Glycemic Index Chart – A Guide on Calories and Nutrition
The rate of absorption of food substances is measured and displayed as low, moderate or high in the glycemic index chart. Low glycemic foods are healthier as they satiate hunger for a longer time and keep the blood sugar level steady.
Glycemic Index Chart – Low, Moderate, and High GI
After their consumption, all food substances ingested are broken down into glucose and used as a source of energy in the body and the rate at which this happens is measured by the glycemic index or GI. However, the glycemic index chart provides rating for only food substances containing carbohydrates, so high protein fare and fats such as meats, butter, olive oil, etc., are not included in the chart. Also, foods that are broken down quickly into glucose after being eaten have a high GI while others that are digested at a slower pace have a moderate or low GI. Thus, the glycemic index chart rates all carbohydrate containing viands and categorizes them as low, moderate, or high GI foods.
Glycemic Food – Blood Sugar Level
When foods are converted into glucose, the blood sugar level in the body increases. The body uses up the amount of glucose it needs and any excess is converted and stored as fat deposits. As all high glycemic foods are metabolized into glucose quickly; they increase blood sugar level of the body radically, vice versa low or moderate GI foods keep the blood sugar level stable. This makes low glycemic foods a much healthier choice as they are digested at a slower rate providing energy to the body for a prolonged period of time and thereby also keeping hunger at bay for longer hours. Furthermore, there is no excess production of glucose at any point of time thus reducing incidence of food getting stored as fat reserves in the body.
Glycemic Index Food Chart
All foods containing carbohydrates like grains, cereals, lentils, pulses, breads, vegetables, and fruits have a glycemix index rating. Mostly, simple carbohydrates especially ones that have undergone processing and refining like white breads and white rice have a high GI score. Other such foods are bananas, potatoes, millet, parsnips, etc. On the contrary, complex carbohydrates that contain fiber have a lower GI score some of which are brown bread, oats, buckwheat, barley, lima beans, apples, etc. The glycemic index food chart has a scale of 0 to 100. All the low GI foods have a low score with the score rising as GI of the food increases.