus important. The GI of individual foods is compared with glucose known to produce the most potent rise in blood sugarthat has been assigned the value of 100. All other foods are given values in relation to the glucose value. The high-GI food list (above 70) includesbut is not limited topolished or white rice,cornflakes and white and whole wheat bread. The foods that fall in the medium level of GI values (59 to 69) include table sugar,bananas,beetroot,muesli,raisins,yams,pasta and potato chips. The award in the category of low-GI foods (below 35) goes to soybeans,peanuts,kidney beans,lentils,chickpeas,apples,milk,yogurt,oats and sweet potato.

The most common and natural query that I face when discussing the GI of foods for weight-loss plans pertains to the GI of a composite meal that contains a combination of foods with different GI values. After all we do combine foods such as rice and kidney beans,bread and eggs or spaghetti with meat or vegetables. Here is a simple thumb rule to follow: Any combination of foods that has low-GI values for each individual food item shall result in a low-GI value for the complete meal. To be continued …

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