Glycemic Index

Jeanne.....In one of your answers a few weeks back, you included a link to a listing of food on the glycemic index. I copied it down, went to it, studied it.....and now that I want to share it with my sister (who comes from the same gene pool I do and is trying to do some preventative measures), I cannot find it. Could you repeat it please? Thank you for all the neat sites you share with us. JGriffin

So give me your views before I read it. You have already been down so many of the roads the newbies are just starting.

Hi,

Well, if you're type 1 you probably know much more about the GI index than most type 2's as you are using it to help figure your insulin load.  Type one's deal with Long acting Medium and Fast acting insulins all in one day and have to figure out what to take when to keep them on a level playing field.  Thats where a glucose meter and the GI index come into play. 

So, what does it mean for the world of type 2'? The glycemic index ranks foods on how they affect our blood sugar levels. This index measures how much your blood sugar increases after you eat. The real problem is carbohydrates, and that's what the glycemic index is all about. Foods high in fat or protein don’t cause your blood sugar level to rise much. The official consensus remains that a high-carbohydrate diet is best for people with diabetes. However, some experts recommend a low-carbohydrate diet, because carbohydrates break down quickly during digestion and can raise blood sugar to dangerous levels. A low-glycemic diet avoids both extremes.

Many carbohydrate-rich foods have high glycemic indexes, and certainly are not good in any substantial quantity for people with diabetes. Other carbohydrates break down more slowly, releasing glucose gradually into our blood streams and are said to have lower glycemic indexes.

The really shocking results of G.I. studies are in which foods produce the highest glycemic response. They include many of the starchy foods we eat a lot of, including most bread, most breakfast cereals, and baked potatoes. But table sugar—long believed to be the worst thing for people with diabetes—isn’t as high on the index.

So is the GI the end all for selecting and maintaining your diet??  The glycemic index is most useful when deciding which high-carbohydrate foods to eat. However, the total amount of carbohydrate, the amount and type of fat, and the fiber and salt content are also important dietary considerations.

Read the sections on GL (Glycemic Load) and this may give you a very useful tool for figuring out what foods you should and should not be putting in your diet.

If nothing more, reading about the Glycemic index will open your eyes as to what foods really affect your diabetes and which ones don't, and that holds some real surprises for most people!

Warren <----ate white rice and white bread 'til I read the Glycemic Index

I see what you mean about the white rice and white bread. There are better alternatives. And I am type II. Thank you for your opinion.

I think I do best when I admit to myself that I have to eat low index foods almost all the time, limit my carbs to the best ones for me, like oatmeal or barley, and then once in a while have a donut on Sunday morning.

The results of the GI list is that you learn what is best for you but that doesn't mean that you always live it. For women, it's kind of like high heels... you know they are bad for your feet and your back... but you still wear them sometimes.

And one of the best things I learned from the index was to eat whole fruit instead of juice as well as the fact that I could eat a pile of brocolli vs. a 1/2 cup of pasta and that made all the difference. I love them both but one indulgence is good for me while the other may not be so good.