How to use the Glycemic Index as a tool to carve away fat

How to use the Glycemic Index as a tool to carve away fat

                 Before we get into anything we need to have a basic understanding of what the Glycemic index is. From that knowledge we are granted the power to put it to use for us. The glycemic index (GI) provides a measure of how quickly blood sugar levels rise after eating a particular type of food. The effects that different foods have on blood sugar levels vary considerably. The glycemic index estimates how much each gram of available carbohydrate (total carbohydrate minus fiber) in a food raises a person’s blood glucose level following consumption of the food, relative to consumption of pure glucose. Glucose has a glycemic index of 100.

                 Now some of you might be thinking, what does this mean to me? Ah, a further look at the role insulin plays in the body and you'll see that it's something like a big deal.  Insulin is a hormone that causes most of the body’s cells to take up glucose from the blood (including liver, muscle, and fat tissue cells), storing it as glycogen in the liver and muscle, and stops use of fat as an energy source. When insulin is absent (or low), glucose is not taken up by most body cells and the body begins to use fat as an energy source.

                Now the last little tid bit of knowledge to complete the big deal behind low GI foods is that  they are absorbed more slowly, they stay in your digestive tract longer. This is why these foods are sometimes called slow carbs. These foods may help control appetite and delay hunger cues, which can help with weight management. Balanced blood sugar also can help reduce the risk of insulin resistance.

Glycemic Index Food List

LOW GI (< 55)	MEDIUM GI (55-70)	HIGH GI (> 70)
Apple and apple juice Apricot Barley Baked Beans, dried beans, butter beans, chick peas, soy beans, lentils Breakfast cereals (oats, muesli, bran) Whole grain / nutty bread Cherries Custard Fruit Loaf Grapefruit Grapes Milk, Yogurt M&M's Oranges Pasta Peaches Peanuts Pears Peas Pineapple Juice (unsweetened) Plums Corn (still on cob) Salad Vegetables Sweet Potato	Banana Basmati Rice Bread (white and brown) Couscous Ice Cream Orange juice Pineapple, mango, melon Pita bread Pizza Popcorn Potatoes (new) Potato chips Raisins Rye bread Yam	Rice Potatoes Pumpkin Waffles Sports drinks Water melon Crackers and crisp breads Carrots Parsnips Nachos Honey Broad beans Pretzels French Fries

One more piece of useful information is the creative use of hi GI foods. The best time to actually consume those is post workout. This greatly aids in the restoration of Glycogen, or the stored fuel in your muscles. The rise of insulin also post workout also has been shown to aid in protein uptake.

                    So the long and short of it is that, sometimes the situation can seem very daunting and sciency, but if you focus on eating foods lower with lower GI and GL (Which is glycemic load, I'll get into at another time) Most of the time and shift to higher GI foods post workout then for the most part your golden. The trick is to find the combination of foods that fall into those categories and fall into the most important category. The foods that you don't mind, and actually enjoy eating ;)