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Chiropractic Information Center
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| The Glycemlc Index Recent studies from the Harvard School of Public Health indicate that the risks of diseases such as type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease, long linked to obesity, are also strongly related to the glycemic index (Gl). In 1999, the World Health Organization (WHO) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recommended that people in industrialized countries base their diets on low-GI foods in order to prevent the most common diseases of affluence, a such as coronary heart disease, diabetes and obesity. The Gl is a ranking of carbohydrates based on their immediate effect on blood glucose (blood sugar) levels.The index compares foods by gram and for gram of carbohydrate. Carbohydrates that break down rapidly during digestion have the highest Gl. -Nutrition: GIs. The index is based on glucose, which is one of the fastest carbohydrates available. Glucose is assigned a value of 100; other carbohydrates are assigned a number relative to glucose. (Note: The impact a food will have on blood sugar depends on many factors, such as ripeness, cooking time, fiber and fat content, time of day, blood insulin levels, and recent activity.)  The Glycemic Load The glycemic load (GL) is a fairly new way to determine the impact of carbohydrate consumption that takes the Gl into account, but gives a broader picture that the Gl does on its own. A Gl value only indicates how rapidly a particular carbohydrate turns into sugar. What it doesn't tell you is how much of that carbohydrate is in a serving of a particular food. It is necessary to know both in order to understand the effect a particular food has on blood sugar. This is where GL comes in. For example, the carbohydrate in watermelon has high Gl, but there isn't very much of it, which gives watermelon a low GL. A GL of 20 or more is high, a GL of 11 to 19 is medium, and a GL of 10 or less is low. Foods that havea low GL almost always have a low Gl. Foods with an intermediate or high GL range from very low to very high Gl. Why Is the Gl Index Important? -Low Gl foods keep you fuller for longer. | ||||||||||||||
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