Attractions Glykemic index
GLYCEMIC INDEX (GI)
Food products containing carbohydrates can also be rated according to their Glycemic Index. This rating changes according to the type of food product.
Glycemic Index (GI) is characterised by a number that is given to the increase in glycemia (increase of glucose level in the blood) caused by consuming foods including carbohydrates and so this shows how foods with carbohydrates increase the levels of sugar in the blood. When the level of the Glycemic Index is higher and approaches the level of 100, this caused a greater increase in the level of glucose and washes out a greater amount of the hormone insulin. The highest GI can be found in foods with a high simple sugar content and the lowest GI can be found in foods with a high content of complex carbohydrates (e.g. starches). What is most important though is not the total increase of glucose but how quickly glycemia rises.
Foods with a low GI do not have a great influence on the decrease in glycemia but instead give a longer feeling of being full which means that hunger is not felt so quickly and so there is a lesser tendency to overeat.
Included in food with high GI are:
- White bread, baguettes.
- White rice, pasta, dumplings.
- Sweets, sweetened cereals.
- Alcohol, beer.
Included in foods with low GI are:
- Vegetables (legumes, root vegetables).
- Unsweetened dairy products.
- Pasta “al dante”
- Certain wholegrain products.
In foods that contain fibre the GI level is also lowered. This is because fibre slows down the absorption of sugar from food.
Examples of food:
| Suitable foods |
Unsuitable foods |
| Cooked vegetables, raw vegetables | Smoked meat |
| Wholegrain bakery products | Instant soups |
| Fruit | Salted snacks (crisps) |
| Fish, sea foods | Sweets and sweet products |
| Low fat meat | Whipped cream |
| Dairy and acidified dairy products | Fatty products |
| Vegetable oil pressed when cold | Fried foods |
