What's up with this "glycemic index"?

[Gwen in VA]

I know that we should all "eat healthy" with lots of whole grains, fruits, veggies, etc.

 

But the GI numbers seem somewhat random. I mean, I have no problem being told that sugary stuff and stuff made with refined ingredients digests very very quickly and isn't good for me. That makes sense.

 

But I have problems looking at a potato and seeing junk food!

 

So is the GI a bunch of hooey, or does it have scientific backing? Somehow every time I bump into much information on it, the information is connected to a sales pitch for something. That makes me suspicious!

[abbeyej]

It's not "hooey", but I think it's hugely over-hyped by certain individuals. I've read up about it in the past, and came to the conclusion that it was more important to focus on "real" food (fruits and vegetables, with some grains and starches in their most "whole" forms) rather than to focus on numbers. There may be a few people with medical conditions that make GI more important for them than for the rest of us... But for everyone else, just focus on real, whole foods. As Pollan says, "Eat food [meaning real, recognizable, close to natural state]. Not too much. Mostly plants."

[sdWTMer]

But I have problems looking at a potato and seeing junk food!

 

diabetics and those who have to control their sugar intake. Potatoes convert to sugar easily as well as carrots. To diabetics, eating a potato is likened to eating candy. Use with extreme caution. Does that help? My 2 cents!

 

So, in answer to your question, NO, I don't believe it's hooey.

[Pam "SFSOM" in TN]

I know that we should all "eat healthy" with lots of whole grains, fruits, veggies, etc.

 

But the GI numbers seem somewhat random. I mean, I have no problem being told that sugary stuff and stuff made with refined ingredients digests very very quickly and isn't good for me. That makes sense.

 

But I have problems looking at a potato and seeing junk food!

 

So is the GI a bunch of hooey, or does it have scientific backing? Somehow every time I bump into much information on it, the information is connected to a sales pitch for something. That makes me suspicious!

 

Actually, it does have scientific backing. And as a personal anecdote, when I was pregnant and diabetic (injecting insulin and checking blood sugars 6-8 times/day), eating a serving of baked potato was like taking three tablespoons of sugar and eating it straight. I found the glycemic index VERY helpful in choosing which carbs would spike my blood sugar and which would not.

[Carol in Cal.]

First, what is it? It is a measure of how fast and how much blood sugar rises after eating specific amounts of certain foods, in non-diabetic people.

 

This is used as an indication for diabetics and pre-diabetics of how stressful on the sugar control system a particular food and serving size will be. As such it is extremely useful. Pre-diabetics who, among other things, eat a low GI and lowfat diet seem to take much longer to reach the stage of having diabetes. Also, they can know that if they eat, for instance, some rice, they should try to go for a walk right afterwards to counter the rapid blood sugar rise.

 

High blood sugar causes damage even in people who are not formally diagnosed as diabetic, so those with a tendency toward blood suger excursions are well served by using the GI to help guide their food choices.

 

I think that there is room for legitimate difference of opinion as to whether this should also be done by those who have no blood sugar control problems. You could argue that even those people are straining their pancreases when they eat lots of high GI food, but I'm not sure that that is necessarily harmful.

 

And watching your weight and getting plenty of exercise seems to cover all of these kinds of problems better than anything else, so that should be the primary focus for those who don't have blood sugar control problems, in my view.

[gardening momma]

Potatoes (as well as pasta, rice and bread) have a lot of starch, which the body converts to sugar to use as energy. But if you get too much "energy" from sugar and starch, it just gets stored as fat. Corn also has a lot of starch, but less than potatoes. Next comes peas & carrots...they have a moderate amount--not the best if you're strictly watching sugar/starch/carbs, but much better than corn. Tomatoes and onion tend to have a moderate amount of natural sugar.

 

Veggies low in sugar/starch/carbs are green beans, lettuce (and for some reason I can't think of more, although there's a lot more). [edit: I remember some more now...cucumbers, zucchini, summer squash, asparagus, bell peppers]

 

Good sources of energy without sugar/starch/carbs are food that contains protein...meat, eggs, peanuts. The fat in these help fill you up and make you less hungry (if you stop when you're full, and don't eat so fast that your stomach doesn't get the message from your brain soon enough or your brain doesn't get the message from your stomach--which way is it??). It's one reason why Snickers is advertised to help you when you're hungry--because of the peanuts.

 

Fat also helps your gallbladder to function correctly...the gallbladder contracts, and if it doesn't get enough fat it'll slow down or stop, and that can cause gallstones and can lead to having to have the gallbladder removed.

[dirty ethel rackham]

Definitely not "hooey" and not just for diabetics. Many people are more sensitive to higher glycemic index foods than others. For people like myself it is not the surge in blood sugar (mine doesn't get that high), but the crash that comes from the surge in insulin. Eating a low GI diet and protein to balance the higher GI foods leads to more even blood sugars, more energy and mental focus.

[Joanne]

But I have problems looking at a potato and seeing junk food!

 

So is the GI a bunch of hooey, or does it have scientific backing? Somehow every time I bump into much information on it, the information is connected to a sales pitch for something. That makes me suspicious!

 

High on the glycemic index does not = junk food.

 

Eating low carb/low glycemic has a ton (pun intended) of backing and some interesting political and profit history.

 

When I eat easily converted to sugar carbs - from any source - I crave *more and more*. I then begin to shake with a need for protein, become irritable (yes, more than my normal ;)) and gain weight in spite of calories. Some bodies are not sensitive in that way; mine is.

[Laurie4b]

I have a family member who is a Type 1 diabetic. The glycemic index does not make a whole lot of difference unless you eat the food all by itself. Eating a baked potato, for instance, with protein and a healthy fat does not do a major spike on your blood sugar. Additionally, some things are rather misleading. Carrots, for instance, have a relatively high glycemic rating, but because the actual amount of the sugar is low and the fiber is high, there is not a thing wrong with eating carrots.

 

For people who are diabetic or insulin resistant, it is important to note the glycemic index of a food if you're eating it all by its lonesome in any quantity.

[SusanG]

But I have problems looking at a potato and seeing junk food!

 

 

 

 

 

I've been following GI, and now glycemic load, information ever since Sugarbusters came out in the 80's or early 90's. And I have most CERTAINLY come to see potatoes as junk food. I remember reading that a potato is like a giant pile of sugar - and tha'ts EXACTLY how my body processes them. If I eat a white potato, I am STARVING thirty minutes later, and I have elevated hunger levels for the rest of the day. Often I will also get sleepy from the sugar high/crash.

 

I haven't eaten white potatoes in probably 15 years - I stick with sweet potatoes, and even then, only in fairly strict moderation, as a treat.

[Mamagistra]

But I have problems looking at a potato and seeing junk food!

 

Potatoes are not junk food if sensibly prepared and eaten, like any other (real) food, in moderation.

 

[Jami]

Potatoes are not junk food if sensibly prepared and eaten, like any other (real) food, in moderation.

 

 

So...I suppose french fries fall outside the "sensibly prepared" spectrum. :tongue_smilie:

[Pensguys]

I stick with sweet potatoes, and even then, only in fairly strict moderation, as a treat.

 

This is what I have to do too since I'm pre-diabetic/insulin resistant.

[Mamagistra]

So...I suppose french fries fall outside the "sensibly prepared" spectrum. :tongue_smilie:

 

(Not if you're preggers!) ;)

[Pam "SFSOM" in TN]

(Not if you're preggers!) ;)

 

Tater tots did NOT spike my blood sugar. I had them at least once a week!

[RebeccaC]

Red skinned potatoes are not high on the GI lists. It probably has to due with the fact that they are lower in starch. I can eat them in soup (even potato soup,) pot pie, as oven fries with out them overly messing with my blood sugar. Russets on other hand do nasty things to my blood sugar. The long and short of it is not all potatoes are created equal and not all potatoes are like eating table sugar. Sweet potatoes are not potatoes at all.

[Claire in NM]

When I was pregnant with my daughter, I developed gestational diabetes. What I didn't know was my craving for watermelon was not helping.

 

My doctor recommended I read up on the glycemic index. I found that watermelon (1 cup) has a high glycemic index of 72. This means that it quickly raised levels of blood sugar. I was shocked because I was definitely eating more than 1 cup. Well, needless to say, I quite eating watermelon.

 

I read The Glucose Revolution (The Authoritative Guide to The Glycemic Index) by Miller, Ph.D.; Wolever, M.D., Ph.D.; Colagiuri, M.D.; Foster-Powell, M.Nutr. & Diet. This book is very informative.

 

Claire in NM

[Wholeheartedmom]

My Ds11 is on the Glycemic Index diet to control seizures. The diet is actually NOT low carb, but high in carbs that metabolize slowly as opposed to quickly. The index was formed by giving a group of people 50 (or 100gms) of the same carb and measuring their individual blood sugar rises. The individual responses were averaged or meaned to index each carb. Table sugar was assigned the number 100 and is used to measure all other carbs. Potatoes actually have a number of up to 135!

 

The low glycemic index diet consists of eating carbs that have an index of 55 or lower. That excludes nearly all grains, even 100% whole wheat. Peanut M&Ms are actually a GI of 35.

 

The index food is influenced by 5 different factors, lets see if I can remember them:

1)GI foods are modified by the amount of fiber in them. Rolled oats are either low , med or high depending on how processed they are. Instant oatmeal is high, old fashioned rolled oats is a GI of 50.

2) GI foods are modified by how much water they soak up. I forget the scientific name. Rice that is cooked longer has a higher GI than rice that is barely cooked.

3) GI foods are modified by fats and proteins. Plain M&Ms are sky high on the GI index, but with peanuts added they are low, because of the fat and protein in the nuts. I am able to make medium GI bread for my ds by coarsely milling whole wheat berries into flour, then using eggs and milk in the recipe.

4 and 5) I can't remember

[Sharon H in IL]

4 and 5) I can't remember

 

Now see, your blood sugar level spiked, then crashed. Musta been those plain M&Ms. :D

[Rosie_0801]

Actually, it does have scientific backing. And as a personal anecdote, when I was pregnant and diabetic (injecting insulin and checking blood sugars 6-8 times/day), eating a serving of baked potato was like taking three tablespoons of sugar and eating it straight. I found the glycemic index VERY helpful in choosing which carbs would spike my blood sugar and which would not.

 

:iagree: When I was gestational diabetic the only carbs I could manage, while keeping myself fed and off insulin, was 2 slices of burgan (sp?) brand bread, three times per day. It's definately not "hooey" but it's not going to be 100% accurate for everyone, because we are all different. My grandmother can only eat about 1/4 of a corn cob in one sitting where I could eat it all day without messing up my blood sugars.

Rosie

[Wholeheartedmom]

Now see, your blood sugar level spiked, then crashed. Musta been those plain M&Ms. :D

 

LOL Yup!

[Jackie in AR]

Actually, it does have scientific backing. And as a personal anecdote, when I was pregnant and diabetic (injecting insulin and checking blood sugars 6-8 times/day), eating a serving of baked potato was like taking three tablespoons of sugar and eating it straight. I found the glycemic index VERY helpful in choosing which carbs would spike my blood sugar and which would not.

 

Same here regarding the baked potatoes when I had gestational diabetes. The first time I had GD, I actually had to argue with nutritional counselor about potatoes giving me a spike; she assured me it must have been all the toppings (butter, sour cream, cheese, etc.) I put on the potato, not the actual potato itself. She still wasn't convinced when I assured her that all I had used was a tiny bit of butter and salt.

 

As others have said, high glycemic level doesn't necessarily equal junk food.

 

ETA: Ironically, if I had loaded the potato up with sour cream and cheese, the blood sugar spike probably wouldn't have been as high.

[Carol in Cal.]

Same here regarding the baked potatoes when I had gestational diabetes. The first time I had GD, I actually had to argue with nutritional counselor about potatoes giving me a spike; she assured me it must have been all the toppings (butter, sour cream, cheese, etc.) I put on the potato, not the actual potato itself. She still wasn't convinced when I assured her that all I had used was a tiny bit of butter and salt.

 

As others have said, high glycemic level doesn't necessarily equal junk food.

 

ETA: Ironically, if I had loaded the potato up with sour cream and cheese, the blood sugar spike probably wouldn't have been as high.

 

It is really surprising sometimes how little the so-called 'experts' understand about blood sugar control. I'm really glad that I read up on it before taking the classes. The classes locally cover things in a pretty out of date way that does not stand up to the latest research. The sour cream and cheese probably would have been bad for your heart, but I'm sure that it was the potato that kicked up your blood sugar, and agree with you that if anything, the fats probably mitigated that effect a little bit.