Glycaemic Index ...

[NoCrbs4Me]

None.

 

[jack412]

Mars bar and snickers have the same GI number, so take your pick.

glycemic index, then there was glycemic load...then there was the list that counted the insulin stimulation, where yogurt produced more insulin than the carb rate would suggest ....anyone remember the name for this?

take a healthy person, eat something and measure at 2 hr and call it 'the GI number' even though a 1 or 3 hr may be wildly different..diabetes pizza effect

I can only suggest don't get too caught up in the GI
http://www.professional.diabetes.org/admin/UserFiles/0 - Sean/dc132042 FINAL.pdf
at best....
"Glycemic index and glycemic load ....Substituting low–glycemic load foods for higher–glycemic load foods may modestly improve glycemic control."

 

[pavlosn]

Wrapped in bacon and deep fried.

Fried in coconut oil and then serve with a dollop of double cream (optional)

 

[pavlosn]

If you have a smartphone then doing a search in the relevant App Store with "glycemic" brings up lots of apps that help track GI or GL value of meals. May be worth a try due to advantage of portability.

Pavlos

 

[douglas99]

glycemic index, then there was glycemic load...then there was the list that counted the insulin stimulation, where yogurt produced more insulin than the carb rate would suggest ....anyone remember the name for this?

take a healthy person, eat something and measure at 2 hr and call it 'the GI number' even though a 1 or 3 hr may be wildly different..diabetes pizza effect

I can only suggest don't get too caught up in the GI
http://www.professional.diabetes.org/admin/UserFiles/0 - Sean/dc132042 FINAL.pdf
at best....
"Glycemic index and glycemic load ....Substituting low–glycemic load foods for higher–glycemic load foods may modestly improve glycemic control."

You don't need the odd googled internet report, I can only tell you it worked very well for me, in conjunction with testing my BG with my meter, you can see the results in my sig.

 

[phoenix]

It's a bit more complicated than taking on person at one time. The numbers of subjects in each individual test are not large but each person serves as his or her own control. The rank order of effect is normally quite consistent. Moreover many tests have been done using both T1 and T2 subjects and many foods have been tested. There is a strong correlation between the GIs of common foods tested in mutliple laboratories. So for example the GI of typical factory wholemeal bread is 74+/-2 , lentils 32+/-5 and instant porridge 67+/-5. Moreover when tested there was a significant correlation found between the ranking of 20 basic foods tested on normal subjects and people with diabetes .http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18835944

The GI is a tool, like any tool it has to be used sensibly It's frankly not sensible to eat a snickers bar compared with eating something with more nutrients. (or indeed rely on a GI of a product from a different country, quite frequently the recipes and hence GIs will differ, check snickers bars from the US v those from Australia,) The overall nutrient content obviously should play a part. Eating non or minimally processed foods though eliminates this sort of food from consideration.

Where it comes into it's own is selecting between similar carb loads of similar items.
(ie it's no use comparing a slice of bread containing 15g of carb and a cup of rice cntaining 40g of carb)
If you are going to have some rice, you pick a lower GI type rather than a higher one like Jasmin or sushi. GI rankings demonstrate that grains like barley will have a lesser effect on glucose levels than for example couscous.It quite clearly shows that you are better having boiled new potatoes than a jacket potato.but that it might be even better to choose legumes or certain types of beans more frequently.
If you want to try porridge and you find it causes a spike, don't be surprised if you are using a modern instant type (or even fine 'rolled' oatmeal) there GI is high.
Bread, well it's quite clear from the GI that typical factory white and wholemeal are very similar in terms of GI. If you are going to eat any bread then it's better to go for the coarser heavier breads containg, whole seeds and rye or other grains or even to choose Industrial breads designed to be lower GI like Vogel and Burgen.

I hardly ever look at a Gi table now, I know the type of foods that have lower GIs and the properties they have that tend to make them lower GI. Learning about it in the 3 years that I use diet to 'control' my undiagnosed LADA was one of the best things I ever did. I'm convinced that and exercise kept my levels down , it also gave me a good start when beginning to use insulin. I still use those principles, do not take large amounts of insulin and have had good levels for many years.

But like anything it's best to learn for yourself about it and use it as one tool to help control your glucose levels. It is not stand alone since carbohydrates only form part of the diet and diet only a part of diabetes control.
The Sydney University Glycemic Index site link already given describes the basics and has a data base. The GI news is also worth looking at. (don't look at the recipe link on the home page, it should go to a list of lower GI recipes on another site but it actually links to the general recipes on the site so could confuse)
The Montignac site also already linked to, has some excellent info on how the GI of foods is altered by the type of starch they contain and methods of cooking and processing. It has a good definition of what GI and how it works which might help correct some of the misrepresentation that occurs.

 

[NoCrbs4Me]

What's the difference between following a low GI/GL diet compared to setting a carbohydrate intake level that doesn't increase your blood glucose above a certain level based on personal testing?

 

[jack412]

You don't need the odd googled internet report, I can only tell you it worked very well for me, in conjunction with testing my BG with my meter, you can see the results in my sig.

I wouldn't call the american diabetic association an "odd googled internet report", but you can if you want to

 

[jack412]

What's the difference between following a low GI/GL diet compared to setting a carbohydrate intake level that doesn't increase your blood glucose above a certain level based on personal testing?

you can't beat personal testing if it's done properly, sometimes you would take a 3 hr or even a 4 hr reading when testing a new meal for... diabetic pizza effect
bloodsugar 101 doesn't think much of Gi
http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/22168291.php

 

[phoenix]

What's the difference between following a low GI/GL diet compared to setting a carbohydrate intake level that doesn't increase your blood glucose above a certain level based on personal testing?

The difference is that if you set a carb limit and decide say I'll have 100g of cooked rice and you choose to have it in the form of sticky jasmine rice, you get a rapid rise in glucose levels you will actually absorb more of the carbohydrate than if you had chosen to have 100g of converted rice or brown basmati.(where some of the starch will be fermented in the gut)

If you choose to have the same carb content from a very low glycaemic carb like chana dahl, (bengal gram dahll) then you would not only benefit from it's extremely low GI , your body would need to produce and I would need to inject less insulin. You might also find that you could have a larger portion This might be of importance if you have no need to loose weigh or are very active .

There is absolutely nothing wrong with personal testing ,it's a good thing to do. You may not do it in a controlled a way, even if yoiu do then you probably don't have an unlimited supply of strips . Making initial choices based on the GI puts you ahead knowing that certain foods are more or less certain to cause higher glucose spikes. Also it's worth knowing how preparation can alter GI changing an item from relatively low to extremely high ( eg baking a sweet potato may double the GI) but doing simple things like adding a vinaigrette dressing or serving your potato in a salad may lower it
It is a tool , an aid . It's not a doctrine and it .actually doesn't tie you to any given amount of carbohydrates .
However, according to the Sydney website to have a low GI overall, the average GI of carbohydrates in the diet should be below 45

 

[NoCrbs4Me]

Sounds like a huge waste of time and effort.

 

[phoenix]

No great time or effort and I've achieved good results over more than 10 years.
Isn't it great that it works well for me and others at my hospital where the education for both T1 and T2 includes a lot on the GI. I am happy that I have found it useful.
Actually, the Cochrane review also found it a useful tool http://www.aafp.org/afp/2009/1101/p941.html
I'm sorry if for some reason you found problems using it. It's clear that you don't like it from one of your earliest posts on this forum. There is though more to the GI than the ranking of Snickers and Mars bars which have quite different GIs. (though I still won't eat them)

 

[douglas99]

Sounds like a huge waste of time and effort.

Your choice.
I don't really understand why you seem keen to advise people controlling diabetes is a huge waste of time and effort, but your control is your concern I guess.
The op has the time and effort, and I'm with them, it's a very good method, it's working excellently for some of us.

 

[pavlosn]

Sounds like a huge waste of time and effort.

Is less time and effort required to learn how much of different carb sources you can cope with empirically through trial end error and personal testing?

The GI or GL value just gives you a rough way of selecting between two alternative carbs. It is not a license not to test or not to limit your carb intake.

As such I consider it complimentary rather than incompatible with an LCHF approach.

Pavlos

 

[NoCrbs4Me]

Is less time and effort required to learn how much of different carb sources you can cope with empirically through trial end error and personal testing?

The GI or GL value just gives you a rough way of selecting between two alternative carbs. It is not a license not to test or not to limit your carb intake.

As such I consider it complimentary rather than incompatible with an LCHF approach.

Pavlos

I already have a rough way - the grams of digestible carbs.

 

[pavlosn]

I already have a rough way - the grams of digestible carbs.

That probably means that you are having to restrict carbs and increase fats more than you would need to if you actually selected the right carbs.


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

 

[douglas99]

I already have a rough way - the grams of digestible carbs.

If that method suits you, and it's a diet you can stick to, the rough and dirty way obviously works for you.
I prefer to tune it more, and invested more time, and effort, as you have said, working a more refined system, which works far better for me.
Each to his own, so long as you're happy with your own method, and your own numbers.

 

[NoCrbs4Me]

If that method suits you, and it's a diet you can stick to, the rough and dirty way obviously works for you.
I prefer to tune it more, and invested more time, and effort, as you have said, working a more refined system, which works far better for me.
Each to his own, so long as you're happy with your own method, and your own numbers.

I guess I'm failing to see the usefulness of it. I am somewhat obtuse, though.

 

[angelicbaby]

Guys. Do we really need to turn this thread into an argumentative one? The poster simply asked for information on a list of GI/GL products either online or book.

Should we not be pleased that he/she is interested in getting to grips with their BG rather than sniping about which method is best.

 

[douglas99]

I guess I'm failing to see the usefulness of it. I am somewhat obtuse, though.

I guess it's because I don't want to have to restrict carbs.
If I do, when I do eat them, my BG rises to levels I don't like.
So I eat carbs, but choose ones that don't overload me.
I portion control, balance the carbs with exercise, so I suppose it is a lot more effort. But it becomes easier after it becomes a subconscious effort.
Like today, I did a lot of exercise, so I know I can afford to eat more carbs, low GI means a smaller spike, but also the exercise means a smaller spike, and the duration of the spike can vary. More exercise, it goes down faster.
My daughter isn't diabetic, is less than half my age, and ate a lot more than me in the pub today.
I can't really argue, as well as diving she also kick boxes, so I don't want to either.

I think you really have to know your own body, and everyone has a different response, which is why testing is so important, and the results are so different.