Glycemic Index Diet

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Permalink Reply by Gerri on January 22, 2009 at 5:38am

Hi Sophie,

Just my opinion & I'm sure no expert on GI, but I think counting carbs is a lot easier & more reliable than GI. As a Type 1, I've found that things with low GI effect me just as much as moderate GI. Foods with different sugar content may have the same GI score. Foods with different GI may have the same sugar content, so it's confusing to use this to control BG levels, I think. Low glycemic foods release the sugar slower, not more or less of it.

GI is also effected by cooking & how much (or little) it's cooked. This adds another dimension in figuring it out. Cooking (or raw) effects carbs also, but not as drastically.

Guess we all have to just experiment to figure out how different foods effect us.

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Permalink Reply by Jenny on January 22, 2009 at 5:58am

The Low GI thing is basically a scam cooked up by the corporations who sell grains to fight back against the low carb diet craze of the late 1990s.

I have written a page about why it is a bad idea for people with diabetes to rely on Glycemic Index information:

Is the Glycemic Index a Scam?

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Permalink Reply by Sylvia on February 18, 2009 at 9:50pm

Actually the Glycemic Index was a study done the Human Nutrition Unit, School of Molecular and Microbial Biosciences, University of Sydney. All those diets and books are based on their SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH.

Since then other universites have added to the data with their own studies.

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Permalink Reply by Joe Dennis on January 22, 2009 at 8:28am

To add to the confustion, I found it very helpful. I've been able to keep my BG under better control without the highs and lows that I was getting with just counting carbs. Also I don't have the cravings I had on other plans. Best thing i can tell you try it yourself,see how you like it. It does take some work and you need to look at GL as well as GI.
Good Luck!

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Permalink Reply by Sophie on January 22, 2009 at 3:50pm

I know I could never deal with just eating a plate of leaves for dinner, so I'd rather put in the work and figure out which foods work for me ... I know everyone is different ... but were there specific foods that you found helpful?

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Permalink Reply by Joe Dennis on January 24, 2009 at 1:30pm

The best thing for you is to get the book . Check out glycemic index site The
University of Sydney.
Look at carrots for an example; raw carrots and cooked carrots or caned carrots all have about the same amount of carbs per serving(4.6) but the GI differs greatly but raw carrots only have a GI of 16 but cooked are 41 and caned 92 . This is important part of controling my BG . But don't sacrafice good nutrition for just low GI. And remember it is just another tool for us .

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Permalink Reply by Anthony Holko on January 24, 2009 at 1:35pm

Joe's point here illustrates the effect of raw, cooked and totally mushed i.e. canned, the same carrot increases from reasonable GI to horrid. Possibly the same thing happens with pasta best to eat it as crunchy as you can tolerate.

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Permalink Reply by Joe Dennis on January 24, 2009 at 4:07pm

Al dente is better than over cooked pasta but also try whole grain pasta . Same is true for oats the more they are cooked the higher GI is....

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Permalink Reply by Anthony Holko on January 22, 2009 at 6:13pm

The glycemic index was invented at the University of Toronto to add more control to the concept of just counting carbs.

Pasta from durum semolina flour may spike BG less than a baked potato. The more so if cooked aldente i.e. still crunchy. If I had to eat carbs I certainly would give this some consideration.

Fructose has very low GI but this does not mean it is good for you. It just means it will not turn into glucose in your body quickly.

I have given up on carb counting and glycemic index and glycemic load by getting rid of carbs as much as possible. BG under good control with 20 units of insulin per day less and I DO NOT FEEL UNCONTROLLABLY HUNGRY AS BEFORE.

And life is a lot simpler.

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Permalink Reply by Joe Dennis on January 23, 2009 at 9:31am

You make a very go point ;just because it's low Gl or GL doesn't make it better . French fries would be lower than boiled potatoes but that doesn't make it better. But GI and GL is still a good tool .

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Permalink Reply by Anthony Holko on January 23, 2009 at 11:27am

Thanks Joe.

I used to drown my toast with some "healthy oil" to reduce it's glycemic index. Endo was excited by concept. BG meter was not, still high short term spike and even long term highs. Much like another horror food pizza. This is like french fries vs baked.

Jenny had the best quote: " Let the meter chose what you eat" This is like making you own glycemic index. Of course you can use the published data for a starting point and if you have to eat carbs then the whole thing is a good tool as you said.

Fructose would be wonderful if some did not convert to tri-glygerides in the body which I think none of us need more of.

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Permalink Reply by Joe Dennis on January 24, 2009 at 4:13pm

Fructose may not increase the BG higher than other sugers but it does have a greater impact on AGE Product. To much fructose can create extra inflamation in the arteries

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