John Myers
The glycemic index is also called “GI” or “Glyx”. It shows how foods affect blood sugar levels or how quickly their sugar gets into the blood. Many high GI foods are considered unhealthy. However, this is not always the case and you should not use the GI as the sole criterion for eliminating individual foods from your diet.
If a food has a high glycemic index, its carbohydrates get into the blood particularly quickly. As a reaction, the blood sugar level rises particularly quickly, whereupon the pancreas releases insulin. This distributes the sugar in the cells, where it is converted into energy. If foods have a low glycemic index, the blood sugar level rises less and only slowly. It then remains constant for a long time and in this way ensures a lasting feeling of satiety.
However, if you rely solely on the glycemic index when evaluating food, you may be unnecessarily missing out on healthy food. Unlike nutritional information, the GI does not refer to defined portion size, but to the amount of food that contains exactly 50 grams of carbohydrates. For carrots, for example, this would be 670 grams, which hardly corresponds to a normal consumption amount. The term “glycemic load” (GL) was therefore introduced for better comparability. Its value relates the glycemic index to the number of carbohydrates in a typical serving. At 49, the glycemic index of cooked carrots is relatively high, but the glycemic load for a portion of 80 grams is classified as low with a value of 2. A GL of less than 10 is considered low, while a value greater than 20 is considered high.
Many types of vegetables and fruits such as apples and oranges, and legumes, for example, have a low glycemic load, but many dairy products also have low levels. When it comes to cereals, regularly use the whole grain variety, since products made from white flour, like potatoes, sugary foods, and fruit juices, have a medium to high glycemic load. These should be consumed in moderation and regularly supplemented with low GL foods to ensure a balanced diet.
However, not all foods with a rather high glycemic index or glycemic load are unhealthy – the values for carbohydrate-rich foods are generally comparatively high. Foods with a rather low GI such as eggs, meat, or fish, on the other hand, should still be consumed in moderation. Neither GI nor GL says anything about the content of healthy or less recommended nutrients. For this reason, the Glyx diet should be viewed critically in the long term.
