WHICH DO YOU FOLLOW
GLYCEMIC INDEX OR GLYCEMIC LOAD
GLYCEMIC INDEX OR GLYCEMIC LOAD
The Difference Between
The Glycemic Index and the Glycemic Load of a Food
The Glycemic Index ranks a food as to how quickly it raises blood glucose in the body.
All foods are ranked on a scale with glucose ranked 100 which means that it gives the
most rapid rise in blood glucose levels. On the opposite end of the scale a food ranked 0
will not raise blood glucose at all.
For instance White Bread has a Glycemic Index rating of 70 which is high whereas
chickpeas (not canned) have a rating of 28 which is low.
The higher number a food is rated on the Glycemic Index the faster blood glucose levels
will rise thus triggering a release of insulin in order to process the glucose. The amount of
insulin released can sometimes be quite large.
Why Is This Bad?
Large amounts of insulin that are continously in the bloodstream can cause obesity and
this in turn causes insulin resistance. After a while the Islets of Langerhans in the
pancreas which are responsible for producing insulin can wear out and the person then
has to inject insulin.
How a Food Is Ranked
In order to rank a food in the Glycemic Index, a person must eat 50g of the carbohydrate
that is in the selected food.
So if 50% of the food is carbohydrate then in order to eat 50g of carbohydrate you would
have to eat 100g (three and a half ounces) of that food. No problem there, you say. But
what if a food contains only 10% carbohydrate? Then you'd have to eat just over one
pound (500g) of that food for it to be ranked.
Glycemic Index Does Not Tell the Whole Story
It looks good. For instance you see that in the chart parsnips have a Glycemic Index of 97.
Oh wow, now there's a vegetable to avoid because it's going to dump sugar into my blood
real fast. But hang on. Parsnips are 13.4% carbohydrate of which 4.8% is sugar (USDA
statistics). Now the high GI rating of parsnips is based on the effect of 50g of parsnip
carbohydrate has on blood glucose levels. In this case that would be just over 13ozs
(373g) of parsnips.
Lets pick a low Glycemic Index food like Kellogg's All-Bran (Glycemic Index 41), All-Bran is
37% digestible Carbohydrate of which 27% is sugar (USDA statistics).
The low GI rating of All-Bran is based on the effect of 50g of All-Bran carbohydrate has on
blood glucose levels.
And in this case you’d only have to eat about 4.5ozs (135g) to reach that 50g of
carbohydrate.
So there are 50g of carbohydrate in 13 ounces of parsnips but also there is 50 grams of
carbohydrates in 4.5 ounces of all-bran!
The Glycemic Index gives no clue as to the recommended portion sizes that a diabetic can
eat without getting high blood glucose readings or a blood glucose spike.
Glycemic Load
The Glycemic Load measures the carbohydrate content of a serving of food multiplied by
how fast it raises blood sugar – the GI number. (The GI number is always treated as a
percentage).
First you have to work out how many grams of carbs are in a serving. This is done by
finding out the percentage of carbs in a serving.
Parnsips are 13.4% carbohydrates.
So for a serving of 150g (about 5ozs) of Parnsips you mulitply 150g by 13.4% (0.134) =
20.1g of carbs per 5oz serving. Multiply that by Glycemic Index 97 % (0.97) = 19.5
Glycemic Load for about 5ozs of parnsips.
All Bran is 37% Carbohydrate.
For a serving of 150g (about 5ozs) of All Bran you multiply 150g by 37% (0.37) = 55.5g of
carbs per 5oz serving. Multiply that by Glycemic Index 41% (0.41) = 23 Glycemic Load for
5oz of All Bran.
So 5ozs of All Bran has a higher Glycemic Load than 5 ozs of Parnsips even though the
Glycemic Index rating of All Bran (41) is a great deal lower than Parnsips (97).
Of course a more sensible serving of All Bran would be around 2ozs.
For a 57g (about 2ozs) serving of All Bran you multiply 57g by 37% (0.37) = 21.1g of carbs
per 2oz serving. Multiply that by Glycemic Index 41% (0.41) = 8.6
So Glycemic Loads will give you an idea of how much of a food you can eat without
having to worry about eating too many carbs.
Of course the ultimate guide for a food is when you test your blood glucose. The Glycemic
Load can only point you in the right direction. We are all different and react in our own
ways to different foods.
The Glycemic Index and the Glycemic Load of a Food
The Glycemic Index ranks a food as to how quickly it raises blood glucose in the body.
All foods are ranked on a scale with glucose ranked 100 which means that it gives the
most rapid rise in blood glucose levels. On the opposite end of the scale a food ranked 0
will not raise blood glucose at all.
For instance White Bread has a Glycemic Index rating of 70 which is high whereas
chickpeas (not canned) have a rating of 28 which is low.
The higher number a food is rated on the Glycemic Index the faster blood glucose levels
will rise thus triggering a release of insulin in order to process the glucose. The amount of
insulin released can sometimes be quite large.
Why Is This Bad?
Large amounts of insulin that are continously in the bloodstream can cause obesity and
this in turn causes insulin resistance. After a while the Islets of Langerhans in the
pancreas which are responsible for producing insulin can wear out and the person then
has to inject insulin.
How a Food Is Ranked
In order to rank a food in the Glycemic Index, a person must eat 50g of the carbohydrate
that is in the selected food.
So if 50% of the food is carbohydrate then in order to eat 50g of carbohydrate you would
have to eat 100g (three and a half ounces) of that food. No problem there, you say. But
what if a food contains only 10% carbohydrate? Then you'd have to eat just over one
pound (500g) of that food for it to be ranked.
Glycemic Index Does Not Tell the Whole Story
It looks good. For instance you see that in the chart parsnips have a Glycemic Index of 97.
Oh wow, now there's a vegetable to avoid because it's going to dump sugar into my blood
real fast. But hang on. Parsnips are 13.4% carbohydrate of which 4.8% is sugar (USDA
statistics). Now the high GI rating of parsnips is based on the effect of 50g of parsnip
carbohydrate has on blood glucose levels. In this case that would be just over 13ozs
(373g) of parsnips.
Lets pick a low Glycemic Index food like Kellogg's All-Bran (Glycemic Index 41), All-Bran is
37% digestible Carbohydrate of which 27% is sugar (USDA statistics).
The low GI rating of All-Bran is based on the effect of 50g of All-Bran carbohydrate has on
blood glucose levels.
And in this case you’d only have to eat about 4.5ozs (135g) to reach that 50g of
carbohydrate.
So there are 50g of carbohydrate in 13 ounces of parsnips but also there is 50 grams of
carbohydrates in 4.5 ounces of all-bran!
The Glycemic Index gives no clue as to the recommended portion sizes that a diabetic can
eat without getting high blood glucose readings or a blood glucose spike.
Glycemic Load
The Glycemic Load measures the carbohydrate content of a serving of food multiplied by
how fast it raises blood sugar – the GI number. (The GI number is always treated as a
percentage).
First you have to work out how many grams of carbs are in a serving. This is done by
finding out the percentage of carbs in a serving.
Parnsips are 13.4% carbohydrates.
So for a serving of 150g (about 5ozs) of Parnsips you mulitply 150g by 13.4% (0.134) =
20.1g of carbs per 5oz serving. Multiply that by Glycemic Index 97 % (0.97) = 19.5
Glycemic Load for about 5ozs of parnsips.
All Bran is 37% Carbohydrate.
For a serving of 150g (about 5ozs) of All Bran you multiply 150g by 37% (0.37) = 55.5g of
carbs per 5oz serving. Multiply that by Glycemic Index 41% (0.41) = 23 Glycemic Load for
5oz of All Bran.
So 5ozs of All Bran has a higher Glycemic Load than 5 ozs of Parnsips even though the
Glycemic Index rating of All Bran (41) is a great deal lower than Parnsips (97).
Of course a more sensible serving of All Bran would be around 2ozs.
For a 57g (about 2ozs) serving of All Bran you multiply 57g by 37% (0.37) = 21.1g of carbs
per 2oz serving. Multiply that by Glycemic Index 41% (0.41) = 8.6
So Glycemic Loads will give you an idea of how much of a food you can eat without
having to worry about eating too many carbs.
Of course the ultimate guide for a food is when you test your blood glucose. The Glycemic
Load can only point you in the right direction. We are all different and react in our own
ways to different foods.
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By: Frank Wood
6th Edition - Jan 2006