Glycemic Index&Load: What are they and Why You Should Care - a podcast by Discussions with successful health experts such as Ben Greenfield, Terry Wa

You might have heard of the scientific terminologies – Glycemic index and glycemic load and wonder what it means. Well, we are going to keep it simple for you in this piece. What is a glycemic index?

Glycemic index is simply a measure of how quickly glucose in your food is absorbed and causes blood sugar levels to rise. Foods that have a high GI are digested and absorbed rapidly and raise blood sugar levels too rapidly. Foods with a low GI, in contrast, are digested more slowly and they lead to a slower rise in blood sugar levels.

However, rapid glucose conversion is something that you don’t want to experience, as your body needs sugar levels to be consistent for it to function optimally. Although your brain needs glucose to operate, rapid conversion of glucose is not healthy.

As glucose is being processed in the body, the hormone – insulin- is being secreted to allow glucose to be delivered to your body’s cells, resulting in a balance of blood sugar levels. But when your body detects excess glucose, insulin is secreted more by the pancreas, and this causes the excess sugar to be converted and stored as fat.

Foods are generally ranked on a scale of 0-100 on the GI scale. Pure glucose has a value of 100. Carbohydrate-containing foods can be classified as low (≤55), moderate (56 – 69), or high GI (≥70).

Hence, if you want to avoid a spike in blood sugar, you need to eat diets with more low GI foods. Some good examples of low GI foods include whole oats, nuts, most vegetables, and certain fruits.

But if you eat foods with high GI frequently, it can cause your blood sugar level to rise quickly and this can make your body store the excess sugar as fat. The glycemic index is therefore useful, to avoid these foods.

What is glycemic load?

The glycemic load of a food is as important as the glycemic index. It measures the rise in blood sugar based on the number of carbohydrates contained in the food per serving.

You can calculate the glycemic load by multiplying the glycemic index of a food by the carbohydrate content (measured in grams) and dividing the result by 100.

 However, the glycemic load value is more reliable than the glycemic index of a food.

Let’s consider watermelon, for instance. This fruit has a glycemic index of 72, a high value which means it can cause your body’s sugar level to rise rapidly. But watermelon is mostly water, and the glycemic load in a serving is 4, which means it has a very small carbohydrate content.

This means that when you eat watermelon, your blood sugar level may rise quickly, but it will not stay high for too long as this fruit contains very little carbohydrate.

In simple terms, the glycemic index tells you how high your blood sugar could ho when you consume a particular good. The glycemic load, on the other hand, gives you a more accurate picture of a food’s impact on your blood sugar.

It is always important, however, to pay attention to both glycemic index and glycemic load to avoid a sudden rise in your blood sugar.

The point is to choose foods with a low glycemic index and low glycemic load. This goes a long way to control your blood sugar and conditions such as diabetes.

Note also that maintaining a healthy weight is also very important for your blood sugar and general health.

You can consult Dr. Jason Jones at our chiropractic office in Elizabeth City, NC, to learn more about foods with a low glycemic index that you can add to your diet to control your blood sugar level and maintain a healthy weight.

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