Why Low GI Diet To Lose Weight?
Do you have this feeling, usually eat a lot of things, but just after eating something not long after hungry, since hungry certainly can not help but continue to eat, so the road to gaining weight is more and more smooth, in the end, what is the reason? Putting aside certain metabolic diseases, the simple ease of hunger may be related to your eating a high GI diet.
What is GI?
GI = (Glycemic Index) – a measure of how much food causes the body to raise blood sugar and is the state of the body’s glycemic response after eating.
It is used to measure the rate of digestion and absorption of food and its effect on blood sugar. Taking 50 grams of oats and 50 grams of rice as an example, low GI oats will slowly increase blood sugar after ingestion. Whereas with high GI rice, the sugar is digested and absorbed quickly and blood sugar will rise rapidly in a short period.
According to the effect of food on blood sugar and food glycemic index (GI), food can be divided into three categories.
- Low GI foods. GI<55
- Medium GI foods. GI 55 to 70
- High GI foods. GI>70
Usually, those foods with a GI value below 55 are called low GI foods. Foods with a general GI value of 40 or less are safe for diabetic patients to consume. When foods with high GI values are consumed, they raise blood sugar for a short period and insulin evokes the body’s function to convert the calories eaten into fat. A large amount of insulin causes a rapid drop in blood sugar, causing hunger and making us eat more.
Low GI foods, on the other hand, are digested and absorbed relatively slowly, leaving blood sugar levels in a more stable state, which can bring a longer period of satiety, supplying body cells normally, without hoarding too much fat and without overeating, so, of course, it is not easy to become fat.
Effects Of A Low GI Diet
The role of a low GI diet is divided into three main points.
It helps people who want to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight to control their weight effectively.
It provides a steady and consistent release of energy and stabilizes blood sugar levels as part of a diabetes treatment plan.
It prolongs the time it takes for food to be digested and absorbed, which can lead to a longer feeling of satiety.
Factors Affecting Low Food GI Values
- The fiber content of the food.
- The physical form of the food (solid, liquid, etc.).
- The way the food is processed (raw, cooked, additives, etc.).
All of these factors can affect the GI value of food. In addition, the GI value of any food may vary from person to person, so it is important to gauge how the food affects you.
Low-carb Diet vs. Low GI Diet
Many people will confuse a low-carb diet with a low-GI diet. A low-carb diet refers to the strict control of carbohydrate intake to achieve fat loss and slimming effect, while a low GI diet does not restrict the intake of carbohydrates, but advocates a reasonable choice of carbohydrates.
So is it true that as long as you eat more low-GI food, you can eat lean and feel good? The GI only indicates the glycemic index of the food, and does not tell you how much you can eat, even if it is low-GI food, crazy eating can make you fat, so you also need a concept – GL.
GL = (Glycemic Load) – is a measure of the quality (the GI value) and quantity (grams per serving) of carbohydrates in food. That is, GI only indicates the rate at which a certain carbohydrate is converted to blood sugar, but does not take into account the effect of intake on blood sugar. GL, on the other hand, is a more comprehensive concept that takes into account both the glycemic index of a food and the effect of intake on blood glucose.
GL = GI*Carbohydrate Contained In Food/Total Food
According to different ranges, GL is also divided into three categories: high, medium, and low:
- High GL. >= 20 for high load diet, indicating a great effect on blood sugar
- Medium GL: a medium-load diet of 11-19, indicating a little effect on blood glucose
- Low GL: <=10 for a low-loading diet, indicating a little effect on blood sugar.
For example, watermelon has a high glycemic index of 72; however, the amount of sugar (carbohydrates) contained in watermelon is very low (about 5%). 100 g of watermelon has a glycemic index of 5 x 72/100 = 3.6, so the glycemic index of watermelon is very low. This means that you can eat watermelon during weight loss, but not in large amounts.
Apple. It has a GI of 40 and contains 15g of carbohydrates. GL = 40 x 15g / 100 = 6.
Baked potato: It has a GI value of 80 and contains 15 grams of carbohydrates. GL = 80 x 15g / 100 = 12.
This shows that potatoes have twice the metabolic effect of apples, so eating sweet apples is not that fattening.
Relationship Between GI and GL
Choosing food purely by GI high or low may produce errors, that is, the postprandial blood sugar level is closely related to the total amount of carbohydrates contained in the food, in addition to the high or low glycemic index of carbohydrates.
For example, the GI value of pumpkin is 75, which is a high GI food, but the carbohydrate content of pumpkin is very low, with only 5 grams of carbohydrates per 100 grams of pumpkin. So daily consumption does not cause significant changes in blood sugar, so eating pumpkin during weight loss is a good choice.
It seems that the GI value only reflects the “quality” of carbohydrates, not the actual amount of carbohydrates consumed. It is meaningless to look at the GI value alone without considering the carbohydrate content and the total volume and water content of the food; it must be looked at together with the GL value.
GI Diet and Exercise
GI values can help gym goers choose the right carbohydrates before and during exercise. Consuming Low GI foods before exercise can better maintain blood glucose levels during exercise, which can slightly increase the rate of fat oxidation or burning, while endurance is improved.
High GI foods are easily and quickly absorbed and digested by the body and can provide energy more quickly. High-GI foods are suitable for consumption during and after exercise.
However, these recommendations are not suitable for everyone. Different foods, their processing and digestion, and absorption processes affect different people in different ways, so try more food choices to find out what works best for you.
Conclusion
A low GI diet can be helpful not only for people who need to improve and control their blood sugar but also for people who need to slim down and lose weight. Learning to calculate GI and GL can help you eat healthier, but this needs to be combined with exercise and a sensible diet to achieve the desired results.