Weight Loss and the Glycemic Index

Okay, the first couple of paragraphs might soundand the person's health to name a few.
slightly complicated, but it gets easier after that.Additionally, since few foods are eaten alone, it is
Bear with me.By definition, the glycemic indexdifficult to estimate the GI of a combined dish or
(sometimes abbreviated GI) is a way of rankingmeal.Despite these drawbacks, the GI of a food
carbohydrates based on the short-term oror a meal can be estimated with some accuracy,
immediate effect they have on your bloodand with proper knowledge of the GI of various
glucose level. When carbohydrates break downfoods, a diet can be constructed that will help an
rapidly they are given a higher glycemic indexindividual lose weight while maintaining health.
than those that break down more slowly. ThoseThere are charts, graphs, and even weight loss
with a high GI are digested more rapidly andprograms that have ranked and ordered foods
encourage a rapid increase in blood glucose whileand meals by their GI and can present these to
those with a low GI are digested more slowly andthe consumer as a finished package, product, or
release glucose into the blood stream morereference. Some well known weight loss
gradually.The glycemic index of a food isprograms which use the GI of foods to construct
expressed as a number. This number can betheir eating plans and products are the South
arrived at a couple of different ways, but in allBeach Diet, the Atkins Diet, and the Nutrisystem
cases, some food, often glucose itself, isWeight Loss Program.FOODS WITH A LOW
considered to be 100. In some cases, researchersGLYCEMIC INDEXAs might be suspected, foods
may assign another food a value of 100 so thatwith lower GI's include most common fruits and
they can compare a particular diet to thatvegetables, drinks and juices made from fruits
particular food...perhaps a food that is a staple inand vegetables, whole grain breads, eggs, most
the diet being examined.WHAT THE GLYCEMICdairy products, fish, poultry and...oh happy
INDEX MEANS FOR YOUAs we said, foods with aday...chocolate. Low GI foods are generally
low GI take longer to digest and release glucoseconsidered to be those with a GI of 55 or
into the blood stream more slowly than foodslower.GOOD CARB VS. BAD CARB OR
with a high GI. Regular and sustained consumptionGLYCEMIC INDEXGenerally speaking, "bad" carbs
of high GI foods has been linked to an increase intend to be foods with a high GI, while "good"
obesity and the development of metaboliccarbs are foods with a low GI. As can be seen
disturbances. In fact, testing seems to show a linkfrom the list above, choosing healthy
between weight loss, or at least weightcarbohydrates, or low GI foods, does not have to
management, and a diet which relies heavily onbe a chore. It is simpler for an individual to begin
low GI foods. Studies also seem to show thatsubstituting healthy, low GI, foods and snacks for
there are other positive health effects as well inhigher GI foods such as extra slices of cake,
addition to the improvement in health that maywhite bread, refined rice, foods sweetened with
occur as a result of healthy weight loss.Eating asugar, and potato chips, than to try to subsist on
low GI diet over an extended time seems tomany of the eating plans offered by fad
result in a lower risk of Type II Diabetes anddiets.Donovan Baldwin is a Dallas area writer. A
coronary heart disease. A low GI diet may alsograduate of the University Of West Florida (1973)
lower risk of atherosclerosis.PROBLEMS WITHwith a BA in accounting, he is a member of
CHOOSING A LOW GLYCEMIC INDEX DIETWhileMensa and has held several managerial positions.
a close approximation to the GI of a food can beHe has written poetry and essays for his own
given, actual GI of that food may depend on ause, and instructional media in many of the
range of factors, including how ripe it is, how longpositions he held. After his retirement from the U.
it has been stored, where it was grown, and theS. Army in 1995, he began writing articles on
processing it has undergone. The GI of a foodvarious subjects for websites he owned as well
may actually fluctuate from individual to individual,as for use by other webmasters. He has a keen
and even within the same individual depending oninterest in health, fitness, diet, and weight loss.
factors such as time of day, blood glucose levels,