Recipes - Low G.I

The Glycemic Index was developed in the 1980s, as a new method of classifying carbohydrate foods. This proved once and for all that all sugars are not absorbed quickly into the blood, and all starches are not absorbed slowly.

GI is a ranking (from 1 to 100) which measures the effect of a food on your blood-glucose level over the two hours after the food is eaten.

Understanding the GI is really simple

• Carbohydrate foods that break down quickly during digestion, releasing glucose quickly into the blood stream, have a high GI with a value of 70 or more.
• Carbohydrate foods that break down slowly, releasing glucose into the blood stream gradually, have a low GI with a value of 55 or less.
• Carbohydrate foods that break down at a moderate pace, releasing glucose into the blood stream neither slowly or quickly, have a medium GI with a value of 56 to 69 inclusive.

The simplest way to use the GI every day for every meal is to simply substitute lower GI foods for the higher GI foods that you normally eat.

How low-GI contributes to weight control
High GI foods are bad for weight control for two reasons. Firstly, the glucose spikes stimulate hunger because you are getting that dramatic drop in glucose, 90 minutes to two hours after eating. By eating low GI foods you feel fuller for longer and are, therefore, not as likely to go searching for snacks every two hours.

Secondly, insulin is a storage hormone that stockpiles nutrients for later use by the body. A high-GI diet causes a lot of insulin to be produced and when you have too much insulin in your body too much of the time, it makes it easier to store fat and harder to burn it.

I invite submissions and links in the comments for favourite recipies for low G.I foods.