Gi Diet - What it is and should you follow it

Gi diet is an abbreviation for glycemic index diet. To be more accurate it is often referred to as low gi. So what does it all mean. There are many books on this topic. Originally created as a way for diabetics to manage their blood sugar levels. The gi measures how quickly certain foods (mostly carbohydrates) raise blood sugar levels.

The Glycaemic Index ranks foods from 1-100. With glucose being equal to 100. A GI of less than 55 is low, up to 69 is intermediate and over 70 is high. It is believed high blood glucose levels will result in blood sugar spikes, that can create a high, followed quickly by a low. This in turn results in low energy levels and increased hunger. Further to that with too many high gi foods, the body produces excess amounts of insulin. Insulins job is to transport nutrients including clearing the blood of glucose by transporting it to the cells. When there is too much blood glucose for insulin to work with, it converts the excess to fat.

A diet that includes many low gi carbohydrates does make sense. The theory is by eating more foods that release glucose slowly into the blood stream, you will feel full longer, you will be less likely to snack and you will produce insulin in manageable amounts that doesn't convert the carbohydrate to fat easily.

Now the The Glycaemic Index was not originally intended to be a diet for weight loss. It has since evolved and their are numerous books on the Glycaemic Index diet. It has become popular and is being hailed as the latest and greatest diet for fat loss. Many claiming that you will lose 2 lbs(1kg) per week. Maybe, maybe not.

This is not a bad way to eat, including low gi foods can be a helpful strategy, but this diet itself is flawed due to being
a)confusing
b)restrictive

One of the main problem with the gi diet is that natural foods such as potatoes (high gi)are ranked high and forbidden in many diets and foods such as chocolate are low gi. Common sense tells us something is not right. Besides the gi is determined by eating foods on their own. Not the way we as humans eat.

Let's use the high gi potato as an example. Foods that contain protein, fibre and fat will all lower the gi of the overal meal.The gi of the total meal is what counts. So a dinner plate of some grilled chicken breast, with vegetables and some potatoes roasted in a little olive oil, means the whol meal is NOT gi.

More important than the GI though is an index called the SI. Staiety Index. The SI determines how filling a particular food is.

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