The Low Glycemic (GI) Diet

Before describing the low GI diet, it is important to understand what the glycemic index or GI is.

The GI is basically a way of ordering carbohydrates on the basis of the way they impact blood sugar levels. Basically, in this index, the way in which the human body reacts to pure glucose is considered the absolute value and is numerically represented as 100.

The way the different food products cause either an increase or decrease in the blood sugar level is compared against this absolute value of 100, and based on the values derived these food products are given a rating.

As an example, if food product A causes the blood sugar levels to rise three quarters as much as pure glucose does, A is assigned a glycemic index of 75.

The GI Diet was introduced in 1981

The idea of sorting food products based on their GI was first introduced by Dr. David Jenkins in 1981. There are different factors influencing the GI of a food product. These range from the carbohydrate form to the amount of fiber, the form of the fiber, the amount of fat or protein present, besides the carbohydrate and the time duration for which the food product has been cooked or processed.

Food products that cause rapid increase in blood sugar levels are considered to be high on the GI, while those that cause lower amounts of blood sugar are considered to be lower on the GI.

Low GI foods are recommended

Low GI food products are said to be ideal for consumption as they take time to be digested and broken down into sugar. This means that the amount of insulin required to be released to work on this sugar is lesser, and lesser insulin means lesser problems than high insulin levels.

Generally, people make use of the GI to determine the carbohydrate content of different food products, and go on a diet that consists mainly of food products with low GI. Therefore, based on this understanding of the GI, you can say that the low GI diet is one that considers intake of low-GI food as the best option to lose weight.

The low GI diet, therefore, will have only those food products that cause minimal increase in blood sugar, thereby minimizing the risk of diseases caused by high blood sugar content, such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance syndrome, diabetes and hypoglycemia.

The low GI diet is very popular

The low GI diet is extremely popular among obese people and type 2 diabetics, as this diet is a very reliable way to control the blood sugar levels.

In the case of obese people, this diet also helps them to shed, over a period of time, some of the excess weight the have put on.

The exact opposite of the low GI diet, the high GI diet, is extremely popular among athletes, because it enables them to refuel their carbohydrate reserves in double quick time, after a rigorous exercise session.

Glycemic Index Diet Plan >>