anything about the low GI diet??? Its whats being promoted by diabetes nurses and dieticians. Food for thought, will google it mainly because I can't remember what they told me now.
uli,
Dec 11, 5:02am
Yes I do know about low GI - what do you want to know?
cgvl,
Dec 11, 5:33am
so is it good or bad lol. I got told to eat low GI and guess what its full of carbs. But can you give me the low down... trust it more than what a dietician is telling me.
uli,
Dec 11, 6:37am
I am not sure what you mean with "good" or "bad" ?
GI means Glycemic Index. It is in use since the early 1980's and is basically a system for classifying carbohydrate-containing foods.
The GI measures how fast the carbs you have eaten raise your blood sugar levels.
So a food with a higher glycemic value raises blood sugar faster and is less beneficial to blood-sugar control than a food which scores lower.
The glycemic index has a scale from 1 to 100. This scale indicates the rate at which 50 grams of carbohydrate in a particular food is absorbed into the bloodstream as blood-sugar. Glucose is used as the reference point and is rated at 100.
So a Baguette for example has a GI of 95, which is very high. It will bring your blood sugars up very quickly and you will get a spike. Pumpernickel (dark rye bread wholemeal) has only a GI of 41, which is classed as low.
For everyday use you have three categories: High Glycemic Index Foods (GI 70+), that cause a rapid rise in blood-glucose levels. Intermediate Glycemic Index Foods (GI 55-69) causing a medium rise in blood-glucose. Low Glycemic Index Foods (GI 54 or less), causing a slower rise in blood-sugar.
uli,
Dec 11, 6:51am
So while the glycemic index is a measurement of the type or quality of carbs in a particular food - and how fast 50 grams of this carbohydrate raises blood glucose levels, (and consequent insulin secretion and effects produced by the pancreas) as it is digested - you also have to consider the "glycemic load" of the carbs you are eating.
While the glycemic index classifies foods according to how fast 50g of carbs in them raises your blood glucose levels, the "glycemic load" indicates how fast a "standard portion" of a particular food (like Baguette) raises blood glucose, and thus gives an indication of glycemic and insulin response.
Staying with our example from the last post: The standard portion size is here 30g The Glycemic Load for Baguette is then 15 And for Pumpernickel Bread it is only 5
If you remember from my last post the glycemic index is not based on the portions one normally eats. Instead, GI is measured by giving volunteers a portion size sufficient to contain 50g of useable carbs. Therefore the portion size of each GI-tested food will vary according to how much carbohydrate it contains.
For example, carrots contain only about 7 percent carbs, so the test portion of carrots eaten by the volunteer will be huge - about 700g. Serving sizes of foods like bread which contain a higher percentage of carbs, will be smaller.
So the Glycemic load tells you how much carbohydrate is in a standard serving size of food.
To calculate the glycemic load in a serving you divide the GI of that food by 100 and multiply this by the useable carbohydrate content (in grams) in the serving size.
For example, the glycemic index of carrots is about 47. Carrots contain about 7 grams of carbohydrate per 100g of carrots. So, to calculate the glycemic load for a standard 50g serving of carrots, divide 47 by 100 (0.47) and multiply by 3.5. The glycemic load (GL) of carrots is therefore 1.6.
uli,
Dec 11, 7:10am
If you have read the above very carefully then you will understand why nowadays a lot of nutritionists are saying that the Glycemic Load is far more accurate than just using the carb content for blood sugar control.
Food with a low or medium GI value will be higher in fiber and less refined. This makes it more difficult for digestive enzymes in the stomach to break down the carbohydrate into glucose, and thus keeps blood glucose levels from rising too fast. The presence of acid (citrus fruit) also slows down the glucose metabolism, as does fat.
High GI carbohydrate foods (refined white flour etc) give digestive enzymes easy access, which means these carbs are quickly converted to glucose and cause a rapid rise in blood sugar ("sugar spike").
This will then trigger a large amount of insulin to be secreted. Insulins function is to get the glucose out of the blood and into the cells/muscles where it is utilized to provide energy for the body.
Unfortunately the presence of large amounts of insulin in the blood is neither healthy (it may lead to hyperinsulimia and impaired glucose tolerance) nor good for weight management (it creates renewed hunger within a couple of hours).
Years ago sugar was thought to be the main cause of those "sugar spikes". Now however, it is clear that refined white flour foods are the main culprit.
Hence I always say to people to cut out the bread, sugar, cakes, pasta, rice and potatoes. That alone will make a huge difference to your wellbeing without having to calculate all these glycemic loads for every serving of food you are having.
If you keep eating the sort of baking you have copied into the Diabetic baking thread, then you will have either sugar spikes going on all the time (with all the associated health problems when you get older) or you have to take medications - with all the side effects of those medications.
Excessive levels of glucose in the bloodstream are associated with numerous metabolic disorders, including: obesity, insulin insensitivity, impaired glucose tolerance, pre-diabetes, type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance syndrome and heart disease.
uli,
Dec 11, 7:19am
If you really think you need to eat bread then you need to eat low GI breads. Bake your own or choose breads with only 100 percent whole grain or wholemeal flour (not the supermarket stuff, as that is just white flour and bran mixed!).
Bread made with refined white flour (regular flour) triggers a high glycemic response and leads to "sugar spikes". It is now common knowledge that fluffy white breads that are easy to chew and digest - unlike denser, chewy whole wheat bread - are a contributing factor to the growing number of digestive and metabolic disorders (diverticulitis, impaired glucose tolerance and insulin insensitivity).
So if you think you need to eat bread or pasta then you need to avoid white flour breads and buy or bake dense whole grain varieties preferably made with sourdough.
So this why your dietician is saying that you should base your diet on low-GI foods to help keep blood sugar levels from rising too fast after meals and snacks. Less glucose in the bloodstream causes the pancreas to secrete less insulin. And this combination of less blood glucose and less insulin will help to avoid more health problems in future.
cgvl,
Dec 11, 9:18am
thanks Uli better understanding now. actually I don't bake very often although have this week, but thats it for the time being, usually do some baking about once every 3 months. blood sugars not being so well controlled at moment but that is partially due to a massive infection I have,
elliehen,
Dec 11, 10:19am
It's a good idea to buy a reputable GI book for reference too, because there are some surprising GI indices.For example, potato has a higher GI than kumara (sweet potato).Also, it's possible to even out the equation by choosing a high GI food to eat with a low GI food...and end up with a medium :)
uli,
Dec 12, 1:44am
Well - yes its not really astonishing that potatoes have a higher GI than kumara ... if you know how they are "constructed" LOL
And no - if you choose a high GI food to eat with a low GI food...you will NOT "end up with a medium", sorry to say!
The high GI food will be producing a sugar spike and the low GI food will not. Only because you eat white bread with your pumpkin soup doesn't mean that the white bread is going to be used up any slower ...
bedazzledjewels,
Dec 12, 4:03am
Cgvl - here is a story about Steve and this may sound a bit familiar to you. Link: http://freetheanimal.com/2009/12/two-adas-same-awful-advice.html You're very welcome to pop in to the low carb thread if you decide after reading to go primal, paleo or low carb in your eating. All are extensions further down the track from low GI/low GL. Good luck.
orion16,
Dec 12, 8:48am
How do i find the low carb thread please - thanks.
cgvl,
Dec 12, 9:46am
bedazzledjewels. Thanks, I have had a look previously. I also need to lose some weight, pressing problem, which has in part played a roll in my Type 2 diabetes the other factor is that it is hereditry, both my gmother and auncle and aunt as well as possibly others on my maternal side had type 2. Am going to try loosely the Atkins diet and see if I can kick start things again. Must admit today I have felt much better by eating protein for breakfast and only 2 pieces wholegrain bread at lunch with some fruit and made scones for tea with kumara chowder. Don't feel so heavy and more energy, so looks like its back to high protein low carb again.
Cheers Ulifor the info really appreciated.
marywea,
Dec 12, 6:48pm
Interesting and easily understood post Uli-all that "typing" is appreciated.
bedazzledjewels,
Dec 12, 7:07pm
It might be best for you to make the changes slowly rather than dive into Atkins induction. Maybe as you have changed to a protein breakfast, that can be the first change. Then perhaps cut out spuds or rice or pasta. Then it seems like the biggest change for you will be cutting out flour. You'll find when you do that, that you'll also be cutting back on your sugar intake as well. The alternative is to go cold turkey!
cgvl,
Dec 12, 8:17pm
mm hardly eat potato etc and usually very little sugar, I find the hardest meal to replace on Atkins though is lunch. Bedazzledjewels thank you so much for your imput BG down last night and again this morning so its getting better, still high but way lower than the previous 3 days. I've never had it sit about 8 for any length of time and to get 3 readings of 10, 12 and 9.8 was a shocker. Being really strict on what I am eating so hopefully by tonight it will be back around the 6 mark. Just need to keep it there now, at least Doc said if I can get A1c back to between 5-6 then I can go off the metformin, so have a point to prove lol.
uli,
Dec 12, 8:24pm
I am glad if I could help you to make that decision cgvl. You can always ask in the low carb thread if you get stuck. Good luck!
orion16,
Dec 12, 9:57pm
Thank you uli
uli,
Dec 12, 10:00pm
Happy reading :)
uli,
Aug 30, 10:14pm
bump for dex250.
tich50,
Aug 31, 7:38am
thanxforallyouradviceuli...
'Hence I always say to people to cut out the bread, sugar, cakes, pasta, rice and potatoes. That alone will make a huge difference to your wellbeing without having to calculate all these glycemic loads for every serving of food you are having.'
tich50 - have you found our own NZ website yet? If you google low carb cooking nz - you will fins it - lots of lovely recipes with no packet mixes etc, just pure "food". We'd love to see you there :)
tich50,
Sep 1, 10:07am
thanxagainforthat.willgooglewhenihavemoretime.
elliehen,
Sep 1, 10:36am
hestia's quote from the latest GI thread corrects the misinformation in the post above it, in this older resurrected thread.
amiri1,
Sep 1, 12:57pm
Tried mixing low and high GI foods together and my resulting blood sugars told me that they don't make a medium GI mixture in the stomach. But hey, everyones different? :)
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