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Limits of the Glycemic Index
The glycemic index of a food is a difficult parameter to establish, as it is influenced by numerous factors, let's see the main ones:
- technological manipulation of food: the more an industrial product is processed, the higher its glycemic index will be.
For example, the various pasta shapes have different glycemic indexes.
- Method and degree of cooking: the glycemic index of the food increases as the cooking time and temperature increase; for this reason it is higher in heated foods than in fresh ones.
- Variety and degree of ripeness: the glycemic index of fruit and vegetables increases in step with the ripening of the vegetable; this parameter is also influenced by the geographical area of production and the respective characteristics of the climate and the growing medium.
- Amount of fats, proteins and fiber present in the food: by increasing digestive times, these food substances negatively modulate the insulin response.
Furthermore, it should be borne in mind that the glycemic index is, in some respects, a misleading parameter, in fact:
despite having the same glycemic index, apricots are not like spaghetti!
This somewhat provocative phrase serves to introduce an extremely important concept. In fact, although the glycemic index is the same, to raise the blood sugar by a similar value it is necessary to introduce a quantity of apricots seven times higher than that of spaghetti. In fact, in apricots, the percentage of carbohydrates is particularly low, especially when compared to that contained in pasta.
It's still:
30 grams of pasta (IG = 60) results in a higher insulin release than 10 grams of glucose (IG = 100).
Basing your food choices on the glycemic index alone, therefore, makes no sense.
What is the Glycemic Load
For this reason it is very important to consider a parameter, called glycemic load (CG), which also takes into account the quantity of carbohydrates present in the food. This criterion is expressed by the following formula:
GLYCEMIC LOAD = (Glycemic index x g carbohydrates) / 100
Between glycemic index and glycemic load c "is a relationship similar to that between specific weight and weight of a material.
Let's see an example: the specific weight of iron is undoubtedly higher than that of terracotta. Nevertheless, the impact on the foot of a brick fallen from above is more painful than that caused by a bolt hitting the foot when falling from the same height.
Food advice
Although there are limits, the evaluation of the index and glycemic load of foods can be useful in various cases:
a diabetic, in fact, must favor low GI foods, in order to avoid excessive increases in the blood glucose concentration. However, in order for the desired effect to occur, it is also important to contain the overall glycemic load of the meal.
Consuming foods with a low glycemic index and load is also important to keep hunger, appetite and body weight under control. In fact, when an excess of foods with a high glycemic index is introduced, the massive insulin response causes a rapid passage of glucose from the blood to the tissues. Thus a transient hypoglycemia is established which, picked up by the hypothalamic center of hunger, pushes the individual to search for food, with the aim of bringing glycemic values back to normal. Thus we enter a very dangerous vicious circle, which favors the gain of body weight, with extremely negative psychophysical repercussions.
After physical exercise, on the other hand, foods with a high and medium glycemic index are preferable, since in this way the secretion of insulin is promoted. In similar situations this hormone performs particularly important functions, since it promotes recovery, restoring glycogen stores and favoring the "entry into the cells of various nutrients (glucose, amino acids and fatty acids).
