Glycemic Foods

Glycemic Index

The Glycemic Index (GI) isn’t a term that you see very often in mass market nutrition and diet books, but it’s nonetheless important in planning any diet scheme. The GI is a list of foods that are given a rating, from 1 to 100, based on how fast they break down and release sugars into your bloodstream. A low Glycemic Index rating means the food releases sugar slowly, while the reverse is true for foods with a high Glycemic Index rating.

Proteins and fats are not included in the GI as they don't affect your sugar levels.

Glycemic Index Misconceptions

There are many incorrect ideas that people attach to the Glycemic Index, and that is obviously unacceptable because errors in planning a long-term diet could have harmful effects on your body. First and foremost of these incorrect ideas is that the GI is universal. Many experts will tell you that this is untrue, and that’s why the GI is still being contested to this very day. Many factors will contribute to or retard the rate of release of sugars, so the actual rate will vary from case to case and from person to person. However, the GI is still generally an excellent reference tool when it comes to planning a diet.

Another misconception is that those who wish to lose weight must eat almost completely from the lower range of the GI, ie. foods that release sugars slowly. While it’s true that the foods from that region of the GI are primarily vegetables, fruits and other foods that are widely accepted as ‘healthy,’ such a diet is inappropriate for many lifestyles. Should you follow that sort of diet, you might find it hard to recover after prolonged or even aerobic exercise.

Great Ideas for the Glycemic Index

The best way to use the Glycemic Index is to balance your diet with foods from certain ranges to fit your lifestyle. For example, if you’re in a period when you don’t do a lot of exercise and you’re mostly at home or at your desk, you might want to stock up on low GI foods so that you get a fairly constant supply of sugars for your daily activities. You also leave little unconsumed sugars behind to be stored as fat.

On the other hand, if you’re active and exercise regularly, you may want to buy a lot of high Glycemic Index foods as well. They help you recover and rebuild carbohydrates after exercise, and they can provide you with a quick peek-up during exercise. In case you’re wondering, yes, sports drinks have a high GI rating to give athletes that immediate energy boost in-game.

As with any other aspect of eating and dieting, the key to using the GI properly is to achieve a balance. Don’t overdo it with the low GI foods but also don’t keep eating high GI foods if you don’t need it. Remember, your body has needs, and fulfilling those needs is the primary purpose of eating in the first place.

Low Glycemic Index foods (less than 55)

• 54: pound cake (high in empty calories)
• 54 : crisps
• 54 : bananas
• 52 : orange juice
• 50 : wholegrain bread
• 49 : porridge (non-instant)
• 49 : jams and marmalades
• 48 : multi-grain bread
• 44 : oranges
• 41 : apple juice
• 38 : tomato soup (tinned)
• 38 : apples
• 30 : soya milk
• 27 : whole milk
• 24 : chocolate milk
• 22 : cherries
• 15 : cucumber
• 15 : cauliflower
• 15 : tomatoes
• 14 : low-fat yoghurt (sweetened)

Intermediate Glycemic Index foods (55~70)

• 70 : mashed potato
• 64 : mars-bar
• 61 : ice-cream
• 60 : pizza (cheese)
• 58 : rice (white)
• 55 : rice (brown)
• 55 : popcorn

High Glycemic Index foods (70 and over)

• 83 : cornflakes
• 81 : pretzels
• 80 : jelly beans
• 77 : weetabix
• 72 : watermelon (low-calorie and nutritious food)

Energy drinks like gatorade have a GI of close to 100. So when you see guys at the gym drinking these high GI drinks, it's rather counter-productive. Reason being is that whilst your exercising, your body is burning that sugar rather than your stored fat.

Therefore, if you really want to lose weight, next time you do exercise, stick with drinking plain old water. :-)