Food: Glycemic Index

[laramie]

I've recently been reading Michel Montignac's Eat Yourself Slim, which has some very eye-opening information on the Glycemic Index and the different effects different sorts of carbohydrates can have on a body. The Glycemic Index measures the quantity of glucose that a food causes the body to produce.

The pancreas will secrete insulin to eliminate an excess of glucose in the blood and to store it elsewhere in the body (the liver and muscles.) "Under the insulin's effect, the glycemia level becomes lower until it finally returns to normal."

"In a thin person the amount of insulin secreted by the pancreas is always exactly proportional to the level of glycemia. On the other hand, for those who are overweight and especially for obese people, things happen differently."

"In overweight people, as soon as the glycemic peak is attanined, the pancreas begins to secret insulin. But instead of releasing it into the blood in the exact quantity necessary to bring glycemia to its normal level, it will secrete an excess. Hyperinsulinism is caused by a pancreas that works overtime, and in turn, causes fats to be stored."

Montignac advises eating carbs that are low on the glycemic index, and entirely banning high GI carbs (white flour, potatos, rice, corn) (just like Oprah advises!) - and eating lots of fresh fruits, vegetables, high fiber grains (whole wheat is good, barley is good). The book is inspiring me to pay a lot more attention to what kind of food I'm eating. (It's sad because I love potatos and corn - but apparently, they are only good for me if I want to gain weight and risk diabetes and heart disease.)

Comments

[skylarker.livejournal.com]

On the plus side, I can eat as much as I want, guilt free, of good things like cherries and nuts, salmon and whole grains, legumes and greens.

[dreamshark.livejournal.com]

The thing to remember about the glycemic index is that it applies to meals rather than individual foods. A piece of bread with butter on it has a very different glycemic index than just a piece of bread. It's not like counting grams of fat or grams of carbohydrate, where you just take all the numbers and add them up.

That being the case, I think some of the things being written about glycemic index are nonsense. I haven't read the book you are quoting, but if it really tries to classify foods as "good" or "bad" based on their standalone glycemic index, I am deeply suspicious of the science. A plain potato may have a high glycemic index, but most people don't eat plain potatoes. Most people eat potatoes with butter or sour cream, and they eat them along with a full meal.

I think the lesson of the glycemic index is that Mom was right when she said to eat balanced meals. If you eat a bagel all by itself, it probably does make your insulin level spike. If you eat the same bagel along with a chunk of meat and one orange vegetable and one green vegetable and maybe a little butter, the glycemic index for the meal is low, and presumably your pancreas is happier.