The Glycemic Index – Just Another Fad?

There are lots of food and diet fads that come and go. Perhaps you’ve heard of The Aitken’s Diet, The Soup Diet, The Fasting Diet, eating no carbs, eating lots of carbs, the list goes on! In 2002 we became aware of a new way of looking at carbohydrates and how our bodies process them through the Glycemic Index (GI). This became a household term, and it seemed everyone was talking about the GI of foods.
So, was it just a fad or does it hold some important information on how our bodies process the food we digest and the effect that has on our overall health?

The official GI website administered by the University of Sydney explains how GI is calculated:

 “The glycemic index (GI) is a ranking of carbohydrates on a scale from 0 to 100 according to the extent to which they raise blood sugar levels after eating. Foods with a high GI are those which are rapidly digested and absorbed and result in marked fluctuations in blood sugar levels. Low-GI foods, by virtue of their slow digestion and absorption, produce gradual rises in blood sugar and insulin levels, and have proven benefits for health.”

Those foods which have a high GI raise our blood sugar levels quickly and significantly after eating them and, while ok in moderation, can play havoc with our pancreas and other vital organs if we continually rely on high GI foods for most of our nutrition.

The pancreas is responsible for the secretion of insulin, the hormone that regulates and breaks down the glucose in our cells. If there are continual dramatic spikes in our blood sugar, the pancreas struggles to produce enough insulin to meet the demand and eventually this can lead to a condition called “Insulin Resistance”. This is where the liver and the cells of your body are no longer able to respond to insulin and you face the very real possibility of developing Type 2 Diabetes. Scary stuff!

So while it may seem that following the GI of foods was a passing fad of the early 2000s, the science on which it is based cannot be denied. As society relies more and more on quick, carbohydrate-laden foods that are filling and easy to prepare, there has been a steady increase of serious diseases linked with poor management of blood glucose levels.

If you would like to know more about how fluctuations on blood sugar can affect your health or would like to check the GI of the foods you consume, you can find lots of helpful information at www.glycemicindex.com, the official website for the glycemic index and international GI database which is based in the University of Sydney.