Snickers Cookies

With the Glycemic Index Diet, it is the quality of carbohydrates that matters. Its concept is to make individuals feel fuller by indulging in low-GI good carbohydrates together with healthy fats and lean protein. Good carbohydrates include whole grains, whole fruits, legumes, and vegetables. Avoiding foods high in Glycemic Index is necessary especially since most of them are processed and made from white flour.

However, some nutrition experts claim that having a low GI score is not an effective assurance of being healthy. Carrots have glycemic index between 16 and 92, while sugar or candy can have lower GI score than a potato. Candy bars like Snickers are categorized as low GI food. However, when you check its GI score, it is 55. On the other hand, foods with high GI can also be nutritious, like corn, baked potatoes and fruits juices. The point here is to use common sense.

Glycemic index diets are popular in the weight loss industry. It is based on the concept that high GI foods increase the levels of blood sugar, cause the body to produce excess insulin, and encourage fat storage. Another reason why the glycemic index diet is controversial is the fact that GI scores can be altered by several factors like ripeness and cooking method. For instance, the riper the banana is, the higher is the score. Rachel Johnson, PhD, MPH, RD expound that al dente pasta has a higher GI than well cooked pasta. When fats are added, the GI scores become lower, or when a food product is made with fructose and not sucrose, it is ingested more slowly; hence, it has a lower GI score.

Also, GI response to a particular food varies widely from individual to individual. It can also vary within the same individual from day to day as reported by the June 2007 issue of Diabetes Care.

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