Glycemic Index 101Glycemic Index Table of Common Foods
Chapter 16: Use the Glycemic Index ratings listed here for common foods as a guide to help you make the best dietary choices every day. To begin with, let’s look at some of the most common foods that are considered high on the GI. Usually, these are foods that you will want to limit and only eat occasionally. You will notice that there are a couple of foods that look out of place. Baked potatoes, rice cakes, and watermelon are all on the dreaded “high” list and yet, they all seem like very healthy choices. “What are they doing on this list?” you might ask. As stated before in previous chapters, in order to keep the testing consistent and scientific all foods had to be tested in equal amounts of carbohydrates. This means that watermelon, which has very low amount of carbohydrates, had to be consumed in massive quantities in order to keep the test results equal. But, watermelon also has a lot of natural sugar and sweetness, which when eaten in such a large quantity raised the blood sugar levels significantly. This is where the Glycemic Load value becomes an invaluable tool. When we calculate the Glycemic Index of watermelon, which is .72 and multiply it by 5 grams of carbohydrates in a typical slice of watermelon, we get a Glycemic Load value of 3.6. So even though it is listed as a high GI food, we find that when it is consumed in a typical serving size it does not raise our blood sugar levels to the extent as on the list. The same is true of rice cakes and potatoes, but to a lesser extent. They do raise blood sugar levels more than whole grain pastas and brown rice, but they are also loaded with so many nutrients and vitamins that it isn’t wise to avoid them altogether. Use good judgment and common sense when you make your food choices. Remember that this doesn’t have to be hard or take a lot of thought once you get the idea. All it takes is being aware of how your body functions and what we can fuel it with that will help it to operate rather than work against it. Also, in case you are wondering, Gatorade is on the list as a high Glycemic Index food because as an energy drink it is made up mostly of carbohydrates and sugars, which replenish a body after it has exerted an enormous amount of energy. But, as a high GI food, you would want to limit how often you drink it. (Unless you have suddenly become a professional athlete or a long-distance runner!) Here are some common High Glycemic Index foods. Remember to limit them as much as you can.HIGH GLYCEMIC INDEX FOODS (OVER 70)
Now let’s take a look at the medium GI list of common foods. These are foods that you may still want to limit, but definitely choose them more often than you would a choice from high Glycemic Index list. Always remember that if you see something on one of the lists that look “too good to be true” it probably is. That is when it is best to calculate the Glycemic Load value. Also, if you see something that you’d always thought was very healthy, but now you see it listed pretty high, remember the testing process and how much of that food they may have had to test in order to keep the playing field level. If you are unsure of the index rating always calculate the Glycemic Load of the food item in order to get a better idea of its value. Here are some common Medium Glycemic Index foods. Remember to choose these more often than those on the High Index list.MEDIUM GLYCEMIC INDEX FOODS (56-69)
And now for the list of foods that score with the lowest values on the GI. These are the foods that should be chosen most of all. Most meals should be made up of these items and other items that are similarly rated. As with the other lists, you may see some items that surprise and confuse you. For instance a Snickers Bar? On the Low GI list? Remember that it took 50 grams of carbohydrates to compare with the control, which was 50 carbohydrates of glucose. It only takes a small portion of a Snickers bar to equal 50 grams of carbs. That means that the small amount of candy bar that they did the tests with did not raise the blood sugar as much as the large portion of watermelon that had to be tested. Once we calculate what rating a Snickers Candy Bar would get with the additional information given to us through Glycemic Loading, a Snickers Bar gets a rating of 80! That is huge when you figure that you will want to keep your total Glycemic Load points for the day below 150. With this one candy bar you have used up more than half of your allotted food for the day. Here are some common Low Glycemic Index foods. Remember to choose these most of all.LOW GLYCEMIC INDEX FOODS (UNDER 55)
This is not a comprehensive list by any means. It would take hundreds of pages to list every food there is and its GI. But, it gives you an idea of the types of food choices to make. Following the GI effortlessly should be just that – effortless. You shouldn’t have to feel that you need to log every item of food that you eat or look up everything in some dictionary-sized book. Neither should you have to walk around with a calculator before you eat a mouthful. By familiarizing yourself with these foods that are listed and some general guidelines, you will become “Master of your Domain!” Or at least, “Master of the Glycemic Index Domain”! In the next chapter we will discuss some of the general guidelines to practice when following the recommendations of the Glycemic Index. Along with many helpful guidelines about what to do will be quite a few cautions and bits of practical advice to help you get the most out of the Glycemic Index.
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