Nutritional News
Glycemic Index
Volu me
A fairly recent progress in nutritional
sciences, developed by Dr. David
Jenkins, a professor of nutritional
sciences and medicine at the University
of Toronto is another tool to assist us in
choosing the best foods possible to help
us achieve balance in our diets. The
glycemic index ranks carbohydratecontaining foods according to how they
affect blood glucose or sugar levels.
The number typically ranges between 50
and 100. The index measures how much
your blood sugar rises after you eat a
specific food; the higher the number,
the greater the blood sugar response. It
does not however, take into
consideration how fast it rises.
Highlighting the Glycemic Index of some common foods:
Low GI
Medium GI
High GI
(55 or less)
(56-70)
(over 70)
60g no sugar
banana cake
30g 100% whole
grain bread
250ml milk
120g apple
120 g grape fruit
80g carrots
30g raisin bran
cereal
150g corn on the
cob
150g couscous
120g grapes
60g raisins
150g sweet potato
30g white
baguette bread
30g corn flakes
150g white rice
120g watermelon
150g boiled white
potato
150g baked russet
Potato
The GI takes into account only the
available carbohydrate (total carbs
minus fiber) in the food and is useful in
order to understand how the body
breaks down carbohydrates however
the steepness of the rise can be
influenced by a number of factors such
as the quantity of fat eaten with the
food. Experts say that foods and
beverages with high glycemic index
scores are rapidly digested by your
body, which causes a spike in your
blood sugar, followed by a rapid decline
in blood sugar creating wide
fluctuations in your blood sugar levels. In
contrast, items with low glycemic index
rankings are digested more slowly stay in
your digestive tract longer, raising sugar
in a more regulated way.
Carbohydrates are the main source of
energy for our cells; they come in the
form of sugar, starch and fiber. After
you eat or drink something with carbs,
your body breaks each one down in
essentially the same way, converting it
into sugar, with the exception of fiber,
which passes through your body
undigested. It enters your blood
stream and individual cells throughout
the body in order to provide energy.
The extra sugar is stored in your liver
and muscles in a form called
glycogen. Two hormones from your
pancreas help regulate the level of
blood sugar. The hormone insulin
moves sugar from your blood into your
cells when your blood sugar level is
high. The hormone glucagon helps
release the sugar stored in your liver
when your blood sugar level is low.
This is the process that helps keep your
body fueled and ensures a natural
balance in blood sugar. The GI index
proposes that some foods disrupt this
natural balance by creating large
spikes in your blood sugar level. When
your blood sugar and insulin levels stay
high, or cycle up and down rapidly,
your body has trouble responding and
over time this could contribute to
insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is
associated with a host of health
problems such as type 2 diabetes,
obesity, high blood pressure, stroke
and heart disease.
Carbohydrates are the nutrient that
impact glucose levels most
profoundly. Each person needs a
certain amount of carbs in order to
function properly and the better the
quality of carbohydrates you provide
your body, the better it functions.
In 2011 the International Life Sciences
Institute concluded that because
there are many different ways of
lowering glycemic response, not all of
which have the same effects on
health, “It is becoming evident that
modifying the glycemic response of
the diet should not be seen as a
stand-alone strategy but rather as an
element of an overall balanced diet
and lifestyle
Resources
Mayo Clinic
Eat Right Ontario
WH Foods
5│I ssue
7
│
May ,
2015
Fun Food Facts!
In 45A.D the raspberry fruit
were called “ida”, probably
after the mountain they
were found growing on
The people of Troy, in
modern-day Turkey, were
the first to note an
appreciation of the
raspberry.
Did You Know?
One of the most interesting aspects
of GI involves its relationship to the
unique features of carbohydrates.
Non-whole grain breads and pasta
noodles both contain similar
amounts of starch, and their
starches are similarly composed of
long chains of simple sugar,
glucose. However the 3dimensional structure of bread
allows more of the starch to be
exposed to enzymes in our saliva
and our digestive tract. This
greater exposure to enzymes allows
more of the starch to be broken
down into sugar and gives nonwhole grain breads a generally
higher GI value than non-whole
grain pastas
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
ONLINE
WWW.RAINBOWLUNCHES.COM