Tallying Your Glycemic Load

There are a number of benefits that you can get by following the glycemic index, but it can be pretty confusing unless you are already familiar with how it works. In order to get the best results, you should integrate it into your diet. So, first of all, what is a glycemic index?

All of the food you eat falls under one of three major macronutrient types: carbohydrate, protein, and fat. Most foods have some of each, but usually are predominantly one category. As an example, potato chips are mostly carbohydrate, but they still have a little protein and fat. Any carbohydrate that you consume has a glycemic index, which is the way we measure how quickly a food is digested and released as glucose in your bloodstream.

While this is primarily useful for people with type 2 diabetes, it is also quite helpful for people who want to go longer without getting hungry between meals, and for anyone who wants to be healthier overall. There are many variables that go into calculating a food’s glycemic index, such as whether the food is grown, processed, or cooked; how much of the food a person eats; a person’s genetics; and what you combine the food with when you eat it.

There is a fundamental difference between the glycemic index and the glycemic load. With the index, it refers to how 50 grams of a certain food affects blood sugar levels in a person. The glycemic load takes the index into account, but goes one step further, by saying that while 50 grams of one food might cause a certain blood sugar reaction, if you take in 25 grams of a food with a higher GI (glycemic index), you might have a comparable glycemic load. It also accounts for the combination of foods eaten, instead of each food individually.

As a general guideline, a glycemic load of 20 or more is high, a glycemic load of 11 to 19 is medium and 10 or less is low. Consider a watermelon as an example. It has a high glycemic index at 72. In 120 grams of watermelon, it contains 6 grams of carbohydrates per serving. So, take the glycemic index of 72, divide it by 100, and multiply by the 6 grams of carbohydrate per serving, which leaves you with 4.32 (which you can round down to 4). The point of this calculation is to show that even though the carbohydrate in watermelon makes it show up high on the glycemic index, the glycemic load in watermelon is actually quite low because there actually isn’t a lot of carbohydrate compared to the total calories.

It’s important to understand the glycemic load and the glycemic index, regardless of your current health. Even if you are in good health, there is no reason not to consider your glycemic load, because too much sugar in your blood too quickly will result in hunger, and if you eat sugary foods too often, you’ll find yourself on the road to diabetes. Remember, the glycemic index helps you choose foods that have the potential to cause insulin resistance, while the glycemic load helps you to figure out what portions of each food will give you the best results.
by: Emile Jarreau