We at Healthshifter are tuned in to sugar(glucose) and it’s threat to our health and wellbeing. Carly and I both have eliminated processed sugar and starches. Not easy…but very doable. As sugar affects each one of us in different ways we often refer to the Glycemic Index(GI) and Glycemic load(GL) when choosing carbohydrates(“carbs).” Carbs have sugar and the GI and GL give us information on both! A recent article from Harvard Health Publishing’s Healthbeat(click below) gives us the “lowdown.”
What does sugar have to do with Glycemic Index and Glycemic load and what do those terms mean? We eat carbs every day. They are everywhere-in our fruits, veggies, legumes, beans, chips, cookies and other processed foods. Each carb-containing food has the potential to raise our blood sugar-some foods raise it fast, some raise it slow. Some foods do not even significantly raise our blood sugar at all. Many health professionals agree that we should try and avoid those foods that result in a quick and high spike in blood sugar. These spikes can set the stage for a host of serious health problems. The glycemic index(GI) scores food on a scale of 0-100. The lower the GI, the slower your blood sugar rises after eating a particular food. Generally, the more processed a food, the higher the GI and the more fiber or fat in a food, the lower it’s GI. The glycemic index , however, tells us only part of the whole story.
The amount of food we eat matters too. The glycemic index doesn’t tell us how high our blood sugar rises when we eat a typical portion of food. Here is where the glycemic load comes in. It gives a more accurate picture of a food’s real-life impact on our blood sugar. For many, this number is the most important number to consider. It tells us how much glucose(sugar) per serving the food delivers. So for example, watermelon has a high glycemic index (80). But a serving of watermelon has so little carbohydrate that its glycemic load is only 5. We remember being told to “be careful” eating carrots as they are “high in starch” and that the glycemic index is 68. A 68 is high up on the GI scale! It is even higher than some ice-creams. But remember, what is the glycemic load for a typical portion one tends to eat? A typical average 80 gram serving of carrots only has a GL of 3. We don’t plan on eating several pounds of carrots at a time, so we enjoy them! In fact, most veggies don’t even register on the glycemic load scale which means it is almost impossible to eat enough of them to raise your blood sugar significantly. Dr. Mark Hyman’s book, “Food What the Heck Should I Eat”, tells us we can eat as much of the following carbs as we like: Salad greens, spinach, broccoli, kale, asparagus, cabbage, bok choy, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, celery, cucumbers, mushrooms, herbs and seaweed. The following starchier veggies rank higher on the GL list: Pumpkin(3), Sweet corn(11), Japanese sweet potato(11), parsnip(12), baked russet potato(26) microwavable potato(27). The very wise Dr. Hyman suggests that ”Our goal should be to stick with foods that have a glycemic load of 11 or lower.”(126-127). But always remember! Ask your doctor or other health professional which carbs work for your body. Click the link below and read on!
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