Today I am going to give you a short explanation on how the Glycemic Index works since some of my Clients had brought it out to me when I always talk to them about Carbs and how, when or how much to add to their Diets. As it’s shows in the picture above, The glycemic index of a food is a ranking (from 0 to 100) of how much it raises blood glucose level after it is eaten.
Glycemia is the related noun meaning glucose or sugar in the blood. High glycemic food cause a larger rise in blood glucose, which can last for a longer time as well. Low glycemic foods tend to cause small blood sugar rises that don’t last as long.
The glycemic index or GI is a measure of the effects of carbohydrates on blood sugar levels. Carbohydrates that break down quickly during digestion, releasing glucose rapidly into the bloodstream, have a high GI; On the other side, the carbohydrates that break down more slowly, releasing glucose more gradually into the bloodstream, are the ones that have a low GI.
So, For example, eating pure glucose is given a ranking of 100 . So a food with a glycemic index of 95 raises blood sugar almost as much as pure glucose, but a food with a glycemic index of 20 doesn’t raise blood sugar much at all.
I personally believe that taking in consideration Glycemic Index goes beyond counting calories since it encourages you to look at the way foods are digested and metabolized in your body and what impact that has on your body weight and how full you feel after eating.
In conclusion (and I hope I am making it easy to understand), Blood sugar, carbohydrates, and insulin all come together to affect body weight, right? Carbohydrates are digested and metabolized into blood sugar. So, Rising levels of blood sugar cause the pancreas to produce insulin and Higher levels of insulin then promote body fat storage. Remember a large quantity of insulin rapidly mops up the excess sugar in our bloodstream causing our blood sugar levels to dip quickly below normal, causing us to feel hungry once more.
So, even though we may have eaten a high calorie meal, we are induced to feel hungry and eat again within a very short time. This process may lead to excessive calorie intake and weight gain, possibly causing obesity.
Therefore I insist, instead of counting Calories like crazy, Why not focusing on what type of food you are putting in your mouth and what is the effect that is making in your body?
I hope this info Helps you guys when you are planning your meals for the day!!!
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