“GI, Glycemic”
Hey, Calories = Fat. GI? I would say more related to blood sugar level and carbohydrates than calories. Just some ideas to share with you on GI/ GL.
GI, Glycemic Index, refers to the measurement of the effect of carbohydrate-rich food on the rises of blood sugar level over hours after consumption (which means to measure the rates of rising blood sugar level over 2 -3 hours after eating certain carb-rich food).
High GI food does not mean high calories, but excessive daily intake of high GI food will lead to increases of blood sugar level, and thus, affects our health which leads to high risk of some cardiovascular disease, fatty liver, and might lead to weight gain (as extra energy from extra glucose is a lot available to be used, so our body will conserve those calories (fat) instead, and hence, contributes to weight gain).
Range of GI in food:
Low GI refers to less than 55. Examples of food: Beans, apple, orange, milk, oatmeal porridge, and bran.
Intermediate GI refers to 55 to 70. Example of food: Sugar, orange juice, and wholemeal bread.
High GI refers to more than 70. Examples of food: Potato, biscuit, cake, white bread and white rice, cornflakes and Honeystars.
As mentioned earlier, excessive intake of high GI food will leads to health issues. It is, however, not all true. GL, Glycemic Load, which refers to how rapidly a carbohydrate can be converted into blood glucose, plays apart, to a certain extent. GI together with GL gives a clearer picture to explaining GI values in food. GL is normally referred as the concept of GI x the available carbohydrate of the food. It does not tell how much of carbohydrate it has in a particular food. So, we need both GI and GL, to understand the effect of a food on our blood sugar. That’s where GL is placed into the picture. Low GI is always has low GL, but not the other way round. High GL can range from very low to very high GI. An example, the carbohydrate in a glass of orange juice has high GI, but the carbohydrate isn’t a lot in it, so it has relatively low GL (and low calories).
Intake of food with high GI with low GL (e.g. watermelon) in large amount = intake of food with high GI and high LG in minimal amount (e.g. Potato), will give about the same level of blood glucose. Therefore, it’s best to take into consideration of both GI and GL.
Range of GL in food:
Low GL of a food refers to less than 10
Medium GL of a food refers to 11- 19
High GL of a food refers more than 20
Eating no more than 50 – 80 GL a day is considered as moderate. If you are a dieter, eat no more than 40 GL if you want to lose weight. Low Glycemic diet is basically a healthy diet. Gives dieter, diabetes and even children a low glycemic meal starting from breakfast is always more beneficial.
Remember also, ingestion of balance food range is always the most beneficial to our health.
Click here for a list of food examples on GI/GL and Calorie range!
*List of Food on different GI/ GL/ Calorie Range
