What Is A Glucose Index, And What Does It Mean To Me?

When you are trying to lose weight and get in shape, you generally watch your calories and carbohydrates, which can elevate your blood sugar levels. The glucose index, or glycemic index, will help you choose the right foods to help you reach and maintain your ideal weight.

How it works

The glucose index is a numerical system that measures the increase in blood sugar after eating and how quickly it increases. This system was introduced to the world in the 1980s, and began the trend to reduce sugars in many diets.

Because bread and pure sugar are the foods with the highest number of carbohydrates, with a rating of 100, the index measures other foods against them. Basically, the higher the number a food is on the scale, the greater the increase in blood sugar levels.

If you are on a low-carb diet, you will want to have a glycemic or glucose index handy so you know what foods are okay for you to eat. This way, you will be able to prepare healthy meals for yourself and your family.

Sugar isn’t the only thing you need to worry about

Most people think that people with diabetes need only avoid actual sugar, but this couldn’t be farther from the truth. In fact, a seemingly healthy baked potato can actually rate higher on the glucose scale than a piece of chocolate!

There are many foods other than sweets that have a high glucose index. Some of these foods, surprisingly, include rice cakes, raisin bran cereal, dates (off the scale completely at 103), pretzels and graham crackers.

You still need foods that have a high glucose index

Even though you are supposed to be watching your carbohydrate intake, you do need some carbohydrates for energy. Eating a high-carb snack with a somewhat higher (not too high) glucose index after exercising is a great way to revitalize your energy.

Enjoy a snack that is full of complex carbohydrates, especially starchy treats, because they will provide just the right amount of glucose you need to regain your energy. Try munching on an apple or a piece of candy, or put a teaspoon of honey in your green tea.

If you are on a diet that requires you to eat food with a low glucose index, here are some foods should be avoided:

Processed (packaged) foods
Chocolate Bars
Cakes
Cookies
Ice Cream
Potatoes
White Bread
Novelty Cereals
Watermelon

These are just a few of the foods to avoid. For a more comprehensive list, you can visit a number of different websites, including the one provided on the resource box below the article, for all of the information you need.

No matter what type of diet you are thinking about starting, remember to always consult your doctor first, especially if you have any existing medical conditions. He or she will be able to help you decide on the right diet plan for you based on your medical history, your current weight and how much weight you want to lose.

The Wheat Glycemic Index – Helping People Make Healthier Choices

When someone is thinking about starting the Glycemic Index diet, they are going to discover that there are not too many changes that they have to make to their diet. They are going to be able to eat most of the same kinds of foods that they love, just with some alterations.

Here are some of the things that people should consider doing when they are doing the Glycemic Index diet:

Put color into diet – When people look at the Glycemic Index to start the diet, they are going to discover that the items that have a lot of white in them – bread, pasta, and other items have a higher level. But when they look at the wheat Glycemic Index, they find that there is often a big change, although some of them are on the high side. For example, here are some wheat Glycemic Index items:

Mini Wheats – 57

Shredded Wheat – 69

Puffed wheat – 74

Wheat kernels – 41

Whole Wheat Spaghetti – 37

Spaghetti, Durum wheat – 55

Plan – The second thing that you want to do is plan. If you know that you will be having a dinner that is going to have a lot of items that are on the high end of the Glycemic Index, make sure that you are eating items that are on the lower end of the spectrum earlier in the day. The great thing about this diet is the fact that if you eat the lower items earlier in the day, for breakfast and lunch, for example, it’s going to carry over to dinner. This plan doesn’t mean that you are going to have to give up everything that you want to eat. In fact, a lot of favorite things are on the low side of the index.

Talk to a doctor – The third thing that you want to do is to consult a doctor before you start anything. It’s important to get a physical and make sure that this is going to be okay for you, especially if you have other health problems such as diabetes. They may want to monitor you closely to make sure that you aren’t doing anything that can harm you. Whenever you are starting a diet, it’s always good to let your doctor know about it and make sure that they are watching your health.

Looking at the different things in the Glycemic Index and following them to help you lose weight and stay healthy is a good idea. As you can see, the wheat Glycemic Index can also make a big difference in the way that you are eating, and wheat bread and pasta is much healthier than the regular white pasta and bread. Many people have discovered that this is a great way to lose weight and get healthy, and it doesn’t require any special food purchases, just some healthier decisions. It’s a diet that just about anyone can do.

Truth About Living With Low Glycemic Food

Whenever people start talking about diets, health and fitness, they invariably start discussing carbs and how bad they are for you. They might even talk about how much weight they lost not eating any carbs at all (a technical impossibility and a very bad idea). While it is true that reducing some of the carbohydrates that you eat during the day is important not only for weight loss but for overall health as well, it is not true that all carbohydrates are bad.

Simple vs. Complex Carbohydrates

In the world of the carb, there are two kinds: simple and complex. Simple carbohydrates are the ones that taste oh so good but dissolve into your body oh so fast and make you oh so fat. Think of the sugar-induced rush when you gulp down a soda or eat a candy bar- these are simple carbs at their very finest. They are broken down by the body quickly, enter your blood stream and spike your insulin levels leading to weight gain. Simple carbohydrates tend to be devoid of any real nutritional value as well, so after that initial rush of energy has worn off your body will be looking to fulfill its needs with even more food.

A complex carbohydrate, on the other hand, will take longer to break down by the body, leaving you feeling fuller for far longer without the hyper-crash cycle of more sugary foods and treats. In addition, because they are broken down more slowly, there is no sudden spike in blood sugar levels so your body does not have to panic and send out floods of insulin to combat what it thinks is a major problem. Because you are not as hungry, you eat less food; it’s a win-win situation.

GI Food and Diabetes

Diabetics typically need to control their disease with both diet and medications, including for many of them, insulin injections. However, for those who are borderline or have pre-diabetes, the best course of action is to change the diet before the disease progresses. Even a small reduction in weight can reverse the diabetes and for many people, maintaining their proper weight through diet is all of the “medicine” they will need. However, low glycemic food are not only for diabetics or those who are at risk for the disease- they are perfect to reduce weight, can help reduce the chance of heart disease and can improve athletic performance as well.

What is the Glycemic Food Index?

Every food that you eat, from the chocolate kisses that you snuck out of the desk to the huge steak dinner you tucked away last night, will affect your blood sugar level differently. Foods that are high on the Glycemic Index will raise your blood sugar, which makes the body freak out and dump out high levels of insulin. The insulin in turn kicks off a complicated chain of reactions that leads to fat storage rather than fat burning. Because the body stored the fat instead of using it for energy, you will find yourself hungry again very quickly, setting yourself up for a vicious cycle that leads you to make the same bad choices, eating the same bad foods and getting the same bad results every time.

Foods that are low on the glycemic index do not cause this flood of insulin because they do not spike the blood sugar levels at all. They enter the blood stream at a slower rate and the body can use what it needs for energy production and store any extra as it needs. In the slower process, some of the excess calories that you take in will be stored as glycogen and burned when energy gets low- however, if you bypass this process or there is simply too much to deal with, the body will convert the calories to fat, which is far harder to access and burn.

Simple Changes Are the Key

Using low glycemic food to maintain your health and weight is not difficult; it involves making some simple changes to the foods that you already eat every day. Instead of eating a sandwich on white bread, opt for cracked, whole grain bread instead. You get the same sandwich, but you get increased nutrition and fiber as well. You can find a better substitute for most of your favorite foods online. Eating low glycemic food is not about deprivation; it is about eating better foods in moderation not only for overall weight loss but for better health as well.

Alcohol And The Carbohydrate Index

Will a couple of drinks hurt your diet?

Have you ever seen a sensible diet plan that included alcohol? Probably not! But, you can enjoy the odd drink without ruining your diet or raising your blood sugar levels, if you are drinking the right drinks. The right drinks are drinks that have a low carbohydrate index.

Of course, ideally, you won’t be consuming any alcoholic beverages. After all, they are just empty calories, and most are loaded with carbs. And because your body will absorb the alcohol before it absorbs any carbohydrates (or fats and proteins), your body will take longer to burn fat.

“Did you know… that alcohol by itself does not contain carbohydrates. It is the additives you need to be aware of!”

If you want to drink, make sure that the drinks are low on the carbohydrate index. If they are higher, you can still enjoy them, but in smaller quantities. For example, if you want to have a beer, have a light beer instead of a regular one. Light beers average fewer than 4 grams of carbs per 12-ounce bottle compared to a regular beer, which can have 13 grams of carbs. That’s a huge difference.

Is there such a thing as a true low-carb alcoholic drink?

Forget the hype you may have heard. There is no such thing as an alcoholic drink that is really low-carb. Many producers of beer and wine boast low carbs in their advertising campaigns, but this just means that their products may have a lower carbohydrate index than others. It is illegal for any wine producer to claim that their product can help you lose weight.

Will I get fat if I drink alcohol?

Drinking to excess is never a good thing for your health in general. Yes, alcoholic beverages are high in calories, and often high on the carbohydrate index. As long as you maintain good sense, and don’t over-indulge, it is perfectly safe for you to enjoy a drink or two on occasion.

As previously mentioned, light beer is better for a low-carb diet than regular beer. Or enjoy a glass of ale, which only has between five and nine grams of carbs. Drink dry wines as opposed to sweet ones. If you are having cocktails, use mixes that are low on the carbohydrate index, including tomato and other vegetable juices*.

*Many fruit juices have a high carbohydrate index, so you should avoid them as mixes.

Avoid soda as a mix, even diet soda. Soda is full of sugar, and diet sodas are sweetened with chemicals. You’re best off sticking to club soda if you are looking for something carbonated to mix your drink.

Go ahead and enjoy a drink, but don’t overdo it!

No matter how well you stick to your diet, there will always be situations when you find yourself facing the decision to eat or drink things that have a high carbohydrate index. As long as you do it in moderation, enjoy that glass of wine or bottle of beer.

If you want to know how many carbs are in your favorite beer and wines, here is a chart with many of the popular brands. Values for alcohol carbohydrates are estimates and may vary between different products and glass size!

Carbohydrates In Alcohol Table

Alcoholic Drink	Size	Carbs	Calories
Beer average	half Liter	12 g	167
Lager average	half Liter	7.5 g	145
Cider average	half Liter	13 g	181
Whisky	15ml	trace	33
Gin	15ml	trace	33
Brandy	15ml	trace	33
Rum	15ml	trace	33
Wine red	100ml	0.5	70
Wine white dry	100ml	1	65
Wine white medium	100ml	3.5	70
Wine white sweet	100ml	6	90
Wine white sparkling	100ml	1.5	74
Rose	100ml	2.4	62
Champagne	100ml	3.7	126
Pernod	100ml	4.3	140
Tia Maria	100ml	3	155
Southern Comfort	100ml	4	184
Drambuie	100ml	3	184
Sherry dry	100ml	1.5	110
Sherry medium	100ml	3.5	112
Sherry sweet	100ml	7	130
Port	100ml	12	160
Martini	100ml	4	175
Baileys Cream	1 glass	5	120
Bacardi	1 glass	3	118

The Glycemic Impact Diet Revealed And Why It Really Works

You tried the grapefruit diet. You went on the all salad diet. You even tried diets that only allowed you to eat what was marked on special little cards. Did any of them work? Doubtful! What will work? The only science-based weight loss program with years of proven success track record: the Glycemic Impact Diet. And here is why.

It has been proven time and time again that fad diets DO NOT WORK! In fact, even if you do lose a little bit of weight, more than likely you will put it right back on again, and then some. Doesn’t this kind of defeat the purpose?

If you are looking for the most sensible way to lose weight, one of the best and most popular diets today is the glycemic impact diet. Based on the glycemic index, this diet plan has actually been around for a long time, but only in the past couple of decades have its benefits come to full light.

The Glycemic Load

Not only does this diet concentrate on the glycemic index, it also looks at the amount of carbohydrates in foods. In some cases, it is actually okay to eat foods that are high on the glycemic index.

For example, if you want to eat something that is high on the glycemic index, if the amount of carbohydrates is low, it will balance out and you can enjoy that particular food.

A Typical Glycemic Impact Diet Meal Plan

A typical meal plans consist of three types of foods: complex carbohydrates, lean proteins and healthy fats. It is a sensible diet, easy to follow, and you have many options, so you will never be hungry and will always be satisfied.

Complex Carbohydrates: Whole grains, whole grain breads, whole grain cereals, fruit.
Lean Proteins: Fish, chicken, turkey, small amounts pork and beef (occasionally). Vegetarians can substitute tofu and vegetable and soy proteins.
Healthy Fats: Nuts, olives and olive oil, mustard, skim milk.

A Sample Daily menu

Breakfast: Enjoy a veggie omelet made with egg whites. (You might as well try to reduce your cholesterol while you are at it.) Have a few berries or a slice of apple on the side, and wash it all down with a glass of skim milk.

Mid-Morning Snack (only if you really need it): Cottage cheese or yogurt.

Lunch: Energize for the afternoon with a toasted tomato sandwich with a slice of cheese and a small green salad on the side. Have skim milk or water as your beverage.

Mid-Afternoon Snack (after all, you need a pick-me-up): Whole grain crackers with a few olives and an ounce of lean protein.

Dinner: Tantalize your taste buds with a delicious chicken stir-fry, made with your favorite veggies and lean chicken. Use olive oil for sauteing, and flavor with low-sodium chicken broth.

Evening Snack: Go light. Have some fresh fruit and a handful of nuts or a serving of flavored yogurt.

As you can see, the Glycemic Impact Diet plan is a healthy, simple way to lose weight and stay healthy without having to sacrifice great tasting foods. There are plenty of delicious options that you and your family will love. And the best part of it all, is that you are letting science do all the work for you while you enjoy eating and seeing that scale showing lower and lower numbers!