Best GI Index

[johnoo]

What, in the opinion of the experts, is the best most comprehensive/reliable GI Index on the Internet?

 

[GrantGam]

What, in the opinion of the experts, is the best most comprehensive/reliable GI Index on the Internet?

Hello @johnoo,

Firstly, I'm not expert

The thing with the glycemic index is that it's at best an estimate of how various different foods will impact our blood glucose. Because the index is tailored to apply to everybody, it is for that very reason not an individual scale that matches your independent needs.

Here's an example of a website that you could use, it's been complied by a university so I'd imagine it's a good source for info:

http://www.glycemicindex.com

For the best results, you should use the index for reference only and build your own lists of foods which are good for your BG control, from pre and post prandial BG testing. What may be great for your control may not be very good for the next person, because we're all very different in our needs.

The glycemic index is a good starting point, but you'll only know what aggrees with your BG best by constant testing.

 

[Squire Fulwood]

Here is another one to look at.

http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/diet/gi_diet/glycaemic_index_tables.htm

 

[johnoo]

Thanks for the advise

 

[Sid Bonkers]

There are quite a lot of GI books out there and I think the one I used was in the Collins range of pocket books, I did find switching some carbs for GI carbs very useful but you do need to test everything for yourself as like all carbs the GI variety will have differing effects on the individual.

I made changes like Burgen bread and some brands of WholeGrain and Seeded breads for white and wholemeal breads, Basmati rice (brilliant in small quantities) for regular long grain white rice, certain fruits I found better than others like granny smith apples and some other green apples were better for me than most red apples, stuff like that, but

I CANT STRESS ENOUGH THE IMPORTANCE OF TESTING EVERYTHING YOU EAT IN COMBINATION WITH EVERYTHING ELSE YOU EAT.

Test, test and test again, it will take a long time and a lot of test strips but it is so worth it

Good luck

 

[britishpub]

Please don't use the one I followed for a decade (Rick Gallops the GI Diet) because I ended up suffering from T2D.

 

[Brunneria]

I agree with @britishpub

My body reacts to foods in VERY different ways from the GI tables.
I found eating low GI and low GL sent my blood glucose all over the place and did nothing to to prevent the onset of T2. In fact i think it hastened it.

I should have stuck to low carbs.

Only a meter and rigorous testing will tell you how your body is reacting.

 

[Suzieblue]

Hi there, I have to agree with the others that you need to keep testing as eveyone is different, but I also found that reading labels and the use of a pocket guide I found on Amazon by Dr Wynnie Chan called "GI & GL Counter" to be really helpful

 

[Bluetit1802]

Low GI/GL didn't work for me. The low GI foods still put too much glucose in my blood, and kept it up for longer. I only began to improve my BS when I went low carb. I also found it time consuming to do the calculations for the GL.

 

[Chook]

Low GI / GL dieting definitely didn't work for me - I'd been doing it for nearly a year when I was diagnosed with Type 2.

A case in point - mushrooms are very low GI but I can see from my meter that they raise my BG - not a huge amount but enough that I have to be careful and only have one or two - whereas most other people are fine with them. We are all different in the way our bodies handle carbs.

 

[GrantGam]

A case in point - mushrooms are very low GI but I can see from my meter that they raise my BG - not a huge amount but enough that I have to be careful and only have one or two - whereas most other people are fine with them. We are all different in the way our bodies handle carbs.

I find that very interesting. Half a kilo of mushrooms has around the same carbohydrate content as a small apple.

You must be eating a lot of shooms

 

[Chook]

I find that very interesting. Half a kilo of mushrooms has around the same carbohydrate content as a small apple.

You must be eating a lot of shooms

Nope not a huge amount - I just react to them - no idea why; I wish I didn't because I love them.

 

[Bluetit1802]

Nope not a huge amount - I just react to them - no idea why; I wish I didn't because I love them.

Are you 100% certain it isn't whatever you are eating with them?
They are my staple vegetable as I'm not a greens lover. I eat tons of them, every day.

 

[Chook]

@Bluetit1802 - Yes, I'm positive. I've been eating mushrooms all my life and have T2 for about 10 years but I only started proper structured testing after meals about two years ago and I always get (very shallow) spike after eating mushrooms whether raw or cooked. I do still eat them but only one or two fried in butter with a fat rich meal - which is a shame because I love them both raw and cooked. I have often wondered if it is some kind of allergy / intolerance to them because I have been told by other people that it shouldn't affect me and I know other people don't have problems with them - but sadly I do.

 

[Hotpepper20000]

I find that very interesting. Half a kilo of mushrooms has around the same carbohydrate content as a small apple.

You must be eating a lot of shooms

For me not all carbs are created equal.
Any grain no mater how small the amount will spike me more then 2 points.
We are all different. That is why we must test.

 

[GrantGam]

For me not all carbs are created equal.
Any grain no mater how small the amount will spike me more then 2 points.
We are all different. That is why we must test.

Indeed you are right, all carbohydrates have different impacts on our BG. Hence the need for an index like GI. The apple vs 1/2kg mushrooms was an example to demonstrate how bizarre @Chook's reaction to such a small amount of carbs is.

 

[Brunneria]

I think a lot of us get bizarre blood glucose reactions to certain foods, or types of foods. I have long wondered (as @Chook has) how much food intolerances affect this.

This was confirmed for me last autumn when i decided to do a strict gluten/grain free trial period - and my bg control improved dramatically. So while grams of carbs definitely has an impact, some of us lucky (!) ones, also need to factor in specific reactions to specific foods. Only way to discover these things is by test, test, testing...

-I'm not coeliac, by the way. My reaction seems to be a grain problem, not so much a gluten problem.

 

[Hotpepper20000]

I can use small amounts of sugar in my low carb baking and I have less of a reaction then when I use a TBSP of flour in gravy. Also some low carb sweetners spike me up to four hours after.
So I just use regular sugar but less and then I eat less too.

 

[johnoo]

OK, so perhaps I've got it wrong just looking at low GI.
So is there a definitive list of Low/Medium Carb foods?