The Glycemic Index

The concept of a glycemic index (GI) was introduced by Dr. David J. Jenkins and colleagues in 1981 at the University of Toronto. It is defined according to the University of Sydney (Australia) as “a ranking of carbohydrates on a scale from 1 to 100 according to the extent to which they raise blood sugar (glucose) levels after eating.” Foods that rank 70 or higher on the GI produce a more rapid rise in blood sugar and insulin levels. The foods that are ranked less than a 55 GI produce a lower effect on the blood sugar. The foods with a GI  between 55 and 70 are considered as medium GI foods.

The idea of considering a diet with lower GI foods stems from the research on the development  of Type 2 diabetes, sometimes referred to as adult-onset diabetes. The reason a person may be prone to develop diabetes is because their cells in their body have become resistant to the effects of insulin. If a person has a constant, persistent diet filled with high GI foods and snacks, their insulin levels will be continually raised in response to the sugar in their blood. Eventually, the cells in the body become resistant to insulin, thereby causing the sugar levels to remain high in the blood stream. As the sugar levels remain elevated in the blood, the sugar molecules interact with proteins in the body through a process called glycation, which is the formation of an irreversible bond between glucose (sugar) and proteins. This causes the protein to be ineffective and eventually leads to the destructive effects of diabetes in the body. The major destructive effects of high blood sugar are on the cardiovascular system (especially narrowing of arteries), effects in the eye leading to blindness, pain in the extremities (neuropathies), and renal disease and failure. There is some thought that high sugar levels may contribute to dementia. In addition, lowering one’s intake of high GI foods may result in lowering obesity.

In fact, the Glycemic Index Foundation (University of Sydney) states that the science indicates a low GI diet reduces the risk of developing significant health problem and promotes better health in general, such as:

• -Manage weight by controlling appetite and delaying hunger
• -Fuel the body for sustained energy
• -Improve pregnancy outcomes
• -Reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and heart disease
• -Improve concentration
• -Increase physical performance by extending endurance
• -Reduce breast cancer risk
• -Manage Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)
• -Decrease the risk of common diabetic complications
• -Feel fuller for longer
• -Benefit eye health and prevent age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading      cause of blindness
• -Reduce acne

The bottom line is to reduce the consumption of sugar and foods that are digested into sugar, thus raising insulin levels. This means a change in what we consume as much as how much we consume, which has been the major paradigm in our culture.

For more information, please visit the University of Sydney’s Glycemic Index and GI News at https://glycemicindex.com/. Another good resource that addresses this issue is a book by Gary Taubes “The Case Against Sugar.”

Prosper and be in health.