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THE G.I. FACTOR: THE KEY IS THE RATE OF DIGESTION
Carbohydrate foods that break down quickly during digestion have the highest G.I. factors. The blood sugar response is fast and high. In other words the glucose (or sugar) in the bloodstream increases rapidly: Conversely, carbohydrates which break down slowly, releasing glucose gradually into the bloodstream have low G.I. factors. An analogy might be the popular fable of the tortoise and the hare. The hare, just like high G.I. foods, speeds away full steam ahead but loses the race to the tortoise with his slow and steady pace. Similarly, the slow and steady low G.I. foods produce a smooth blood sugar curve without wild fluctuations.
For most people most of the time, the foods with low G.I. factors have advantages over those with high G.I. values. But there are some athletes who can benefit from the use of high G.I. foods during and after competition. The substance which produces the greatest rise in blood sugar levels is pure glucose itself. All other foods have less effect when fed in equal amounts of carbohydrate. The G.I. factor of pure glucose is set at 100 and every other food is ranked on a scale from 0 to 100 according to its actual effect on blood sugar levels.
The G.I. factor of a food cannot be predicted from its composition or the G.I. factor of related foods. To test the G.I. factor, you need real people and real foods. There is no easy, inexpensive substitute test Standardised methods are always followed so that results from one group of people can be directly compared with those of another group.
The G.I factor is a clinically proven tool in its applications to diabetes, appetite control and reducing the risk of heart disease.
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