What is the Glycemic Index and Why Should You Care?
You may have heard a lot about GI or glycemic index recently. Many well known food products use ‘low GI’ as a marketing message, promising ‘long lasting energy’. Other products simply boast the small GI symbol on their packaging. There is a GI diet, and many recipe books and magazines feature recipes that are low GI. But what exactly is GI and is a diet based on low GI foods beneficial for our health? What is GI? GI or glycemic index is a rating system from 0 to 100, based on the effect that a food has on blood sugar levels when it is eaten. Only foods containing carbohydrates can have a GI rating, as carbohydrates are broken during digestion to their simplest form, sugars. High GI foods with ratings of 70 or more are those which are digested and absorbed quickly, causing a rapid increase in blood sugar, usually followed by a substantial drop in levels. Low GI foods, with a rating less than 55 on the other hand, are absorbed and digest...