What
is the Glycemic Index & Glycemic Load? |
Glycemic index (GI) and glycemic
load (GL) values rank carbohydrate
foods based on their immediate effect on blood glucose levels. Carbohydrates
that breakdown quickly during digestion have a high glycemic index.
Carbohydrates that breakdown
slowly have a low glycemic index. The GI value indicates how rapidly
a carbohydrate turns into glucose; it doesn't indicate how much
digestable carbohydrate is available in a food serving. The amount
of available carbohydrate (for example, less dietary fibre) in a
specific food serving multiplied by the GI value is called the glycemic
load (GL) value of the food. For the effects of GI and GL, see Long-term
effect of varying the source or amount of dietary carbohydrate on
postprandial plasma glucose, insulin, triacylglycerol, and free
fatty acid concentrations in subjects with impaired glucose tolerance,
Thomas MS Wolever and Christine Mehling, AJCN, Vol. 77,
No. 3, 612-621, March 2003.
Within 2 hours of consumption,
foods with a high glycemic index (GI) produce higher blood glucose
peaks and greater overall blood glucose responses than foods with
a low GI. Even in healthy people, higher postprandial blood glucose
levels are associated with all causes of mortality. Lowering postprandial
blood glucose levels is a major means of minimizing the complications
associated with type 2 diabetes. Your postprandial levels can be
lowered by eating meals with low-GI/GL
foods and checking your postprandial response to the selected meals
using a blood glucose meter immediately
before and two hours after each meal.
The glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c)
test is commonly used as an indicator of how well a person has controlled
their diabetes over the previous 3 months. Low-GI diets have been
shown to lower HbA1c; see Importance
of glycemic index in diabetes, JC Miller, AJCN, Vol
59, 747S-752S,1994.
The long-term consumption of
a diet with a high glycemic load is associated with an increased
risk of developing type 2 diabetes; see Glycemic
index, glycemic load, and risk of type 2 diabetes, Walter Willett,
JoAnn Manson and Simin Liu, AJCN, Vol. 76, No. 1, 274S-280S,
July 2002.
A diet with a high glycemic
load is also associated with elevated levels of C-reactive protein
(CRP); see Relation
between a diet with a high glycemic load and plasma concentrations
of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein in middle-aged women,
Simin Liu, et al, AJCN, Vol. 75, No. 3, 492-498, March
2002. CRP is associated with an increased risk of heart disease,
insulin resistance, and the onset of type 2 diabetes; see Comparison
of C-Reactive Protein and Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Levels
in the Prediction of First Cardiovascular Events, Paul
M Ridker, et al, NEJM, Vol. 347:1557-1565, No. 20, November
14 2002; C-reactive
protein and diabetes mellitus type 2: The Hoorn Study, MB Snijder,
JM Dekker, et al, also see Relation
of Impaired Fasting and Postload Glucose With Incident Type 2 Diabetes
in a Dutch Population: The Hoorn Study, Femmie de Vegt, Jacqueline
M Dekker, et al, JAMA, Vol. 285 No.16, April 25, 2001,
pp 2109-2113; and C-Reactive
Protein, Interleukin 6, and Risk of Developing Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus,
Aruna D Pradhan, et al, JAMA Vol. 286, No. 3, pp. 327-334,
July 18 2001.
Protein and fat have very little
effect on blood glucose levels. Protein does not affect the
absorption of carbohydrates or the glucose response peak. Fat delays
the peak but not the total glucose response. There are some indications
that the long-term consumption of high fat and high protein diets
may induce insulin resistance. For more details, see Protein
Controversies in Diabetes, Marion J Franz. Diabetes Spectrum,
Vol. 13, No. 3, 2000, 132-141; and Effect
of Protein Ingestion on the Glucose Appearance Rate in People with
Type 2 Diabetes, MC Gannon, JA Nuttall, G Damberg, V Gupta,
FQ Nuttall, Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism,
Vol. 86, March 2001, 1040-1047.
For more information on the
glycemic index see http://www.mendosa.com/gi.htm,
Diabetes
and Diet: A Type 2 Patient's Successful Efforts at Control,
The
Glucose Revolution: The Authorative Guide to the Glycemic Index,
and Diabetes,
Sugar and Energy |
Database
Description

GI & GL Values SmartList
|
Glycemic
Index (GI) & Glycemic Load (GL) Values
Version: February 18, 2003
Files
included...
SmartList:
TD2_Glycemic_Lists.PDB
Microsoft Access version: Glycemic_Lists.mdb
Text-only version: Glycemic_Lists.csv
Viewers
& decompression software...
SmartList
Viewer: http://www.dataviz.com/products/smartlisttogo/index.html
Text-only Viewer: http://office.microsoft.com/downloads/2000/xlviewer.aspx
Decompression software: decompress
& http://www.info-zip.org/pub/infozip/
SmartList
Features
- Lists GI (glucose and bread)
and GL values for 750 food types and includes over 1400 data entries
- Ability to list data entries
according to specific food groups that include: Bakery, Beverages,
Breads, Breakfast Cereals, Breakfast Bars, Cereal Grains, Cookies,
Crackers, Dairy, Drink Powders, Fruit, Indigenous, Infant, Juices,
Legumes, Meal Replacement, Mixed Meals, Nutritional Supplements,
Pasta & Noodles, Snacks & Candies, Soups, Sports Bars,
Sports Drinks, Sugars, and Vegetables
- Ability to filter and list
data entries according to Low GL, Medium GL, High GL, Low GI,
Medium GI, High GI, or any combination thereof
- Ability to sort and list,
in ascending or descending order, all or groups of, data entries
according to GI or GL value
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