Contents:
- Medical Video: What You Know About High Glycemic Index (GI) Food is All Wrong!! Blame Glycemic Load (GL) Instead!
- What is the glycemic index?
- Factors that can affect the glycemic index of food
- How is the food processed?
- How mature is the food?
- With what food is eaten?
- Then, what is a glycemic load?
- Conclusion
Medical Video: What You Know About High Glycemic Index (GI) Food is All Wrong!! Blame Glycemic Load (GL) Instead!
Have you ever heard the term glycemic index or glycemic load? Maybe most of you have never heard of these two terms. The glycemic index and glycemic load are related to sugar (glucose) in food and also blood sugar. What is the understanding and difference?
What is the glycemic index?
The glycemic index can be interpreted by how fast your body converts the carbohydrates you eat into glucose, or it can also be interpreted by how fast food can increase your blood sugar levels. Glycemic index in the form of numbers from 0-100.
The higher the glycemic index of food, the faster the food is converted to sugar, so the food increases blood sugar faster. This is why people with diabetes should avoid foods with a high glycemic index.
Conversely, the lower the glycemic index, the slower the food is digested or absorbed by the body, causing a slower increase in blood sugar levels. Foods that are rich in fiber, protein, and fat usually have a low glycemic index. However, not always foods with a low glycemic index contain high nutrients.
The glycemic index of a food can be divided into three groups, namely:
- Low, if you have a glycemic index of 55 or less. Examples: apples (36), bananas (48), pears (38), oranges (45), milk (31), beans (13), macaroni (50), oatmeal (55), and others.
- Is being, if you have a glycemic index of 56-69. Examples: black wine (59), ice cream (62), honey (61), pita bread (68), and others.
- High, if you have a glycemic index of 70 or more. Examples: watermelon (72), potatoes (82), white bread (75), and others.
Foods with a low glycemic index can help you maintain weight, can also increase insulin resistance and reduce glucose, cholesterol and triglyceride levels in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Foods with high glycemic index are more useful for muscle recovery for those of you who just finished exercising.
You need to know that two foods with the same amount of carbohydrates can have different glycemic index numbers. How can?
Factors that can affect the glycemic index of food
The glycemic index of a food can change, depending on several things, such as:
Food processing also affects the glycemic index of a food. The longer the food is cooked, the higher the glycemic index that the food has. Addition of fat, fiber, and acid (such as from lemon juice or vinegar, can reduce the glycemic index in food.
Fruit groups, such as bananas, have a higher glycemic index when cooked. Immature fruits or usually not yet sweet, have a lower glycemic index.
If you eat foods with a high glycemic index along with foods that contain a low glycemic index, it can reduce the glycemic index in all these foods. For example, you eat bread (which contains a high glycemic index) accompanied by vegetables, such as lettuce and cucumber (which contain a lower glycemic index).
Apart from the three factors above, the factors of your body condition also affect the glycemic index of the food you eat. Age, activity and body abilities You digest food can also affect how quickly your body reacts to carbohydrates from foods that enter the body.
Then, what is a glycemic load?
To determine the glycemic load of a food, we need to know the glycemic index of the food. Food glycemic load can be obtained by knowing the glycemic index of a food, and the amount of carbohydrate contained in the food.
In essence, this glycemic load focuses more on how much carbohydrate the body absorbs from food. That means the more servings of carbohydrate foods you eat, the greater the glycemic load you receive.
For example, 100 grams of cooked carrots contain 10 grams of carbohydrates. Carrots have a glycemic index of 49, so the glycemic load of a carrot is 10 x 49/100 = 4,9.
The glycemic load can also be classified, as follows:
- Lowif food has a glycemic load of 1-10
- Medium, if food has a glycemic load of 11-19
- High, if food has a glycemic load of 20 or higher
Glycemic load can be a determinant of blood glucose levels after eating. As in a 2011 study in the journal The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, which showed that the glycemic load of one type of food or several foods was a better predictor of blood glucose levels after meals than the amount of carbohydrates in these foods. However, this study was conducted on normal people, so the results are unknown if done in people with diabetes.
Conclusion
So, when you eat food, it's better to consider the glycemic load you receive from these foods, especially for diabetics who need to control their blood sugar levels. The glycemic load helps you know the quantity and quality of carbohydrates that you eat at one time. Just knowing just the glycemic index of a food is not enough to know how much blood sugar levels increase after eating.
In fact, not necessarily foods with a low glycemic index have high nutrient content or you can eat them in large quantities. So, you still have to control your food portion, even though the food contains a low glycemic index. Remember, your food portion also affects your blood sugar levels.
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