Since the moment we are born, we are conditioned to love sugar. It's in our instinct, crucial for human survival, and especially important in newborns through the sweetness of breast milk, prompting them to feed. However, sugar consumption has become completely normalized over the past century, with sugar added to nearly every product, even savory foods. And worse, it is often found in its refined, processed form, which raises the glycemic index (GI) significantly.
So, what exactly is glycemia and how can we control it?
Read on for our complete guide to everything you need to know about this fascinating topic!
Summary
- Understanding Glycemic Index
- Tips for Lowering the GI of Foods
- Get more insights with our new ebook!
Understanding Glycemic Index
What is Glycemia?
Glycemia refers to the amount of sugar (glucose) in your blood. It varies throughout the day depending on factors like meal content, physical activity, and hormonal levels. On average, we have between 0.7 and 1.1 grams of sugar per liter of blood.
When you get a blood test, normal levels are between 0.8 and 1.2 g/L. If your blood sugar is too high, you're in hyperglycemia. This often results from poor dietary choices. If your blood sugar drops too low, you're in hypoglycemia, which can cause symptoms like fatigue or inability to concentrate. This is often the result of an earlier hyperglycemic episode.
Frequent fluctuations in blood sugar can have serious consequences:
- Weight gain and difficulty losing weight
- Imbalance in the microbiome
- Circulatory issues
- Premature aging
- Strain on organs like the liver and pancreas
These fluctuations can lead to more serious conditions like Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and even cancer.
The Role of Insulin
Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas after meals to help lower blood sugar levels. It transports sugar into cells for use as energy.
When blood sugar levels are consistently high, the pancreas produces more insulin, leading to insulin resistance: over time, cells become less responsive to insulin, preventing glucose from entering cells, and leaving more sugar in the bloodstream, which increases the risk of:
- Chronic fatigue
- Weight gain
- Sleep disorders
- Cravings for sugar and sweet foods
- Digestive imbalances
- Metabolic syndrome (overweight, hypertension, high triglycerides, etc.)
What is Glycemic Index (GI)?
The glycemic index (GI) is a scale from 1 to 100 (where 100 represents pure glucose) that measures how quickly a food increases blood sugar after consumption. It evaluates carbohydrates.
Here’s how foods are categorized by their GI:
- High GI (>70): mashed potatoes, glucose syrup, white bread
- Moderate GI (56-70): whole wheat pasta, honey, bananas, raisins, dates
- Low GI (<55): raw beets, lentils, coconut sugar, berries
Foods with a high GI cause a rapid spike in blood sugar, while foods with a low GI have a lesser effect.
Understanding Glycemic Load (GL)
While the GI is an excellent tool to understand how foods impact blood sugar, it doesn’t account for the quantity of carbohydrates in a food. That's where glycemic load (GL) comes in. GL factors in the carbohydrate content of a food in a typical portion:
- High GL (>20): baked potatoes, popcorn, soda
- Moderate GL (11-19): whole wheat pasta, bananas, jam, orange juice
- Low GL (<10): cooked carrots, dark chocolate 70%, cooked lentils
For example, a cooked beetroot has a high GI of 64, similar to whole wheat bread (GI 65), but beetroot has fewer carbs. Therefore, its GL is just 5, compared to 20 for whole wheat bread.
Factors That Affect Glycemic Index
- Cooking Methods: Cooking in water gelatinizes the starch, which is then easily turned into glucose by digestive enzymes. For example, rice expands when cooked, and that gelatinized starch increases glucose conversion.
- Degree of Refining: The more refined a food, the higher its GI. For instance, refined cereals lose fiber, raising their GI.
- Processing: More processed foods (like puffed cereals or rice cakes) have higher GIs because their starches are easier to digest.
- Type of Starch: Starches come in two types: amylose and amylopectin. Foods high in amylopectin (like wheat) have a higher GI than those high in amylose because glucose is more easily released.
Tips to Lower the Glycemic Index of Foods
To reduce the impact of food on your blood sugar, consider these simple daily tips:
- Combine with proteins: Proteins have a very low GI. Combining a high GI food (like potatoes) with eggs, fish, or legumes can reduce its GI by over 30%.
- Add healthy fats: Fats slow gastric emptying, which slows glucose absorption. That's why chips have a lower GI than roasted potatoes.
- Incorporate fiber: Soluble fiber creates a gel in the stomach and small intestine, slowing digestion and glucose absorption. Add oat bran, flaxseeds, or legumes to your meals.
- Use low-GI condiments: Cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, and quercetin (in green vegetables and red onions) can help regulate blood sugar and improve insulin sensitivity.
Cooking Tips
- Minimize cooking: Cook pasta al dente rather than soft, and eat grated carrots instead of cooked ones.
- Opt for gentle cooking methods: Steaming or simmering maintains lower GI values and preserves nutrients.
- Avoid finely milled or mashed foods: Foods like mashed potatoes or blended soups have higher GIs because the starch is more digestible.
- Eat foods cold: When foods like potatoes or rice cool, the starch becomes resistant, lowering their GI. The same applies to overnight porridge versus hot porridge.
Other Useful Tips
- Add acidity: Acids like vinegar or lemon juice can slow stomach emptying and glucose absorption.
- Eat in the right order: Start with raw vegetables (with a fat-based dressing), followed by proteins, and then carbohydrates.
- Eat minimally processed foods: Whole grains or whole foods have lower GIs than their processed counterparts. For instance, puffed rice has a GI of 85, while white bread has a GI of 70.
- Consume fermented foods: Fermented foods like sourdough or yogurt naturally lower the sugar content in foods, making them easier on your blood sugar.
Explore More with Our New Ebook!
Learning about GI can take some time, so we've created a special low-GI ebook with:
- A GI food table
- A glycemic load table
- Tips for reorganizing your pantry with low-GI foods
- A week’s worth of low-GI meal plans and shopping lists
- More than 40 recipes, both sweet and savory, with controlled GI
You'll also find an exclusive interview with blogger Coline, with whom we created three products with lower sugar and a low GI.
FAQ: Everything You Need to Know About Glycemic Index and Sugar Consumption
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What is the glycemic index (GI)?
GI is a scale measuring how quickly food raises blood sugar levels, with glucose as the reference point (GI = 100). High GI foods cause rapid blood sugar spikes, while low GI foods cause slower increases. -
Why is it important to monitor the GI of foods?
Managing GI helps stabilize blood sugar, avoid insulin spikes and crashes, and prevent diseases like Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and obesity. -
What are the effects of uncontrolled glycemia?
Fluctuating glycemia (highs and lows) can lead to chronic fatigue, weight gain, digestive issues, and long-term complications such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and premature aging. -
What’s the difference between GI and glycemic load?
GI measures how fast food raises blood sugar, while glycemic load takes the food's carb content into account, offering a more accurate view of how a food impacts blood sugar. -
What foods have a high GI?
High-GI foods include white bread, mashed potatoes, rice cakes, and glucose syrup. They cause rapid blood sugar increases. -
How can I lower the GI of a meal?
Combine high-GI foods with proteins, fats, or fibers, which slow digestion and glucose absorption. -
Does cooking affect the GI of foods?
Yes, cooking, especially at high temperatures or for long periods, can raise the GI by making starches more digestible. -
Do processed foods have a higher GI?
Yes, generally, more processed foods have a higher GI because they are broken down faster in the digestive system. -
Which condiments help lower blood sugar?
Cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, and quercetin can help regulate blood sugar and improve insulin sensitivity. -
Should I eliminate high-GI carbs?
Not necessarily. It's more about moderation and combining high-GI foods with lower-GI options to minimize blood sugar spikes.
