The Glycemic Index

What is the Glycemic Index?
The Glycemic Index (GI) relates to the way your body's sugar levels respond to different types of carbohydrates. The quicker the sugar levels increase after food consumption the more insulin is released in a short space of time.

What does it mean for me?
Insulin is the hormone, which is required to allow sugar to enter body cells and be used for energy production. However, insulin is also a powerful stimulator of the enzyme which builds body fat from excess energy. Foods with a high GI (like sugar) generate a strong insulin response, meaning that they make it more likely that excess enery is stored as fat than foods with a low GI.

Foods are given a rating from 0 –100 on the glycemic index with glucose in the highest position. High Glycemic Index foods (such as simple carbohydrates) will increase the body’s sugar levels - and consequently your insulin levels - rapidly whereas low glycemic index foods will increase the body’s sugar levels slowly and have much less impact on insulin release.

How does the Glycemic Index work?
The glycemic index of a food is hard to predict but factors such as high fibre content, high fat content and incomplete cooking decrease the glycaemic index. For example whole grain bread has a lower GI than white bread.

Below is a glycemic index foods list. The glycemic index foods list shows the food category and also the glycemic index for each particluar food in that category.