How The Glycemic Index Of Food Affects Weight Loss

The glycemic index (GI) is an indicator that indicates the change in glucose levels after a meal. It is usually accepted to calculate relatively in 100 units.

Carbohydrates in products with a high GI are broken down quickly, blood glucose levels rise sharply, and then fall just as sharply.

For products with a low GI, the opposite is true: the rise in glucose levels occurs slowly but lasts longer.

What is the relationship of the glycemic index of food to weight loss?

If a person's diet contains a lot of products with a high GI, then there is no question of losing weight, because the body will not be able to consume fat. Why? Because he will have to process glucose all the time and use it, fat is not enough.

If a person expends little energy, glucose, with the help of insulin, is converted into fat and polysaccharide glycogen: the body is more convenient to store them - in the liver, muscles and other cells. "Repositories" can grow to enormous proportions: people continue to consume "fast-carb" products and confuse their entire metabolism, and it is very difficult to get out of this state.

Sweets are a clear example. During our lunch break, many of us drink tea and eat a bun, croissant, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate dessert or other "convenient" temptation that can be eaten quickly and on foot, after which we sit behind the desk again and the body has nowhere to go. expend calories consumed.

In addition to sweets, we eat other high-calorie foods, including filling evenings after work. As a result, insulin is released into the blood many times a day: new fat is formed, old fat is stored, and body weight increases.

It turns out that knowing the glycemic index of products is not superfluous for most people.

Food with such a high rate is more often needed by those whose work is associated with physical activity, as well as for athletes. This does not mean that we should completely exclude it from our menu - it also contains substances necessary for health, we should just take it less often and in small quantities.

What products to choose?

Foods with low or medium GI are broken down and digested for a long time, blood sugar does not rise sharply after consumption, and insulin will not build up new fat stores.

There is no indication of this indicator on the packaging of most products in the commercial network, but anyone could get the necessary information from the Internet, as there are comparative tables that contain the GI of the specific product. The table can be printed out and hung in a suitable place in the kitchen (for example on the refrigerator door) and used every time when compiling a healthy daily menu.

After all that has been said so far, it is clear that foods with a low glycemic index are preferable .

We will not apply endless lists of products and their glycemic index, suffice it to say that a low GI is up to 40 units (according to some sources up to 50). This defines almost all vegetables, many fruits and berries, also whole grains, pasta from "durum" varieties of wheat, legumes, green leafy plants, mushrooms, nuts and others. Meat, fish and other protein-rich foods have a very low GI - most of them do not contain carbohydrates at all.

The average glycemic index (up to 65 units) determines some fruits and berries, canned vegetables and fruits, juices without sugar, fruit jam, "soft" pasta, black bread, some cereals and processed products (which are the majority). For example, the GI of ready-made oatmeal is 60, and of boiled unpeeled potatoes - 65.

How to make the menu?

Of course, it is not difficult to print and place the information in a prominent place. But how should it be used to be beneficial?

It is necessary to know that the GI of the products changes dramatically in the process of cooking and the indicator depends a lot on the way they are processed. Boiled or baked potatoes do not have a high glycemic index, but fried in fat has almost three times higher values.

All products containing starch (cereals, pasta and even vegetables) have a high GI if cooked and stewed for too long.

If you compare the GI of roasted meat and meatballs, that of meatballs will be significantly higher. In fact, this also applies to vegetable variants, as well as to salads and other dishes, for the preparation of which the products are chopped, crushed, planed. It is better to chew thoroughly.

Cellulose lowers the glycemic index of products because it is processed more slowly, so whole fruits (preferably not peeled) are the better choice over their juices, and the juices themselves are best contained in the fleshy part of the fruit. .

Salads should be seasoned with vegetable oil, in other dishes also add one instead of saturated fat: vegetable options slow down the absorption of glucose.

Eat protein foods with vegetables and leafy greens: complex carbohydrates will lower GI and help better absorb protein.

Compose your menu so that in the morning you take products with the highest glycemic index, at noon - with medium, and in the evening - with the lowest possible: then at night the cells will form less fat.

A hypoglycemic diet for weight loss is built on this principle.