What is the Glycemic Foods Index?

by Dan Eitreim on July 10, 2009

in diet

The Glycemic Foods Index – if you’re dieting, you’ve probably heard of it. If you are diabetic, it’s almost guaranteed you’ve heard of the Glycemic Foods Index. It’s a big deal and news is spreading in the healthy eating and weight loss circles. It’s no longer confined to those needing to control their blood sugar levels.

Before you jump right in, you need to understand the glycemic foods index, get a grasp of how it works – and learn about how it affects your life. By the way, the foods you eat everyday ARE on the list. It’s affecting you right now, so you should learn how to use it to your benefit!

Getting to know the Glycemic Foods Index.

The glycemic foods index was developed as the first effective tool in helping diabetics control their blood sugar levels. Prior to the index, there was no reliable way to know in advance what effect certain foods would have on the blood sugar levels.

Diabetics blood sugar levels seemed to both mysteriously jump up and plummet down FAST throughout the day! The glycemic foods index was developed to help diabetics understand why.

The end result was, with this tool, both doctors and patients could know what was being put into the diabetics’ body, and could better anticipate the resulting affects on the blood sugar levels.

Why does it work?

It’s a simple concept. The glycemic foods index is a chart that lists foods on a scale of 0 to 100. They are listed in terms of the speed at which food is digested – digestion turns food into glucose (sugar) – and how fast the glucose hits your bloodstream.

The blood sugar spikes are because of the premise that your body can digest certain foods faster than others. The ones with the highest levels, cause the highest spikes.

Foods that take longer to digest and be turned into glucose are at the other end of the spectrum and enter the bloodstream more slowly and at a steadier pace.

This is important for everyone, not just the type one and 2 diabetics. To reduce the risk of many health issues…including heart disease, diabetes and obesity – many completely healthy people are starting to use the index to help them control their weight.

What’s The actual Glycemic Foods Index – List?

Simply, it’s a list that gives you the rating of all the various foods you are likely to encounter. From bread to ice cream.

The great part is, that everything you are likely to eat is listed! From potatoes to beans, it’s pretty easy to see where they fall on the list and how good (or bad) they are likely to be for your diet. Thinking about a cookie or an apple? Check the list.

Weight loss and blood sugar management doesn’t get any more basic. The higher the food is ranked the worse it is. It’s weight control by the numbers. Trade high numbered foods for lower numbered options and watch the weight start to effortlessly fall away.

Been there, done that…there’s a LOT of “miracle” weight loss systems. Why should I bother with the Glycemic Foods Index?

Good question…whether to control diabetes or lose weight, why SHOULD I use the glycemic foods index? (Not to mention all the other health issues it can affect.)

The initial consideration is that this isn’t the latest weekly fad diet… created just to sell a few tabloid newspapers. It is a system created to control blood sugar levels – the weight loss (if desired) is just a happy side affect.

As a weight loss method, it’s easy, painless and fast – but all these benefits have only recently been discovered.

Let’s recap;

-Not all food affects our blood sugar (and waistlines) the same. The glycemic foods index is a terrific tool to understand how our bodies process and use the foods we eat.

-The values of the most common foods – ones we eat every day – are listed in the glycemic foods index. It’s a snap to compare various food choices.

-Though developed for diabetics, it is highly effective in weight loss and improving your health.

To learn more about the glycemic foods index – and other weight loss aids, check out my website. There are tons of weight loss articles and you can enroll in my “Fast Weight Loss Tips!” mini-course while it is still free.

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